Hey, sales of new homes are up 2.7 percent! Er, but they're still way the hell down from last year's numbers.

With just over a week to go, Reuters breaks down the battleground states in the presidential election. If any of them are still battlegrounds.

An 8-year-old shoots himself with an Uzi while attending a gun show. Oops.

Wall Street: Still dropping!

Republican strategist Ed Rollins: Palin "is going to be the most popular Republican in this country when this thing is over. She'll basically spend the next three of four years, running around doing Lincoln Day dinners and raising money for people. She's got to gain a lot of substance before she's a viable candidate for president."

And Mayor-elect Sam Adams names a new police commissioner: Dan Saltzman. See below for details.