Fred Thompson

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins is engaged to a veteran political aide who works as a consultant in Washington, and they plan to wed this summer in a private ceremony. The Maine Republican said she and Thomas Daffron share a passion for the outdoors and a good book, and she described him as a bright man and a longtime friend who appreciates a good joke. "He's extraordinarily smart, has a wonderful sense of humor and is a great friend," Collins, 59, told the Bangor Daily News. "Those qualities matter a lot to me. " The two became engaged Sunday.

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins is engaged to a veteran political aide who works as a consultant in Washington, and they plan to wed this summer in a private ceremony. The Maine Republican said she and Thomas Daffron share a passion for the outdoors and a good book, and she described him as a bright man and a longtime friend who appreciates a good joke. "He's extraordinarily smart, has a wonderful sense of humor and is a great friend," Collins, 59, told the Bangor Daily News. "Those qualities matter a lot to me. " The two became engaged Sunday.

WASHINGTON -- Former senator Fred Thompson criticized the handling of the CIA leak investigation yesterday, saying Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald had to have known from the start that it was not a crime to disclose Valerie Plame Wilson 's identity as an agent. Thompson depicted Fitzgerald as out of control, telling ABC News there was "no brake and no check and no balance" on the prosecutor. Thompson's objections are similar to ones Democrats made in the 1990s about independent counsel Kenneth Starr, who spent six years investigating Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton.

GREENVILLE, S.C. - With his Republican rivals jockeying for victory in New Hampshire, presidential hopeful Fred Thompson sought yesterday to boost his support in the state considered critical to his campaign. "I don't know of any better place to stand my ground and test my case than in South Carolina," Thompson told about 200 people at a pancake house in the northern part of the state as he began an 11-day bus tour. Several hours later, he said primary results in New Hampshire and in Michigan next Tuesday will factor into whether he stays in the race - but that South...

WASHINGTON -- Howard Liebengood, a former Senate sergeant-at-arms and a minority counsel to the Senate Watergate Committee, died at his home Thursday. He was 62. Mr. Liebengood recently retired as chief of staff to Senator Bill Frist of Tennessee, the majority leader, whose office announced the death Friday. The cause of his death wasn't immediately known. Previously, Mr. Liebengood had served as an adviser to two other Tennessee Republican senators, Fred Thompson and Howard Baker, who also was a majority leader.

WASHINGTON -- Potential presidential candidate Fred Thompson, known to millions of "Law & Order" viewers as a gruff district attorney, disclosed yesterday that he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of cancer, nearly three years ago. Thompson, 64, said he is in remission, and never even felt ill, from a type of lymphoma that is very slow-growing and probably not life-threatening. The Tennessee Republican was prompted to make the disclosure on the Fox News Channel and ABC Radio because he is thinking about running for president.

MOULTONBOROUGH, N.H. -- Presidential hopeful John Edwards said yesterday he's raising enough money to compete in the early states and invoked Howard Dean's 2004 fund-raising totals as a cautionary tale. "Money will not decide who the nominee's going to be," Edwards said in an interview . "Everyone will remember Governor Dean who out raised everyone else by more than 2-to-1 and wasn't able to win the nomination. " Edwards's campaign reported it raised $9 million from April through June.

GREENVILLE, S.C. - With his Republican rivals jockeying for victory in New Hampshire, presidential hopeful Fred Thompson sought yesterday to boost his support in the state considered critical to his campaign. "I don't know of any better place to stand my ground and test my case than in South Carolina," Thompson told about 200 people at a pancake house in the northern part of the state as he began an 11-day bus tour. Several hours later, he said primary results in New Hampshire and in Michigan next Tuesday will factor into whether he stays in the race...

MILWAUKEE -- Former governor Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin is dropping out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination, a campaign official said yesterday. Thompson finished sixth among eleven candidates in this weekend's Republican straw poll in Iowa. He had said before the Iowa event that he would drop out of the race unless he finished first or second. The campaign released a statement confirming that Thompson was ending his bid but didn't say whether he would endorse another candidate.

There’s a reason iced tea is often called the house wine of the South: It’s a staple in nearly every home, and many restaurants offer it as others might water. I have tried a number of recipes – cold brewing, hot brewing, sun brewing, and combinations of them. I prefer a brew strong enough to stand up to ice and sweetener (and down South, they like it sweet), and without the noticeable tannic, astringent undercurrent that often plagues tea, both iced and hot. What works for me is a method I learned in Fred Thompson’s book Iced Tea : Make a tea concentrate with a small quantity of boiling water, and...

MILWAUKEE -- Former governor Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin is dropping out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination, a campaign official said yesterday. Thompson finished sixth among eleven candidates in this weekend's Republican straw poll in Iowa. He had said before the Iowa event that he would drop out of the race unless he finished first or second. The campaign released a statement confirming that Thompson was ending his bid but didn't say whether he would endorse another candidate.

MOULTONBOROUGH, N.H. -- Presidential hopeful John Edwards said yesterday he's raising enough money to compete in the early states and invoked Howard Dean's 2004 fund-raising totals as a cautionary tale. "Money will not decide who the nominee's going to be," Edwards said in an interview . "Everyone will remember Governor Dean who out raised everyone else by more than 2-to-1 and wasn't able to win the nomination. " Edwards's campaign reported it raised $9 million from April through June.

WASHINGTON -- Potential presidential candidate Fred Thompson, known to millions of "Law & Order" viewers as a gruff district attorney, disclosed yesterday that he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of cancer, nearly three years ago. Thompson, 64, said he is in remission, and never even felt ill, from a type of lymphoma that is very slow-growing and probably not life-threatening. The Tennessee Republican was prompted to make the disclosure on the Fox News Channel and ABC Radio because he is thinking about running for president.

WASHINGTON -- Former senator Fred Thompson criticized the handling of the CIA leak investigation yesterday, saying Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald had to have known from the start that it was not a crime to disclose Valerie Plame Wilson 's identity as an agent. Thompson depicted Fitzgerald as out of control, telling ABC News there was "no brake and no check and no balance" on the prosecutor. Thompson's objections are similar to ones Democrats made in the 1990s about independent counsel Kenneth Starr, who spent six years investigating Bill Clinton and...

WASHINGTON -- Howard Liebengood, a former Senate sergeant-at-arms and a minority counsel to the Senate Watergate Committee, died at his home Thursday. He was 62. Mr. Liebengood recently retired as chief of staff to Senator Bill Frist of Tennessee, the majority leader, whose office announced the death Friday. The cause of his death wasn't immediately known. Previously, Mr. Liebengood had served as an adviser to two other Tennessee Republican senators, Fred Thompson and Howard Baker, who also was a majority leader.

Pirate Code 8 p.m., National Geographic We prefer the term Gentlemen o' Fortune, thank you very much. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles 9 p.m., Channel 25 Future Matthew wants me to watch. Pictured: Lena Headey as Sarah Connor, with Thomas Dekker as her son. Dreamgirls 9 p.m., HBO But she is going. To win an Oscar. POPULATION: 0 Life After People 9 p.m., History Channel Like Alan Weisman's best seller "The World Without Us," this documentary portrays what would happen to the Earth if humans weren't here anymore.

OMAHA -- Senator Chuck Hagel, one of the more forceful Republican voices opposed to the Iraq war, yesterday put off a decision about a possible presidential bid, saying he wanted to focus on the conflict and other pressing national issues. In an odd twist, the Nebraska senator called a news conference to say he would decide about his political future later this year, saying a late entry into the 2008 race is still possible. "I want to keep my focus on helping find a responsible way out of this tragedy," Hagel said of the Iraq war. The Republican presidential field is...