The Daily Muck

More earmark trouble for Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK). Stevens, who is awaiting a verdict in his federal corruption trial, pushed $2.7 million in federal money to Alaska to pave a road that leads to his friend Bob Persons’ bistro. Persons has deep ties with Stevens – he not only looked over the reconstruction of Stevens’ Girdwood home but also appears in Stevens’ indictment as “Person A” and testified as a witness for the defense. (AP/Anchorage Daily News)

Embattled Rep. Tim Mahoney (D-FL) dropped out of a debate Friday night and may be avoiding public appearances in general leading up to election day. Mahoney, who was preceded by former Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL) is accused of having at least two affairs with seedy circumstances. (Palm Beach Daily News)

Sarah Palin has apparently returned a third of the clothing bought for her at high-end stores by the RNC. A McCain strategist said that the clothes were returned immediately due to size issues. (AP)

Problems have arisen with early voting in multiple states, including Virginia, Florida, and Georgia. Absentee ballots and large numbers of early voters in particular are posing a problem in multiple states. (AP)

The Pentagon official who has been supervising the Guantanamo war commissions is at the center of two investigations into his conduct. The more severe of the two is an internal Air Force investigation, which in part is looking to see if the supervisor, Brig. Gen. Thomas Hartmann, abused his power. (LA Times)

Newly filed documents show the three year long struggle between guards at Guantanamo Bay and a detainee who refused to eat. The documents show that the guards occasionally had to use force to end hunger strikes. (AP)

The head of the International Monetary Fund will stay on despite having an affair with a subordinate. The IMF board of directors decided that although the relationship was “regrettable,” it did not warrant Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s removal and he did not abuse his authority. (Financial Times)

If you had a pirate problem, who would you call? Well, merchant fleets off the shore of Somalia have called contractor Blackwater Worldwide to help fend off groups of pirates who have been looting their ships. The hiring of Blackwater, infamous for their actions in Iraq, has been criticized by some maritime organizations. (AP)

A shadowy paid informant is likely to take the stand early this week in the trial of five men accused of planning an attack on Fort Dix. The defense plans on trying to lessen the credibility of the ex-convict informant who is a key witness in the case. (AP)