TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES

VOTING RIGHTS: Ike Brown's fight.
Stinking Water in Mississippi - the Justice Department works for who?

TEXAS
*LINDA CURTIS, INDEPENDENT TEXANS, COMMENTS ON: Strayhorn recommends abolishment of Texas Residential Construction Commission (Houston Chronicle)
* Kinky! (KFDX)

Pennsylvania
* Russ Diamond at 3% in polls (Phila Daily News) and 16% (Rasmussen)

NATIONAL
* Podhoretz says "real" independents down in numbers (Macleans)
* Partisan divide in media preferences? Independents are independent. (Washington Post)

INTERNATIONAL
* Venezuela's Hugo Chavez very popular (Venezuelanalysis)