U.S. SENATE

Would-be senators line up for Martinez seat

Would-be successors beginning to line up as U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez, elected in 2004, announced he would retire after completing his term in 2010.

WAR-ON-TERROR

Guantánamo detainees get a dose of culture

Prison camp staff will soon start offering art and geology classes to long-held war-on-terrorism detainees. English is now being taught as military jailers tinker with how to distract captured jihadists.

GAY RIGHTS

Florida gay rights activists ready to fight threat to benefits

Gay rights activists are ready to go to court to defend domestic partnerships they say will be threatened by the new constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.

GUANTANAMO

War court convenes with Osama bin Laden's cook

A Sudanese captive accused of being Osama bin Laden's cook and bodyguard sat side-by-side with a human rights attorney from his homeland Wednesday as a team of U.S. lawyers argued for dismissal of his war crimes case.

MIAMI-DADE REPUBLICANS

Cuban Americans vie for Dade GOP leader's post

Two Cuban Americans are seeking to replace the longtime leader of the Miami-Dade Republican Party next month.

THE WHITE HOUSE

Obama may tap Elián players for White House roles

President-elect Barack Obama is expected to name two attorneys to his administration who helped return Elián González to Cuba, angering some Miami Republicans.

THE PRESIDENCY

Obama White House team has Chicago political touch

New presidents have brought hometown aides, but this is the first leader from Chicago, a city famed for bare-knuckle politics.

NEW ADMINISTRATION

Hispanics hope to play big role in Obama administration

With thousands of jobs needing to be filled, Hispanics are hoping to be well represented in the Obama administration.

WAR-ON-TERROR

Human rights groups seek detainee truth commission

Human rights groups want next White House to order a subpoena-powered probe of Bush administration detention practices.

GOVERNMENT | MIAMI MAYOR

Miami Mayor Manny Diaz 'in the mix' for Obama post

Miami Mayor Manny Diaz could be appointed to a high-level position in the new president's administration.

GUANTANAMO

ACLU urges Obama to quickly close camps, court

Seeking to forestall any plans to appease the center, the ACLU puts pressure on the coming Obama administration to order closure of the Guantánamo court and camps on day one.

INSIDE THE CAMPAIGN

Inside story: How Obama won Florida

It took passion, precision and a little bit a luck for the Obama team to turn Florida from red to blue

What's ahead for Gov. Palin? Seven challenges

For two months she basked -- and sizzled -- in the world's hottest celebrity spotlight. Now Sarah Palin has come home to begin the last two years of her term as governor of Alaska. Time to take a deep breath and consider some of the key challenges that lie ahead for Sarah Palin.

Election defined a shift in history for Columbus, Ga., residents

A look at Election Night through the eyes of a generation of older black Americans who came out of the Great Depression as children, lived through segregation and the struggle for civil rights and have now seen the election of the nation's first black president.

How Elizabeth Dole's 'godless' ad was created

The famous -- or infamous, depending on your point of view -- "godless" TV commercial in North Carolina's campaign for the U.S. Senate almost didn't happen.

THE WHITE HOUSE

Obamas needs your help -- choosing a presidential pup

You've elected a new president; now you have a chance to help choose the First Pet. Barack Obama promised his kids a dog during his Tuesday night victory speech: ''Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House,'' the president-elect said.

BETH REINHARD | COLUMNIST

Time to tally real winners and losers

T he e-mails from Republican activists in recent weeks went something like this: Do you want to wake up on Nov. 5 to President-elect Barack Obama?

Political Q.& A: Missouri's new A.G. talks about what he'll change

Among the Democrats swept into office Tuesday was Chris Koster, the state senator and former Cass County prosecutor who will become Missouri’s 41st attorney general in January.

ANALYSIS

GOP begins soul-searching

After taking a beating in the elections, Republicans will have to carve their own approach to change.