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From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Nicole Lapin. Here are some headlines NOW IN THE NEWS.

Democratic Senator Barack Obama tried to reassure¹ members of the pro-Israel lobby group AIPAC that the US will remain loyal to Israel if he is elected president. The presumptive Democratic nominee² addressed the group this morning. His Democratic rival Senator Hillary Clinton also spoke³ to the group. Some of her supporters are now urging Obama to make her his running mate. Now both campaigns are denying that discussions have even begun on that subject.

Meanwhile, presumptive Republican nominee Senator John McCain is now focused(focusing) primarily on Obama. He used two speeches in Louisiana to distance himself from President Bush on Iraq and also offered a challenge to Obama. He said he liked them to travel around the country together and host a joint⁴ town hall meeting every week for the next ten weeks, beginning next week.

Meanwhile, actress Gina Gershon is demanding a retraction⁵ from Vanity Fair magazine over an article linking her to former President Bill Clinton. Now, it cites gossip, saying that Clinton had been seen visiting her. Well, her attorneys are now threatening a lawsuit⁶. They say that Gershon has been in the same room with Clinton maybe three times, but always with other people. Vanity Fair says the article simply does not suggest any improper⁷ relationship.

It costs about seven million dollars to remove all these children from a polygamist ranch⁸ in Texas and then return them. That's the final bill the state of Texas is expecting to pay. It includes everything from food, shelter to legal costs. A judge assigned an order on Monday releasing the kids from foster care. Already 397 of them, almost 400 of them have been reunited with their parents.

The housing crisis is hitting Hollywood. Ed McMahon's home is now in foreclosure as well. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that he is in more than 600, 000 dollars behind on his mortgage for a six-bedroom home in Beverly Hills. McMahon's spokesman confirmed that he is in discussions with his lender. McMahon of course is best known as Johnny Carson's sidekick on "The Tonight Show".

And those are the headlines at this hour, for more on those stories and other news of the day, CNN is always your source online, on TV or on your cell phone. Take care.