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AIROBI, Kenya (AP) -- Police on the island nation of Seychelles say that two former U.S. Navy SEALs found dead aboard the ship Maersk Alabama died of respiratory failure and were suspected to have had heart attacks, possibly from drug use.

Drugs were in the room where two former Navy SEALs were found dead aboard the Maersk Alabama, a ship that was the focus of a 2009 hijacking dramatized in the movie "Captain Phillips," a company spokesman said Thursday. Police from the African island nation of Seychelles have given no cause of death for Mark Daniel Kennedy, 43, and Jeffrey Keith Reynolds, 44. The Americans were security contractors who were found dead Tuesday in a cabin on the ship while berthed in Port Victoria in the Indian Ocean. "We are saddened by the tragedy and our thoughts are with the family...

The Dems in Alabama have pulled Harry Lyons as their Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. "The hearing generated colorful commentary from Lyon, who represented himself. At one point, Democratic Party Chairman Mark Kennedy asked Lyon if he believes gays and lesbians are abominations. Lyon replied, "God made Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve."

It’s getting plenty of buzz. As it should: it’s not every day you watch an ad that ends with the words, “I know it may not be what you want to hear.” He might as well toss it out there — his campaign’s doing about as well as Iraq is. Click the image to watch.

Over dinner, on their first date, Mark Kennedy, the insurance salesman's son from Pequot Lakes, gazed into the eyes of Debbie Miller, the farm girl from Hawley. Both of them have forgotten his exact words. But she remembers that he stated his intentions clearly: "One day I'm going to run for office." She believed him. History shows she had reason to. It was the summer of 1979. He was 22, a young Republican sporting a bushy hairdo and bursting with ambition.

A high-level staffer on Amy Klobuchar’s U.S. Senate campaign lost her job and the DFLer’s race against Republican Mark Kennedy has veered into intrigue and controversy over the leak of an unreleased Kennedy TV ad. In a prepared statement, Klobuchar campaign manager Ben Goldfarb said that communications director Tara McGuinness last Saturday was contacted by a local blogger who sent her a link to the Kennedy ad.

DFL U.S. Senate candidate Amy Klobuchar continues to hold a dominant lead over GOP rival Mark Kennedy, 56 to 32 percent, in the latest Minnesota Poll, a margin similar to the one she had in July. Independence Party candidate Robert Fitzgerald remains at 3 percent; other candidates garnered less than 1 percent. A sense by many that the nation is on the wrong track, mounting disapproval of President Bush and an energized DFL base all appear to be factors in the gap between Klobuchar and Kennedy. Klobuchar is ahead of Kennedy in virtually every demographic category that the poll measured...

Though the Kennedy campaign has been throwing everything they've got at the DFL candidate, county attorney Amy Klobuchar is maintaining her edge in the race for U.S. Senate, now besting Republican Mark Kennedy 47% to 40% (see crosstabs). Independent candidate Robert Fitzgerald attracts 8% of the vote. Klobuchar's advantage has narrowed since our earlier August poll, but her current seven-point lead remains significant. For most of 2006, there have been only two or three points separating the major-party candidates. Based upon this poll, we are shifting the race from “Democrat” to “Leans Democrat” in our Senate Balance of Power summary....

...Rightroots has picked fourteen conservative House candidates and four conservative Senate candidates according to the belief that “properly funded, these candidates represent our best chance to retain control of Congress and to enact a conservative agenda.” The candidates are as follows: U.S. House of Representatives Michele Bachmann (MN-06) Chuck Blasdel (OH-6) Max Burns (GA-12) John Gard (WI-08) Diana Irey (PA-12) Jeff Lamberti (IA-03) Ray Meier (NY-24) David McSweeney (IL-08) Rick O'Donnell (CO-07) Peter Roskam (IL-06) Scott Tipton (CO-3) Van Taylor (TX-17) Chris Wakim (WV-01) Mike Whalen (IA-01) U.S. Senate Thomas Kean (New Jersey) Michael Steele (Maryland) Mark Kennedy (Minnesota) Mike...

Amy Klobuchar (DFL) has opened her biggest lead of the season over Republican Mark Kennedy in the race for Minnesota’s open Senate seat. The latest Rasmussen Reports election survey shows Klobuchar ahead 50% to 38% (see crosstabs). Independence candidate Robert Fitzgerald draws support from 5% of respondents. That’s a big improvement for the Hennepin County Attorney. Klobuchar held a seven-point advantage last December when the DFL field was still crowded (The Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party or DFL is the state's equivalent of the Democratic Party.) In all of our polls since, her lead has been smaller, typically 2-3 points. She led...

May 10, 2006--DFL county attorney Amy Klobuchar now leads Kennedy 45% to 43%, which is comparable to the toss-ups we've seen all year when the two are matched (see crosstabs). (The Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party or DFL is the state's equivalent of the Democratic Party.) The single-term Democratic incumbent, Mark Dayton, is stepping down. Klobuchar led Kennedy 45% to 42% in our previous Minnesota election poll. The other Democrat in the competition, Ford Bell, now trails Kennedy by eleven percentage points, 44% to 33%. Bell has trailed in three of the four election polls we've conducted in the state. In February,...

Since last month, support for Democrat Ford Bell has jumped 7 points in a match-up with Republican Mark Kennedy. He now leads Kennedy 43% to 40%. In the Rasmussen Reports January poll, Kennedy led Bell 41% to 36%. Democrat Amy Klobuchar also gained ground, but only a couple points. She now leads Kennedy 45% to 42%. Last month the two were neck-and-neck

In the scramble to take over the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Democratic Senator Mark Dayton, likely Republican nominee Representative Mark Kennedy is neck-and-neck with DFL county attorney Amy Klobuchar. (The Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party or DFL is the state's equivalent of the Democratic Party.) The latest Rasmussen Reports election poll shows Klobuchar at 43% and Kennedy at 42%.

January 28, 2006--In the scramble to take over the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Democratic Senator Mark Dayton, likely Republican nominee Representative Mark Kennedy is neck-and-neck with DFL county attorney Amy Klobuchar. (The Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party or DFL is the state's equivalent of the Democratic Party.) The latest Rasmussen Reports election poll shows Klobuchar at 43% and Kennedy at 42%. Kennedy leads DFL philanthropist and veterinarian Ford Bell by 41% to 36% ( In our previous Minnesota survey, Klobuchar was ahead of Kennedy by 7 percentage points and Kennedy led Bell by 10.

10. Rhode Island Lincoln Chafee, easily one of the most liberal Republicans in the Senate, faces a determined primary challenge from Cranston Mayor Steven Laffey, who is more conservative. The Democratic nominee is likely to be former State Attorney General Sheldon Whitehouse. 9. Michigan Arch-liberal Debbie Stabenow was the closest winner among new Democratic senators elected in 2000. At a time when Michigan GOPers are on a political roll under State Chairman Saul Anuzis, she will face a strong challenge from either of the potential Republican candidates—Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard or former Detroit City Councilman Keith Butler, an articulate...

WASHINGTON — Republicans say open races in states where a Democrat is retiring offer them the best chance to increase their Senate majority. Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, offered an upbeat perspective on the 2006 races Monday. The GOP holds a 55-44 advantage in the chamber, with one Democratic-leaning independent. Dole cited Minnesota, where the party has a single candidate, Rep. Mark Kennedy, running against a number of Democrats hoping to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Mark Dayton. The same is true in Maryland, where the GOP is backing Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, while several...

Amy Klobuchar's top rival for the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination stepped aside Friday, giving the Hennepin County prosecutor a big endorsement and a smoother path to the November ballot. Patty Wetterling's withdrawal leaves Klobuchar and veterinarian Ford Bell as the last announced DFL competitors for the open Senate seat. On the Republican side, U.S. Rep. Mark Kennedy has a virtual lock on the nomination.

Patty Wetterling ran for Congress against U.S. Rep. Mark Kennedy in 2004. He’s now running for Senate. Politics High court will take smoker-fee case Independent counsel alleges coverup, exits Democrats Leahy, Salazar to oppose Alito; they backed Roberts New state sex-crime laws in the works Bar owner, smoking-ban critic is planning to run for governor DFL U.S. Senate candidate Patty Wetterling has called a news conference for today, and may drop out of the race. Such a move could alter the landscape for as many as three high-profile 2006 campaigns. Ron Teicher, campaign spokesman for the nationally known children's advocate,...

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Mark Kennedy this week ramped up the effort to curtail the influence of lobbyists by proposing a lifetime ban on members from serving as lobbyists after they leave Congress. Currently, members are banned from lobbying for one year. "I think part of the temptations are whatever your possible future life might be," Kennedy, R-Minn., said. "We need to be attracting folks to Congress with real-life experience, with real-life experience to go back to."

U.S. Rep. Mark Kennedy, the lone Republican candidate for Minnesota's open U.S. Senate seat next year, trails two DFL candidates and leads two others in a new poll from Rasmussen Reports. In the poll conducted Dec. 14, 500 likely Minnesota voters were asked to state their preferences between Kennedy and each of the four DFLers. Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar and children's safety advocate Patty Wetterling narrowly topped Kennedy within the poll's 4.5 percentage-point margin of sampling error. Meanwhile, Kennedy beat veterinarian Ford Bell by 10 points and attorney Mike Ciresi by three. Ciresi, who unsuccessfully sought the seat won...