VP candidates take different approaches

ST. LOUIS, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- Joe Biden stressed policy and Sarah Palin stressed the personal touch as the U.S. vice presidential nominees opened their debate Thursday in St. Louis.

Asked about the financial bailout controversy in Congress, a hoarse-voiced Sen. Biden, D-Del., said the crisis is "evidence the economic policies of the last eight years have been the worst economic policies we've ever had" with "Wall Street gone wild."

He cited the rescue approach put forward by Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama -- oversight, homeowner help, treating taxpayers like investors and making sure corporate officers did not profit from the bailout.

Gov. Palin of Alaska said anyone could "go to a kids' soccer game on Saturday" and ask someone about the crisis: "I betcha you're going to hear some fear in that voice."

She praised Republican presidential nominee John McCain, noting he interrupted his campaign to go to Washington to help out on the financial rescue plan. McCain was "so instrumental ... in getting folks together" on a bailout package.

A proposed $700 billion bailout bill was voted down in the first round in the U.S. House, but a version was approved Wednesday in the Senate and the House is expected to revisit the issue.

Poll: Obama leads McCain by 9 points

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama has a 9-point lead over Republican John McCain among registered U.S. voters, a CBS/New York Times poll indicates.

The poll found that Obama leads McCain 49 percent to 40 percent, CBS News reported Thursday.

The network said the U.S. financial crisis and the Sept. 26 presidential debate may have benefited Obama, the junior senator from Illinois.

Forty-four percent of respondents said they approve of Obama's handling of the national credit crisis, while 35 percent said they approve of they way McCain, the senior senator from Arizona, has handled the crisis.

"McCain's support appears softer than Obama's. Twenty-one percent of McCain voters say it is too soon to say for sure who they will vote for, compared to 14 percent of Obama voters," CBS said in its analysis.

The poll -- conducted Sept.27 to Sept. 30 among a random sample of 1,257 adults nationwide, including 1,113 registered voters -- has a maximum margin of error plus or minus 3 percent.

Judge rejects mistrial in Stevens case

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- The judge in the corruption trial of Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, Thursday rejected a defense request for a mistrial because of prosecutorial misconduct.

U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan has said he would consider declaring a mistrial, after learning Justice Department lawyers waited until just before midnight Wednesday to disclose evidence to the defense. The evidence consisted of FBI notes discussing Stevens' intent to pay for gifts that are at the core of the prosecution's case, The Hill, a Washington publication, reported.

"Why shouldn't I dismiss the indictment?" Sullivan said.

The jury was dismissed for the day while the judge considered arguments from both sides.

"It's very troubling," the judge said. "If it wasn't deliberate, it was gross negligence."

Stevens' attorney, Brendan Sullivan, said in court Thursday he had never seen such ineptitude on the part of government prosecutors, The New York Times reported.

"The integrity of this process has been breached," he said.

Lead prosecutor Brenda Morris acknowledged the mistake was serious, but she argued that it did not "make the defense case or the government's case any worse," the Times said.

Stevens, the longest-serving Republican in the U.S. Senate, has pleaded innocent to seven felony counts of failing to disclose more than $250,000 in gifts and home renovations on Senate financial disclosure forms. He is seeking re-election in November.

The defense said the notes indicated a key prosecution witness -- Alaska oil services player Bill Allen -- believed Stevens would have paid for the renovations Allen's company made to Stevens' home if the lawmaker were given a bill. Stevens' attorneys say the senator paid every bill he was given and would have paid more if he received more bills.

Human remains found with Fossett plane

MAMMOTH LAKES, Calif., Oct. 2 (UPI) -- Human remains have been found in the wreckage of Steve Fossett's small plane high in the Sierra Nevada in California, a federal official said Thursday.

Mark Rosenker, acting chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, described the remains as "very little" but possibly enough to confirm Fossett's identity, CNN reported. The plane was discovered at 10,000 feet near Mammoth Lakes Wednesday after a hiker stumbled on Fossett's wallet near the crash site.

"I believe the coroner will be able to do some work," Rosenker said.

Madera County Sheriff John Anderson said Fossett appeared to have flown into the side of a mountain. He disappeared Sept. 3, 2007, while making a solo flight from a ranch in Nevada. A court in Illinois declared him dead Feb. 15.

Fossett, 63, made a fortune in financial services. In later life, he became well known as a sportsman and adventurer, setting more than 100 records and firsts, including the first solo balloon trip around the world.

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