Barack Obama’s grandmother, who raised him while his mother pursued a career in anthropology, has died at age 86, the Democratic presidential candidate and his half-sister announced.

Just a week-and-a-half ago, Obama suspended his campaign for two days to travel to Hawaii to pay a final visit to the ailing Madelyn Dunham, whom he called “Toot.”

“She has gone home,” Obama, 47, said at a rain-soaked rally Monday on the eve of the election in Charlotte, N.C. “And she died peacefully in her sleep with my sister at her side and so there’s great joy as well as tears. I’m not going to talk about it too often because it’s hard to talk about.”

A statement released by Obama and Maya Soetoro-Ng, 38, said Dunham died after a battle with cancer. “She was the cornerstone of our family, and a woman of extraordinary accomplishment, strength, and humility,” they say.

Rachael Ray’s latest cooking magazine serves up quite a conundrum - with subtle hints to the electorate hidden in an innocent-seeming ‘election night’ cooking guide.

For starters, the first page of the guide contains two buttons - the writing on the Obama pin is quite readable, but on the McCain button, John’s name appears to have been cut off.

Second, two cups bearing political stickers have been shown on the second page of the spread - again the Obama sticker is clear, coupled with a link to his website. Meanwhile the McCain cup has been turned so that only “McCa” can be read, and his website (intentionally?) blurred out of focus.

Also, on page three of the spread, there are two more buttons - both partially cut out of the frame, but only the Obama pin is visible.

VP Candidate Sarah Palin’s wardrobe has entered the fray of symbolic political excess, along with John McCain.s too many houses and John Edwards.s $400 haircut.

Republicans now express fear that weeks of putting forward an image of Palin as an average .hockey mom. is about to go down amid revelations that the Republican Party showered her with expensive clothing and designer accessories bought from high-end stores.

Advisers of the Republican Party said on Wednesday that the purchases . which came to a sum total of about $150,000 . were made only after the in-the-limelight governor of Alaska was chosen as the Republican VP candidate on August 29.

Apparently she needed new clothes to suit different climatic conditions in the fifty states. They also made a point to emphasize that she did not spend time on the shopping, and that other people made the decision to buy such an array of clothes. Yeah, sure!

Jessica Alba seems to have gone wrong somehow with ‘Declare Yourself’, a bid to get more people to vote. Although her previous bound and gagged topless pic was hot, hot, hot - her latest contribution to the campaign is this slightly disturbing advert.

Alba wears a mask rather like Hannibal Lecter in Silence of The Lambs. The tears running down her cheek are complemented by nails running through the front of the flesh-colored muzzle. She is looking positively hideous. C’mon Jessica! Voting is a serious issue but you’re way too beautiful to be portrayed so distastefully.

Jessica Alba is championing a campaign to get the youth of the country to vote and exercise their constitutional rights.

“I think it is important for young people to be aware of the need we have in this country to get them more active politically,” says Jessica. “If you don’t register and vote and make a difference, and hopefully change the bad things that are happening in our country, you are essentially just binding and muzzling yourself.”

Mother to three-year old Honor, Jessica, or rather Mrs. Cash Warren, feels that everything she does now is meaningful because of her daughter, and she also believes that the trussed-up image will help drive the point home.

If you want to read more, you might want to look at:

Alba Gets Tied Up - MSN Entertainment, Hot Gossip