Plan to guarantee brink mortgages gains traction
Millions of homeowners facing possible foreclosures are close to receiving help from the federal government. Talks between Treasury officials and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. show promise that a deal is near in helping to prevent foreclosures on 3 million homes nationwide.

According to sources familiar with the discussions, the plan would cost between $40 billion and $50 billion and secure the loans of more than $600 billion in mortgages by adjusting monthly payments according to a homeowner’s ability to pay. Banks would receive a government guarantee covering a portion of losses resulting from any defaults on the reconfigured loans.

Voters hit the polls early
With presidential candidates Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain pushing to get out the vote in their final week of campaigning, early voting appears to be on the rise. Wednesday numbers from the Gallup daily tracking poll on early voting indicate that an estimated 18 percent of registered voters have already cast a ballot nationwide. Some regions of the country have seen even higher percentages, with Davidson County, Tenn., reporting that half of those registered have already voted.

8212;Compiled by Assistant City Editor James Palen

8212;Sources used: The Washington Post, Gallup and NPR