Today's news

--> West Palm Beach, FL: The top Republican presidential contenders spent the day before Tuesday's Florida election flying from city to city, and letting the accusations fly as soon as they hit the ground. Mitt Romney says John McCain is a tax-and-spend buddy of the Democrats. McCain says Romney is a tax-and-spend liberal.

--> U.S.: Senator Edward M. Kennedy, rejecting entreaties from the Clintons and their supporters, is set to endorse Senator Brack Obama’s presidential bid on Monday as part of an effort to lend Kennedy charisma and connections before the 22-state Feb. 5 showdown for the Democratic nomination.

Meanwhile, author Toni Morrison, who famously labeled Bill Clinton as the "first black president" is also backing Obama to be the second.

--> Washington, D.C.: President Bush's last State of the Union address is expected to be heavy on Iraq and the economy, but he also will say he is entering a congressional fray over earmarking taxpayer dollars, administration officials said.

The speech will tonight. CNN coverage begins at 8 p.m. ET.

--> Washington, D.C.: Sales of new homes plunged by a record amount in 2007 while prices posted the weakest showing in 16 years, demonstrating the troubles builders are facing with a huge backlog of unsold homes.

The Commerce Department reported Monday that sales of new homes dropped by 26.4 percent last year to 774,000. That marked the worst sales year on record, surpassing the old mark of a 23.1 percent plunge in 1980.

--> Kenya: One month after vote, Kenyan toll reaches 800. Ethnic clashes continue to convulse western Kenya, pushing the death toll from a month of violence over the country's flawed presidential election to nearly 800.

The bloodshed — with Sunday marking exactly one month since the Dec. 27 vote — has transformed this once-stable African country, pitting longtime neighbors against each other and turning towns where tourists used to gather for luxury holidays into no-go zones.

--> Los Angeles, CA: Christian Brando, the troubled eldest son of the late famed actor Marlon Brando, has died from pneumonia at a Los Angeles hospital, an attorney said Saturday. He was 49.