In political news, there was a surprising development in the closely watched congressional race in the 23rd district of New York. Up until this weekend it was a three-way race between candidates from the Democratic, Republican and Conservative parties. But on Saturday, the Republican Dierdre Scozzafava dropped out and threw her support behind the Democrat Bill Owens. The Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman had repeatedly accused Scozzafava of being too moderate, in part because of her support for abortion rights, same-sex marriage and union rights. Several prominent national Republicans, including Sarah Palin and Fred Thompson, chose to endorse Hoffman over the Republican’s own candidate. On Sunday, White House adviser David Axelrod said the developments in New York send a clear message to Republican moderates that there’s no room in the party for them anymore.