NORTHERN IOWA - About 70 people spent the night at the Comfort Inn as campaign aides attempted to clean up after their candidate's train derailed.

Sometime after 9 a.m. Thursday John McCain's "Straight Talk Express" left the track and ruptured, releasing a horrible stench about a quarter-mile south of Highway 105. Officials are unsure when it will be safe for residents to return to area homes.

According to eyewitnesses, the train left the tracks after the candidate was asked, "should U.S. taxpayer money go to places like Africa to fund contraception to prevent AIDS?" Following a series of awkward pauses and looks up at the ceiling, reporters said the train suddenly "lurched very badly, from side to side" before it turned over completely.

The wrecked train was removed from the site and the horrible smell was contained, McCain's press secretary, Brian Jones said.