Elections

WASHINGTON - John McCain and Barack Obama outlined steps to counter the faltering economy and plummeting stock market on Friday, fresh evidence of the dominant role of pocketbook issues in their race for the White House.

WASHINGTON - Republican John McCain, trailing in polls and searching for a way to gain ground, assailed Democratic rival Barack Obama on Friday in a sharply worded TV ad that said: "When convenient, he worked with terrorist Bill Ayers. When discovered, he lied."

CHILLICOTHE, Ohio - Presidential candidate Barack Obama on Friday accused Republican John McCain of trying to divide the country, but he let fellow Democrats handle harsher attacks while he kept his message mostly upbeat.

After a thoroughly panned presidential debate, a wide-ranging coalition is calling on Barack Obama and John McCain to change the rules for the last presidential debate to guarantee that voters get the answers they deserve.

WASHINGTON - As John McCain and Barack Obama vie to become president, certain fevered voices persist in saying they should not even be allowed to try.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Alaska lawmakers met behind closed doors Friday to discuss a politically charged ethics report into Gov. Sarah Palin's firing of her state public safety commissioner.

TROY, N.Y. - Who is running for president? In an upstate New York county, hundreds of voters have been sent absentee ballots in which they could vote for "Barack Osama."

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden said Friday that Republican John McCain is trying to "take the lowest road to the highest office in America," with ads and rhetoric questioning Barack Obama's character and judgment.

LA CROSSE, Wis. - John McCain proposed Friday that the elderly be allowed to hang on to the stocks in their retirement funds and not be forced to sell them in a bad market.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A judge has ordered the state of Alaska to preserve any government-related e-mails that Gov. Sarah Palin sent from private accounts.

CORAL GABLES, Fla. - President Bush worked to allay fears about the financial crisis on Friday then left the White House and headed south to raise nearly $2 million for the Republican Party in South Carolina and the battleground state of Florida.

In his bid to become the next governor of Missouri, Rep. Kenny Hulshof survived a bitter primary that at one point saw the candidates bashing each other for supporting public funding for drugs such as Viagra.

THE POLL: Fox News/Opinion Dynamics, national presidential race among registered voters

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Reuters) - White House Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said on Friday that U.S. policymakers have the tools they need to address the deepening financial crisis but it is crucial that they use them right away.

Obama proposes tax breaks, loans for small business; McCain wants to halt retiree stock sales ... McCain hammers Obama in ad over his links to 1960s radical ... Obama says McCain stokes anger and division to 'rile up' people ... Alaska lawmakers discuss report on Palin abuse-of-power investigation ... Biden says McCain trying to distract voters with 'baseless' accusations

THE VILLAGES, Fla. - The town squares here reliably fill at the same time every day as retirees pile in for singing and dancing. Restaurants offer the same early-bird specials on the same days each week, and patrons wake up to swallow the same pills over the same breakfast. There is a rhythm to life, one often found in the familiarity and comfort of routines.

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - The Barack Obama presidential campaign will pay NBC and CBS almost $1 million each for the campaign's half-hour ad buy in primetime on October 29, according to documents made available by the respective networks.

PHOENIX - A half sister of Cindy McCain, wife of Republican presidential candidate John McCain, has died of Alzheimer's disease, the family announced.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Amid the biting economic crisis, the White House contenders are adopting different styles: Republican John McCain is on the attack against his rival, while Democrat Barack Obama has urged calm.

JUNEAU, Alaska (AFP) - The report into abuse of power allegations against Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin is poised to be released Friday after Alaska lawmakers review findings of the probe.

LAS VEGAS - Cindy Florez can't always remember the name of the man who will get her vote for president, but she knows his party and that's enough.

ASHBURN, Va. - As the presidential race revs up, political conversations in NFL locker rooms echo those in workplaces nationwide.

CHILLICOTHE, Ohio (Reuters) - Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama said on Friday a mounting financial crisis required coordinated global steps as he focused on the U.S. economy and rejected Republican John McCain's personal attacks.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - In the mythology of the last-chance campaign debate, the candidate trying to catch up strides out strong, gets tough with the other guy and delivers a performance that changes the race.

WASHINGTON - A campaign finance watchdog group on Friday filed a complaint with federal regulators against two groups — one pro-Republican and the other pro-Democrat — alleging they violated the law by airing political ads during the presidential contest.

A new Republican Party ad called “Chicago Way” whacks Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) for his ties to “political boss William Daley,” shown in sinister black and white. 

NEW YORK (AFP) - They stumbled in 2000, and fell on their faces in 2004 -- so can anyone believe what opinion pollsters say about Barack Obama's lead over John McCain today?

Barack Obama attacked John McCain on Friday for launching a “barrage of nasty insinuations and attacks” as the stock market tumbled. 

CHILLICOTHE, Ohio (AFP) - White House hopeful Barack Obama called for a global response to the deepening financial crisis Friday as ministers from the world's major wealthy democracies headed to Washington for emergency weekend talks.