AP - Barack Obama inched closer to securing the Democratic presidential nomination on Friday, picking up five delegates, including a California congressman who switched his allegiance from Hillary Rodham Clinton.

AP - Sen. Barack Obama, who once said he would meet Cuban leader Raul Castro without preconditions, added Friday that he would do so "only when we have an opportunity to advance the interests of the United States and to advance the cause of freedom for the Cuban people."

Politico - It sounds crazy at first. Amid dire reports about the toxic political environment for Republican candidates and the challenges facing John McCain, many top GOP strategists believe he can defeat Barack Obama — and by a margin exceeding President Bush’s Electoral College victory in 2004.

AP - A well-known Texas pastor and televangelist said Friday his life's work has been "mischaracterized and attacked" in the media storm over his endorsement of Republican presidential candidate John McCain.

AP - John McCain, seeking to become the oldest elected first-term president, gets an in-depth skin cancer check every few months because of a medical history his own dermatologist calls "remarkable" for its number of dangerous melanomas.

AP - Cindy McCain, who two weeks ago said she would never make her tax returns public, revealed Friday that she had a total income of more than $6 million in 2006.

AP - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton quickly apologized Friday after citing the June 1968 assassination of Robert F. Kennedy in defending her decision to keep running for the Democratic presidential nomination despite increasingly long odds.

AFP - Prime Minister Brian Cowen appealed to Irish people Thursday to vote "Yes" in a crunch referendum on the European Union's Lisbon Treaty next month, saying it was of vital national interest.

AP - In a stunning vote that illustrated President Bush's diminished standing, the Senate on Thursday ignored his veto threat and added tens of billions of dollars for veterans and the unemployed to his Iraq war spending bill.

AP - Republican John McCain, a Vietnam War hero who hopes to be commander in chief, said Thursday that Democrat Barack Obama had no right to accuse him of political posturing on military scholarships because the Illinois senator did not serve in uniform.

AP - Barack Obama on Thursday promised "an unshakable commitment to Israel's security" as he sought to reassure doubtful Jewish voters. He also said he hopes to help improve relations between American blacks and Jews.

AP - Republican John McCain on Thursday rejected endorsements from two influential but controversial televangelists, saying there is no place for their incendiary criticisms of other faiths.