AP - France's six-month European Union presidency got off to a shaky start Tuesday amid bickering between the bloc's trade chief and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, and glum comments from Poland's leader on the EU's future direction.

AFP - A senior US senator said he would push Congress to adopt a civilian nuclear deal with India if New Delhi was keen to pursue it as reported.

AP - Mayor Gavin Newsom has taken his first public step toward seeking higher office, filing papers to form an exploratory committee for a potential gubernatorial bid in 2010.

AP - Brandon Ziegler served two tours in Iraq and wears a bracelet inscribed with the name of an Army buddy who never made it home. Jim Morin saw action in both Iraq and Afghanistan and has lost several friends to the war in Iraq, the latest just a month ago.

Politico - Four months have passed since John McCain effectively captured the party nomination, and the insiders are getting restless. Top GOP officials, frustrated by what they view as inconsistent messaging, sluggish fundraising and an organization that is too slow to take shape, are growing increasingly uneasy about the direction of the McCain presidential campaign.

AP - Retired Gen. Wesley Clark rejected suggestions he apologize Tuesday for saying John McCain's medal-winning military service does not qualify him for the White House. Elaborating, Clark said a president must have judgment, not merely courage and character.

AP - Taking a page from President Bush, Democrat Barack Obama said Tuesday he wants to expand White House efforts to steer social service dollars to religious groups, risking protests in his own party with his latest aggressive reach for voters who usually vote Republican.

AP - A Republican congressional candidate in a majority-white Mississippi district runs ads trying to tie his Democratic rival with Barack Obama's former pastor, seen by some as an anti-white firebrand. Democrats distribute fliers accusing the Republican of wanting a statue to honor the founder of the Ku Klux Klan.

AP - Republican John McCain planned to tour a Colombian port by boat Wednesday to get a firsthand look at the country's drug interdiction programs, a day after he praised President Alvaro Uribe for Colombia's anti-drug efforts but pressed him to improve the government's record on human rights.

AP - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe will not step down and Western critics who called the country's recent election a sham can "go hang," the longtime ruler's spokesman said Tuesday.

AP - Obama announces support and expansion for Bush's faith based programs ... McCain to visit Colombia, Mexico to show support for free trade ... McCain to visit Colombia, Mexico to show support for free trade

AP - Ret. Army Gen. Wesley Clark said Democrat Barack Obama played no part in remarks he made about Republican John McCain's qualifications to be president that have been sharply criticized by the GOP candidate's supporters.

Politico - Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) plans to slam President Bush’s faith-based program as “a photo op” and a failure on Tuesday, and says he would scrap the office and create a new Council for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships that would be a “critical” part of his administration.