AP - John McCain put a top adviser in control of day-to-day campaign operations Wednesday after weeks of private concerns among Republicans that the GOP presidential campaign had not made the transition for the general election.

AP - Kind of blue — Obama hopes to flip Republican red states ... McCain to meet Mexican president on Thursday at end of Latin American trip ... Obama, McCain competing for the center, an elusive, disengaged yet crucial crowd

AP - A local police officer involved in a motorcycle crash got a consolation prize Thursday — a chance to meet Barack Obama.

AP - John McCain toured Mexico's holiest Roman Catholic site and received a blessing from its monsignor Thursday, the final day of a three-day Latin America tour.

AP - They're the most fickle voters, and potentially the most powerful. Thus, with party nominations secure, John McCain and Barack Obama now are pushing toward the center to win them over.

AP - It will be a red-state Fourth of July for Barack Obama, who hopes to find votes as well as fireworks in places that blue-state Democrats often bypass in presidential elections.

AP - John McCain denied a Republican colleague's claim that he roughed up an associate of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega on a diplomatic mission in 1987, saying the allegation was "simply not true."

AP - Republicans deemed it beyond the pale when Sen. John McCain crossed the Capitol, set up shop in an office belonging to House Democrats and lobbied wavering lawmakers on legislation to reduce the role of money in politics.

AP - An independent arm of the Republican National Committee plans to spend $3 million on an ad campaign contrasting GOP presidential candidate John McCain to Democrat Barack Obama on energy security.