AP - Democrat Barack Obama sought to link Republican rival John McCain to President Bush's economic policies as the two presidential candidates maneuvered for the upper hand on a top concern of voters.

AP - John McCain is starting a California campaign that might already be over.

AP - The airplane carrying Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama made a precautionary landing in St. Louis on Monday after the crew had a problem keeping the nose up on takeoff from Chicago.

AFP - US President George W. Bush pledged Sunday to play a "constructive" role on climate change at a summit of rich nations, but hopes for a breakthrough were dim as he pressed developing countries.

AP - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama took a day off the campaign trail Sunday in Chicago, attending a neighborhood barbecue with his family.

AP - Republican presidential hopeful John McCain attended church Sunday and later visited a Veterans Affairs hospital in his hometown.

Politico - Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) plans to promise on Monday that he will balance the federal budget by the end of his first term by curbing wasteful spending and overhauling entitlement programs, including Social Security, his advisers told Politico.

AP - John Kerry says Republican John McCain doesn't have the judgment to be president.

AP - There's a great unknown about Sen. John McCain's health plan: How many employers would drop insurance coverage for their workers because of his tax policies?

AP - President Bush and new Russian President Dmitry Medvedev stood united Monday on issues like Iran and North Korea. But for all their handshakes and smiles, it is clear that thorny issues like missile defense are in a holding pattern until a new U.S. president takes office.

AFP - US President George W. Bush and French President Nicolas Sarkozy had "fierce" arguments at last year's Group of Eight summit, Japan's then premier Shinzo Abe said Sunday.

AP - Democrats bent on showing they can govern and Republicans anxious about a sour re-election climate are pushing a pared-down summer agenda in Congress. Lawmakers want to try to save homeowners from foreclosure, avert Medicare cuts and give the government power to spy on suspected terrorists.

AP - Home foreclosures will keep rising next year no matter who is elected president in November.

Politico - An independent-expenditure arm of the Republican National Committee has begun a 10-day, $3 million ad campaign in swing states attacking Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) as “just the party line.”