AP - A newcomer to Arizona, John McCain used his wife's wealth, ties to powerful Washington figures and, most of all, the emotional power of his five years in a Vietnamese prison to launch his political career 25 years ago.

AP - Alaska is young. Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia have growing populations and many black voters. Montana has seen recent Democratic inroads, and North Dakota has sent only Democrats to Congress since 1986. Indiana borders Barack Obama's home state.

AP - A small jet crashed Thursday while preparing to land at a regional airport in Minnesota, killing at least eight people, including casino and construction executives.

AFP - John McCain is finally making noise in the White House race, after weeks of anemic photo ops, scattershot attacks and looking on as Democrat Barack Obama soaked up adulation and opinion poll leads.

AP - Republican candidate John McCain's presidential campaign is cynical, not racist, in its efforts to distract voters from real issues, Democratic rival Barack Obama said Saturday.

AP - John McCain's campaign has asked Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor for personal documents as the Republican presidential candidate steps up his search for a running mate, The Associated Press has learned.

AP - Democratic candidate Barack Obama on Saturday backed away from rival John McCain's challenge for a series of joint appearances, agreeing only to the standard three debates in the fall.

AP - Five lives and millions of dollars later, the anthrax-by-mail mystery may be solved, but the way the post office and many government agencies handle the mail has undergone major changes.

AP - The Democratic-controlled Congress is working to overcome years of neglect by the Bush administration of agencies intended to safeguard the health of the public, especially children, a leading Democrat said Saturday.