AP - President Bush is skipping the Republican National Convention on Monday and will travel instead to Texas to meet with emergency workers and evacuees as Hurricane Gustav bears down on the Gulf Coast.

AP - Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama said Sunday he will tap his huge political network of donors and volunteers to help U.S. victims of Hurricane Gustav after it comes inland.

AP - John McCain ordered changes in the Republican National Convention that was to be a four-day celebration of his presidential nomination Sunday, to "redirect our efforts" to reflect the seriousness of Hurricane Gustav as it churned toward the Gulf Coast. President Bush, Vice President Cheney and prominent GOP governors decided to skip the gathering altogether.

AP - After reviewing a disputed airstrike on a village in Afghanistan, U.S. officials have concluded that the civilian death toll was far lower than claimed by the Afghan government and the U.N., three U.S. defense officials said Thursday.

AP - John McCain will try to reclaim his reformist image at a Republican National Convention tightly scripted to put some distance between the conservative presidential candidate and his party's unpopular standard-bearer, President Bush.

AP - Keep your eyes on Pennsylvania and Michigan.

AP - John McCain voiced concern for Gulf Coast residents fleeing the path of Hurricane Gustav on Saturday and made plans to visit Mississippi even as he reintroduced running mate Sarah Palin to a raucous crowd in a key battleground state.

AP - Likely GOP presidential nominee John McCain and his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, are traveling to Mississippi on Sunday to check on people getting prepared for Hurricane Gustav.

AFP - China on Thursday ruled out Taiwan joining agencies of the United Nations, frustrating hopes that its stance might soften after the island elected a more China-friendly president earlier this year.

AFP - Barack Obama and John McCain were to hold rival rallies in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania Saturday as the race for the White House intensified with McCain's surprise pick of Alaska's little-known governor, Sarah Palin, as his running mate.

AP - If Democrats hoped to portray John McCain as captive to the oil industry, their task became more complicated with his selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as a running mate.