AP - Republicans set aside the agenda to focus on hurricane relief in the opening hours of their national convention, only to see the scaled-back program for Day One overshadowed by jarring disclosures about the family and work life of John McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin.

AP - The U.S.-led coalition, Afghan government and the United Nations will launch a joint probe into last week's deadly raid in a village in the country's west, a top NATO official said Saturday.

AP - Cartons of food, water, blankets and other supplies to sustain 1 million people for three days were ready to be distributed Monday as FEMA anxiously eyed Louisiana levees to gauge how much damage Hurricane Gustav would wreak.

AP - First lady Laura Bush says she'll be addressing Monday's opening session of the Republican National Convention, but Day One of the gathering won't be the big celebration that once was planned.

AP - Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden is skipping a Labor Day parade in Pittsburgh to monitor storm developments as Hurricane Gustav strikes the Louisiana coast.

AP - Barack Obama urged hundreds of thousands of supporters Monday to donate to the Red Cross to help victims of Hurricane Gustav. The Democratic presidential nominee scaled back Labor Day speeches to unions in an effort to keep the focus on the Gulf Coast.

AP - Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama has canceled a planned overnight stay in Milwaukee to return to his Chicago headquarters and monitor Hurricane Gustav's damage to Gulf Coast states.

AP - John McCain's running mate Sarah Palin said Monday that her 17-year-old unmarried daughter is five months pregnant, an announcement campaign aides said was aimed at rebutting Internet rumors that Palin's youngest son, born in April, was actually her daughter's.

AP - Republicans hurried to turn the opening day of their national convention into a fundraising drive for hurricane victims, with presidential candidate John McCain's wife and first lady Laura Bush appealing for Gulf Coast help. McCain visited a disaster relief center in Ohio.

AP - David Paulison was having trouble with the little things — an agency phone number, remembering what day it was.

AP - Sordid bribery allegations and jokes about "cold cash" hidden in Rep. William Jefferson's freezer apparently did not matter much to voters two years ago when the New Orleans Democrat won a runoff election for his long-held congressional seat with a surprising 57 percent.

AP - Hurricane Katrina was an ugly turning point in the Bush presidency, demonstrating what happens when government incompetence and spin replace results. Now comes Hurricane Gustav, casting a cloud over the Republican National Convention and, possibly, John McCain's presidential ambitions.

AP - With Hurricane Gustav spinning toward landfall, lobbyists, corporations and industry groups are scrambling to put a solemn face on their glitzy GOP convention parties and still revel with big donors, delegates and members of Congress.