Reuters - Hillary Clinton distanced herself on Thursday from a push to convince former Democratic rival Barack Obama he should select her as his running mate and said the decision on a vice president was his alone to make.

AP - Barack Obama, now cast as the Democrats' standard-bearer, moved quickly to put his imprint on the national party Thursday, eager to reinforce its fundraising operation and pursue an aggressive general election campaign.

AP - Barack Obama reveled Thursday in his newfound status as the likely Democratic nominee and signaled that Republicans face a fierce fight over Virginia this fall, a state long-held by the GOP.

AP - Senate Republicans appeared ready to turn back an ambitious plan to reduce the risks of global warming after a week in which bipartisan bickering and political posturing seemed to drown out the environmental debate.

AP - Republican John McCain was confronted Thursday about why he opposed an Everglades restoration measure that had broad support from Florida officials, including Republican Gov. Charlie Crist and GOP Sen. Mel Martinez.

Reuters - Hillary Clinton will end her presidential bid and declare her support for Barack Obama, she said in a letter on Thursday, concluding a grueling 16-month nominating fight that split the Democratic Party.

AP - Acting swiftly as his party's presumed presidential nominee, Barack Obama is keeping Howard Dean at the helm of the Democratic National Committee, while bringing in one of his top strategists to oversee the party's operations.

AP - Democrat Barack Obama hopes Virginia, a former GOP stronghold with a legacy of slavery and segregation, is fertile ground as he seeks to crack the Republican bastion of the South and become the first black president.

AP - Barack Obama reveled Thursday in his newfound status as the likely Democratic nominee and signaled that Republicans face a fierce fight over Virginia this fall, a state long-held by the GOP.

Reuters - Republican presidential candidate John McCain proposed on Wednesday that Democrat Barack Obama join him in at least 10 face-to-face encounters at town hall meetings this summer.

Reuters - A day after Barack Obama claimed the Democratic party's presidential nomination, his one-time fundraiser was found guilty of corruption on Wednesday, a development the Republican party said raises serious concerns about his fitness for the White house.

Reuters - Hillary Clinton will declare her strong support for Barack Obama's White House bid and rally supporters around him, she said in a letter on Thursday, drawing the curtain on a grueling 16-month nominating fight that badly split the Democratic Party.

AP - John McCain asked Barack Obama to join him in 10 town hall meetings with voters in the coming months, and their campaigns began negotiations to make it happen. McCain, the Republican nominee-in-waiting, made the request Wednesday, the day after Obama clinched the Democratic nomination.

AP - Democrat Barack Obama hopes Virginia, a former GOP stronghold with a legacy of slavery and segregation, is fertile ground as he seeks to crack the Republican bastion of the South and become the first black president.