AP - Rep. Charles Rangel wrote six checks for about $10,800 in back taxes, and then penned an open letter to New Yorkers Friday, saying he has done nothing dishonorable and is the target of a GOP "guerrilla war."

AP - McCain says Fed shouldn't bail out failing financial institutions ... Poll: When it comes to watching football, more would hang with Obama than McCain — by a nose ... McCain, Obama campaigns target each other's economic advisers in latest television ads

AFP - US government measures to rid financial institutions of bad assets could add up to one trillion dollars, Republican Senator Richard Shelby said Friday.

AP - Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin said she expects a challenging debate next month when she faces a Democratic opponent who was elected to the Senate when she was 8 years old.

AP - Republican John McCain, buffeted by criticism about his response to Wall Street's financial problems, said Thursday he would fire the SEC chairman and create a special trust to help strengthen weak institutions.

AFP - John McCain's campaign Thursday refused to say whether the Republican candidate would welcome Spain's Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero -- the leader of a key NATO ally -- to his White House.

AP - Republican Gov. Haley Barbour agreed Thursday to move a special election for Trent Lott's old Senate seat to near the top of the November ballot, ending a dispute that had threatened to delay the start of absentee voting.

AP - Palin's husband joins witnesses stonewalling probe of charges GOP VP nominee abused power ... First Clinton, now Palin out of NYC rally; organizers say no American politicians coming ... Barack Obama on the ballot in Brazil; Is the Democrat keeping his options open after November? ...

AP - Nebraska Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel said his party's vice presidential nominee, Sarah Palin, lacks foreign policy experience and called it a "stretch" to say she's qualified to be president.