AFP - Barack Obama sought Thursday to refocus the ill-tempered White House campaign back onto voter anxieties as he castigated the "lies and phony outrage" of his Republican foes over a farmyard taunt.

AP - A scandal involving sex, drugs and — uh, offshore oil drilling.

AP - With easy primary victories behind them, Sen. Norm Coleman and his Democratic challenger, Al Franken, wasted no time Wednesday working to firm up the messages that will carry them through the general election.

AP - The federal judge overseeing the corruption trial of Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens refused his lawyers' requests Wednesday to throw out the case and indicated a flurry of last-minute legal motions and inquiries won't stop the trial from beginning this month.

AP - Joe Biden said Wednesday that Republican John McCain is aiming the same kind of attacks at Democratic nominee Barack Obama that Biden had defended McCain against during the 2000 White House race.

AP - House Democrats offered a broader drilling proposal Wednesday that would allow offshore energy development beyond 50 miles from the coast if a state gives the go-ahead and opens all federal waters 100 miles from land.