Bob Casey to endorse Obama, join bus tour  —  Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey plans to endorse Sen. Barack Obama for president today in Pittsburgh, sending a message both to the state's primary voters and to undecided superdelegates who might decide the close race for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Leahy says Clinton should drop out of race  —  (Host) Will a protracted battle between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination hurt the Party's chances of winning the November election?  —  Senator Patrick Leahy, who supports Obama, says the answer is yes …

U.S. Planes Attack Militia Strongholds in Basra Fighting  —  BAGHDAD —American military forces for the first time conducted air strikes on targets in Basra late Thursday, joining Iraqi security forces in trying to oust Shiite militias in the southern port city.

Gallup Daily: Obama Back Into Lead in Democratic Race  —  McCain enjoys advantage in general election trial heat  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Today's Gallup Poll Daily tracking update finds Barack Obama with an eight percentage point advantage over Hillary Clinton (50% to 42%) …

Gore thinks Dem nomination will be set before convention  —  MURFREESBORO - Former Vice President Al Gore said Thursday that he expects the Democratic nomination fight will “resolve itself” before the party's convention in late August.  —  Gore told The Associated Press that he sees no urgency in endorsing a presidential candidate.

McCain Ad: Cue the Ugly “American” Campaign  —  The American president Americans have been waiting for!  —  That's the tag line on John McCain's new ad, which features a film clip of McCain as a captured POW and a baritone-voice narrator asking, “What must a president believe about us, about America?”

Loans and Leadership  —  When George W. Bush first ran for the White House, political reporters assured us that he came across as a reasonable, moderate guy.  —  Yet those of us who looked at his policy proposals — big tax cuts for the rich and Social Security privatization — had a very different impression.

Rice hits U.S. ‘birth defect’  —  Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said yesterday that the United States still has trouble dealing with race because of a national “birth defect” that denied black Americans the opportunities given to whites at the country's very founding.

Dave Marash quits Al-Jazeera English  —  NEW YORK - Former “Nightline” reporter Dave Marash has quit Al-Jazeera English, saying Thursday his exit was due in part to an anti-American bias at a network that is little seen in this country.  —  Marash said he felt that attitude …

GIULIANI WEIGHING ‘SPECIAL’ RUN FOR GOV  —  In the latest twist in New York politics, Rudy Giuliani is eyeing a run for governor in a special election this fall should Gov. Paterson be forced to resign, sources say.  —  A top adviser to the former mayor, who pulled the plug on his presidential bid …

42 Democrats Vow a Drawdown in Iraq If They Win Seats  —  More than three dozen Democratic congressional candidates banded together yesterday to promise that, if elected, they will push for legislation calling for an immediate drawdown of troops in Iraq that would leave only a security force …

Getting Mrs. Clinton  —  I think we've reached a signal point in the campaign.  This is the point where, with Hillary Clinton, either you get it or you don't.  There's no dodging now.  You either understand the problem with her candidacy, or you don't.  You either understand who she is, or not.