AP - Former Republican Rep. Bob Barr launched a Libertarian Party presidential bid Monday, saying voters are hungry for an alternative to the status quo who would dramatically cut the federal government.

AP - Wearing a flag lapel pin, Sen. Barack Obama emphasized his patriotism and support for a strong and humane military Monday, while Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton implored West Virginians to sustain her hopes of somehow denying him the Democratic presidential nomination.

AP - John McCain broke with the Bush administration and Republican Party orthodoxy Monday as he not only declared global warming real, but reached out to Democrats and independents with a free-market solution that includes capping carbon-fuel emissions.

AP - Doris Smith went downtown early Monday to see about getting tickets to Barack Obama's rally. Advance seats were sold out, she said, and the only option was to stand in line for up two hours or more and hope for the best.

AP - Once Hillary Rodham Clinton jumped into the presidential race with an "in it to win it" flourish. Now Democrats speculate endlessly about an exit strategy that she ponders privately, if at all.

AFP - Hillary Clinton looked headed Monday for landslide wins in two looming primaries, despite pressure for her to cede to Barack Obama's mathematical lock on the Democratic White House race.

AP - Barack Obama's wave of superdelegate endorsements puts him within reach of the Democratic presidential nomination by the end of the primary season on June 3 — even if he loses half of the remaining six contests.

AFP - The US Supreme Court Monday allowed a multi-billion dollar lawsuit to go forward against a group of top international corporations accused of aiding the apartheid-era South African government.

AP - Former Republican Rep. Bob Barr launched a Libertarian Party presidential bid Monday, saying voters are hungry for an alternative to the status quo who would dramatically cut the federal government.

AP - The revolving door between former members of Congress and lucrative lobbying firms usually leads one way. But Jim Slattery is trying to make a U-turn.

AP - The United States has "massive concern" about whether its aid for Myanmar's cyclone victims will get to those suffering from disease and a lack of food and water, the director of the U.S. office of foreign disaster assistance said Monday.