Obama, in Economic Tour, Criticizes McCain Agenda 

RALEIGH, N.C. — With the Democratic stage to himself for the first time, Senator Barack Obama opened a two-week tour of battleground states on Monday, attacking Senator John McCain’s economic policies and moving to focus on the ailing economy as the central theme of the general election campaign.  Read article

As Prices Soar, McCain Returns to Gas Tax Holiday Proposal  

RICHMOND — On the day that Sen. Barack Obama launched a two-week economic tour, his Republican rival reiterated his criticism for opposing a gas tax holiday this summer to take the bite out of rising prices at the pumps.  At a fundraiser here, Sen. John McCain told donors that Obama “derided” his idea for a three-month holiday from federal gas taxes at the risk of alienating low income voters and truckers.  Read article

Laura Bush Praises Clinton, Defends Michelle Obama 

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia — First Lady Laura Bush made an unusual foray into the U.S. presidential campaign here today, praising Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) for her “grit and strength” and coming to the defense of Michelle Obama, the wife of the presumptive Democratic nominee. Read article

Were African-Americans at Iwo Jima

Sixty-three years after U.S. forces vanquished the Japanese and planted their flag on Iwo Jima’s Mount Suribachi, the remote outpost in the Volcano Islands is the focus of another pitched battle. This time, acclaimed film directors Clint Eastwood and Spike Lee are engaging in verbal warfare over the verisimilitude of Eastwood’s two films about the epic clash, Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima. Lee has claimed that by soft-pedaling African-American contributions to the battle, Eastwood is misrepresenting history. Read article