Compiled by Mary Grace Lucas, CNN Washington Bureau
Obama Takes Delegate Majority
Sen. Barack Obama crossed another threshold last night in his march toward the Democratic presidential nomination, splitting a pair of primaries with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and claiming a majority of the pledged delegates at stake in the long nomination battle.
WSJ: Clinton Keeps Up Fight
Heading into twin Democratic primaries Tuesday in Kentucky and Oregon — which the two candidates are expected to split — Sen. Hillary Clinton is vowing to stay in the race to the end, even as her staff and supporters show further signs of fraying. In an interview in Bowling Green, Ky., on Sunday where she was campaigning ahead of Tuesday's vote, Sen. Clinton said, "I'm still here because I think I would be the best president."
Youngest Kennedy Brother Enhanced Legacy, and Built His Own
For millions of Americans, the announcement that Sen. Edward M. Kennedy has brain cancer was at least the fourth chapter of a tragic epic that began on Nov. 22, 1963, with the assassination of John F. Kennedy. It continued through the death of his brother Robert in 1968, then of John Jr. in a plane crash in 1999. And yesterday it was the sudden reminder of the mortality of the last surviving son of Joseph P. Kennedy, the patriarch who created this family of strivers and doers.
LA Times: McCain, in Miami, promises to continue isolating Cuba
Sen. John McCain on Tuesday laid out his plans for strengthening democracy and U.S. influence in Latin America, vowing to extend free-trade pacts throughout the region and to continue isolating Cuba until the communist-ruled island frees political prisoners
How Obama and Clinton won
The two states that voted Tuesday were tailor-made for the Democratic Party's two candidates. Barack Obama's sizable victory was due to the more liberal, independent, upper-class and West Coast electorate of Oregon. Hillary Clinton's whopping victory was possible thanks to the more moderate, more blue-collar, Upper South electorate of Kentucky.
AP: Obama, Clinton Top McCain in Fundraising
Democratic Sen. Barack Obama, his presidential money apparatus slowed only slightly, raised more than $31 million in April, outdistancing Republican John McCain, who nevertheless enjoyed his best fundraising month yet. Despite increasingly long odds at winning the Democratic nomination, the Clinton campaign raised $22 million in April — also surpassing the mark set by the McCain campaign in the month.
LA Times: Obama's strategy now faces a bigger test
Barack Obama declared Tuesday night that he has now secured a majority of the elected delegates in his pursuit of the Democratic presidential nomination. But just as important as reaching that landmark is the symbolism of where he chose to celebrate it — in Iowa — and where he will campaign today — in Florida.
The Hill: Panel nixes Bush order on earmarks
House Democrats have escalated their shoving match with the White House over so-called “air-dropped” earmarks.
Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.), who chairs the Armed Services panel, tucked a provision in the chairman’s
WSJ: Senate Loads War-Funding Bill
President George W. Bush's request to fund U.S. combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan until his successor can take over hit a rocky patch in the Senate on Tuesday. Democratic leaders were forced to jettison a provision to award work permits for immigrant farm labor and seasonal workers just hours after beginning debate on legislation to add domestic programs to Bush's war request.
Politico: Merkley tops Novick, will challenge Sen. Smith
State Rep. Jeff Merkley won the Democratic primary and the right to face Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) on Tuesday, topping activist Steve Novick in a hard-fought contest.
Also, in Oregon’s open House race, GOP businessman Mike Erickson beat former gubernatorial candidate Kevin Mannix and will face state Sen. Kurt Schrader for retiring Rep. Darlene Hooley’s (D) seat.
Washington Post: Back in Iowa, Obama Celebrates the Past And Eyes the Future
Sen. Barack Obama returned Tuesday night to where his presidential candidacy first took off, while his campaign began to shift its focus from the Democratic primary fight to the general election.
Washington Post: McCain Assails Obama Over Readiness To Talk With Hostile Foreign Leaders
Sen. John McCain stepped up his assault on Sen. Barack Obama's foreign policy credentials at a rally in Miami yesterday, criticizing Obama's willingness to talk to Cuban President Ra¿l Castro and other hostile foreign leaders without preconditions. But McCain's argument was undercut when a 2006 video emerged of former secretary of state James A. Baker III, a prominent McCain supporter, saying that "talking to an enemy is not in my view appeasement."
WSJ: U.S. Aims to Buoy Student-Loan Market
Hoping to bolster a shaky student loan market, the Bush Administration will use U.S. Treasury funds to buy loans from private lenders and invest in special loan-backed trusts.
