Compiled by Mary Grace Lucas

CNN Washington Bureau

Washington Post: Poll Finds Independent Voters Split Between McCain, Obama
Buoyed by a public mood favoring Democrats, Sen. Barack Obama begins the general-election campaign holding a narrow advantage over Sen. John McCain, with independent voters emerging as a constituency critical to the Republican's hopes of winning the presidency in November.

Washington Post: McCain Seeks to End Offshore Drilling Ban
Sen. John McCain called yesterday for an end to the federal ban on offshore oil drilling, offering an aggressive response to high gasoline prices and immediately drawing the ire of environmental groups that the presumptive Republican presidential nominee has courted for months.

WSJ: Obama Plans Spending Boost, Possible Cut in Business Tax
Sen. Barack Obama shed new light on his economic plans for the country, saying he would rely on a heavy dose of government spending to spur growth, use the tax code to narrow the widening gap between winners and losers in the U.S. economy, and possibly back a reduction in corporate tax rates.

WSJ: Congress, Unloved and Supported
In an election year full of pretzel-like twists and turns, here's a new one: How can a record percentage of Americans say they disapprove of the job the Democratic-controlled Congress is doing — yet at the same time say, also by a record margin, they want this year's election to produce another Democratic-controlled Congress?

WSJ: House Lawmakers Release Financial Reports
The top Republican on the House Financial Services Committee, Rep. Spencer Bachus, profited from a series of risky options trades last year — one of many details in House members' annual financial-disclosure reports released Monday.

CNN: Gore endorses Obama, warns ‘elections matter’
Former Vice President Al Gore endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Monday, urging Americans to reject what he called the Bush administration’s legacy of “incompetence, negligence and failure.”

New York Sun: Gore's Clout To Be Tested After Obama Endorsement
Now that Vice President Gore has officially endorsed Senator Obama, Democrats will find out how much the Nobel laureate's newly elevated national stature can translate into electoral clout.

CNN: Obama proposes billions for infrastructure, education
Sen. Barack Obama Monday proposed spending billions to revitalize the nation's economy, a plan the campaign of his likely Republican opponent said would slow economic growth with higher taxes.

NY Times: Is McCain Like Bush? It Depends on the Issue
The Democrats like to say that electing Senator John McCain would usher in the third term of George W. Bush, and they do not mean it as a compliment. The Republicans counter that calling the senator “McBush” is political spin and that Mr. McCain is his own man.

NY Times: Army Overseer Tells of Ouster Over KBR Stir
The Army official who managed the Pentagon’s largest contract in Iraq says he was ousted from his job when he refused to approve paying more than $1 billion in questionable charges to KBR, the Houston-based company that has provided food, housing and other services to American troops.

Washington Times/ABC: VA testing drugs on war veterans; Experiments raise ethical questions
The government is testing drugs with severe side effects like psychosis and suicidal behavior on hundreds of military veterans, using small cash payments to attract patients into medical experiments that often target distressed soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, a Washington Times/ABC News investigation has found.

WSJ: U.S. Pushes a European Method To Help Banks Make Home Loans
The Bush administration, seeking to jump-start the struggling mortgage market, is pushing a method of financing popular in Europe that could make it easier for home buyers to obtain loans.

Boston Globe: Many states turning to paper ballots for fall
Florida's election fiasco in 2000 prompted many states to adopt electronic touch-screen voting systems, but after a spate of malfunctions and meltdowns in 2004 and 2006, paper ballots are making a big comeback.

Washington Times: Democrats ride Obama's surge
Down-ticket Democratic candidates usually limited to stumping for votes along parade routes and shaking hands with 40 people at pancake breakfasts will get a nice boost this year, thanks to the man at the top of the ticket.

Washington Post: In China, Fascination With Obama's Skin Color
America may be discussing whether Barack Obama is tough enough to field a 3 a.m. phone call, but for the Chinese Communist Party's official newspaper, the real issue is his race.

DC Examiner’s Yeas and Nays: John Kerry staying out of Obama’s spotlight
Don’t look for John Kerry, the Democrats’ 2004 nominee for president, to climb in the arena on behalf of Barack Obama anytime soon. Despite an endorsement of Obama early in the Democratic nominating process (just after the New Hampshire primary), Kerry has stayed out of Obama’s way.

CNN: Obama's path to presidency goes through Michigan
There might be a lot of routes to the White House for Sen. Barack Obama, but just about every one of those electoral roads runs through Michigan.

Politico: Are Dems talking about McCain’s age in ‘code’?
In a campaign year marked by flare-ups surrounding comments that have offended one group or another, John McCain and Barack Obama have moved on to the next sensitive battleground: the question of McCain’s advanced age.

DC Examiner’s Yeas and Nays: Heads (of state) or tails?
Sure, President Ulysses Grant and Benjamin Franklin look good on U.S. currency, but could Barack Obama or John McCain pull it off? “You could rotate them, they are all pretty photogenic,” said Sheila Bair, chairwoman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

CNN: Supreme Court accepts 9/11 detainee case
The Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether top government officials can be held personally liable for allegedly knowing of or condoning mistreatment of people detained after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

NY Times: A Quiet Dealmaker Works for Pained Homeowners
Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, a studious, introverted former Army Ranger, is one of the Democratic Party’s eminent voices on military affairs. But in neighborhoods hit hard by foreclosures, like the West End of Providence, it is Mr. Reed’s lesser-known expertise on housing policy that is proving critical these days.

CNN: Is America's suburban dream collapsing into a nightmare?
When Shaun Yandell proposed to his longtime girlfriend Gina Marasco on the doorstep of their new home in the sunny suburb of Elk Grove, California, four years ago, he never imagined things would get this bad. But they did, and it happened almost overnight.

CNN: Wedding bells chime for California same-sex couples
California officials began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples Monday evening after a state Supreme Court ruling legalizing the ceremonies took effect.

Washington Post: Groups Push to Restore Va. Felons' Voting Rights
Civic and social organizations are teaming with Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine to try to add thousands of nonviolent offenders to the voting rolls in time for the November election, a move that has angered Republicans who say the effort is designed to help Democratic Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign.

NY Times: Grand Juries Become Latest Abortion Battlefield
Opponents of Dr. George Tiller and his clinic here, one of the nation’s few providers of late-term abortions, have tried many ways to stop him over three decades. They have held protests, lobbied lawmakers and complained persistently to state regulators and prosecutors. There have also been several acts of violence, including one in which Dr. Tiller was shot in both arms. Now his opponents are using a legal tactic that some find startling and others consider inspired.

Washington Post: Senator Seeks to Pay Legal Fees With Campaign Funds
Sen. Ulysses Currie, under federal investigation in connection with consulting work he performed for a grocery store chain, has asked the Maryland State Board of Elections whether he can use campaign funds to pay for his legal fees.

Washington Post: Wynn Discloses Modest Holdings; Ex-House Member's Assets at Low End in Financial Reports
In case anyone was wondering why Albert R. Wynn quit Congress early to join a major lobbying law firm, another possible clue emerged yesterday. The House of Representatives released members' 2007 financial disclosure forms and Wynn once again appeared near the bottom of the wealth rankings. He reported just one asset, a Maryland college fund account worth $1,001 to $15,000.