AFP - A majority of Americans believe that Democratic candidate Barack Obama will win the presidential election against Republican hopeful John McCain in November, a Fox News poll showed Thursday.

AP - House Republicans on Thursday scuttled a bill that Democrats hoped would help lower gasoline prices by forcing the Energy Department to release 70 million barrels of oil — about a three-day supply — from the national stockpile.

AP - Obama tells enormous Berlin crowd there are more walls to be torn down in fighting extremism ... With Obama in Berlin, McCain visits German restaurant in Ohio ... Hagel calls on candidates to focus on Iraq's future over past war strategy ... Rice not worried by Obama's foreign policy forays overseas ... Poll: Obama builds support among Hispanic voters ... Police seek to soften protesters' disruptions at GOP convention

AP - Borrowing from a European model, Minneapolis and St. Paul police hope to quell any disruptions at this summer's Republican National Convention by exchanging cell phone numbers and offering other olive branches to demonstrators.

AP - Quotes from John McCain, the Republican nominee-in-waiting.

AP - Supporters of maverick Rep. Ron Paul who are organizing a rally as an alternative to the Republican National Convention are moving their crosstown event to a larger venue.

AP - Construction crews began removing row after row of Xcel Energy Center seats. Forklift drivers slid load after load of electrical equipment off semi trucks. And the arena's manager handed over a ceremonial key to the building.

AP - Most lawmakers dream of getting their names linked to legislation. That won't be so when the Senate takes up what is unofficially being called the "Coburn Omnibus."

AFP - Republican White House hopeful John McCain is campaigning this week in states crucial to victory in the November election while the media spotlight shines on Democratic rival Barack Obama's trip abroad.

AP - Republicans are counting on a glitch-free convention to help lift the party's sagging morale and boost John McCain's presidential prospects when they assemble in this picturesque city on the Mississippi River in six weeks.

AP - Former Texas Sen. Phil Gramm resigned Friday from his role as GOP presidential candidate John McCain's campaign co-chairman, hoping to quiet the uproar that followed his comments that the United States had become a "nation of whiners" whose constant complaints about the U.S. economy show they are in a "mental recession."

AFP - Republican White House hopeful John McCain on Friday predicted a surge of militant attacks in Iraq around the time of the US election in November.

AP - President Bush, in the second half of a Southwestern fundraising trip Friday, backed the candidacy of Republican Pete Olson, who is challenging incumbent Rep. Nick Lampson in Texas' 22nd congressional district.

CQPolitics.com - Republican presidential candidate John McCain and the Republican Party are knocking on the door of history when it comes to joint fundraising committees.