Clinton outwardly confident, even as hopes dim

By Elise Amendola (AP)

Her presidential bid needs a miracle, so Hillary Rodham Clinton prayed for one Sunday in church.

Arriving amid thunderstorms, Clinton and her daughter, Chelsea, took seats in the second row of First United Methodist Church and listened to a sermon about Mother\'s Day.

\"Give us eyes to see the miracles around us,\" Dr. Paul Russell said, leading the worshippers in prayer. Hillary Clinton read along with the congregation.

Mother\'s Day was Clinton\'s theme Sunday as she sought to remind Democrats of her strong support among women while campaigning for the big win in West...

By Jae C. Hong (AP)

Barack Obama began sketching the outlines of his expected presidential contest against Republican John McCain on Saturday, saying the fall election will be more about specific plans and priorities than about questions of political ideology or who is more patriotic.

Barely mentioning Democratic rival Hillary Rodham Clinton, Obama said he was open to campaigning with McCain in \"town hall\" events. But he also warned that controversial issues such as McCain\'s ties to the Keating Five savings and loan scandal are fair game, and he called McCain\'s proposal for a temporary halt in the...

By Jae C. Hong (AP)

Barack Obama began sketching the outlines of his expected presidential contest against Republican John McCain on Saturday, saying the fall election will be more about specific plans and priorities than about questions of political ideology or who is more patriotic.

Barely mentioning Democratic rival Hillary Rodham Clinton, Obama said he was open to campaigning with McCain in \"town hall\" events. But he also warned that controversial issues such as McCain\'s ties to the Keating Five savings and loan scandal are fair game, and he called McCain\'s proposal for a temporary halt in the...

By James J. Lee (AP)

On this 100th anniversary of Mother\'s Day, the woman credited with creating one of the world\'s most celebrated holidays probably wouldn\'t be pleased with all the flowers, candy or gifts.

Anna Jarvis would want us to give mothers a white carnation _ she felt it signified the purity of a mother\'s love.

Jarvis, who never married and never had children, got the Mother\'s Day idea after her mother said it would be nice if someone created a memorial to mothers.

Three years after her mother died in 1905, she organized the first official mother\'s day service at a church...

By Michael Conroy (AP)

Three-week-old Kevin fussed in mother Melissa Lankey\'s arms until she started singing softly to him, \"Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.\" The newborn began dozing within seconds.

\"That\'s kind of our little song. It usually calms him right down,\" Lankey said.

Lankey did not sing the tune in the baby\'s bedroom. She was behind bars at the Indiana Women\'s Prison, where a new program allows some inmates to keep their newborns in their cells for up to 18 months.

The program debuted last month, becoming the sixth in the nation in a growing trend...

By Jae C. Hong (AP)

Campaigning a few miles from each other Friday, Barack Obama trained his eye on November and the GOP, while Hillary Rodham Clinton battled for her political life, trying to hang on a few more weeks or even days in hopes of denying him the Democratic presidential nomination.

Obama, increasingly confident that Clinton cannot overtake his lead, ignored her in his prepared remarks at a Portland-area workplace. Instead he pointedly criticized Republican Sen. John McCain\'s economic, health and Iraq policies, saying the probable GOP nominee would continue failed Bush administration...

By Susan Walsh (AP)

Barack Obama all but erased Hillary Rodham Clinton\'s once-imposing lead among national convention superdelegates on Friday and won fresh labor backing as elements of the Democratic Party began coalescing around the Illinois senator for the fall campaign.

Obama picked up the backing of nine superdelegates, including Rep. Donald Payne of New Jersey, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus who had been a Clinton supporter.

In addition, the American Federation of Government Employees announced its support for Obama. The union claims about 600,000 members who work in the...

By Susan Walsh (AP)

Barack Obama all but erased Hillary Rodham Clinton\'s once-imposing lead among national convention superdelegates on Friday and won fresh labor backing as elements of the Democratic Party began coalescing around the Illinois senator for the fall campaign.

Obama picked up the backing of six superdelegates, including Rep. Donald Payne of New Jersey, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus who had been a Clinton supporter.

In addition, the American Federation of Government Employees announced its support for Obama. The union claims about 600,000 members who work in the...

By Pablo Martinez Monsivais (AP)

Barack Obama\'s sprint to the Democratic nomination received another boost Friday as two more superdelegates pledged their support, including one who dropped his backing for Hillary Rodham Clinton\'s faltering White House bid.

The two Democrats have been lobbying superdelegates _ who are not bound by state results _ to line up behind them in the final push for the nomination. While Obama has presented himself, albeit subtly, as the inevitable candidate, Clinton\'s efforts have been to ward off further defections and convince the crucial voting block that her candidacy still...

By Pablo Martinez Monsivais (AP)

Hillary Rodham Clinton, defying electoral math stacked against her, is urging supporters to ignore predictions that her White House bid was over. Barack Obama, meanwhile, was reaching out to top Democrats who could help seal a historic nomination well within his grasp.

Clinton spent some of Thursday in West Virginia _ the next battleground and where she is favored to win _ telling supporters that she had faced similar pressure to withdraw before she went on to win New Hampshire, Ohio, Texas and Pennsylvania\'s primaries.

\"I\'m running to be president of all 50 states,\" said...

By Jeff Chiu (AP)

Organized labor is paying more attention to Republican John McCain as Democrat Barack Obama solidifies his status as the front-runner in the Democratic contest against Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The AFL-CIO, which has not endorsed anyone in the Democratic primary, announced Wednesday that it is sending more than 6,000 of its people to more than 22 states during the next two weekends to talk to more than 200,000 union voters about McCain.

\"Senator McCain\'s economic path would lead to disaster for America\'s working families,\" said John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO, the...

By Susan Walsh (AP)

Sen. Barack Obama got a front-runner\'s welcome back at the Capitol Thursday, pressing congressional \"superdelegates\" to support him in a visit that had the look and feel of a campaign victory lap.

On the House floor, he was quickly surrounded by well-wishers calling him, \"Mr. President\" and reaching out to pat him on the back or shake his hand. The glad-handers included a few Republicans and supporters of his Democratic presidential rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton.

He picked up the superdelegate support of at least two lawmakers: Rep. Brad Miller of North Carolina, where...

By Charles Dharapak (AP)

Sen. Barack Obama got a front-runner\'s welcome back at the Capitol Thursday, pressing congressional \"superdelegates\" to support him in a visit that had the look and feel of a campaign victory lap.

On the House floor, he was quickly surrounded by well-wishers calling him, \"Mr. President\" and reaching out to pat him on the back or shake his hand. The glad-handers included a few Republicans and supporters of his Democratic presidential rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton.

He picked up the superdelegate support of at least two lawmakers: Rep. Brad Miller of North Carolina, where...

By Elise Amendola (AP)

Her voice raspy, her tone determined, Hillary Rodham Clinton urged cheering supporters on Thursday to ignore the political pundits who have declared her toast.

The former first lady declared she would move forward with her campaign and insisted anew that she, not rival Barack Obama, would be the stronger Democratic candidate to face Republican John McCain in November.

At a rally under the dome of the West Virginia Capitol, Clinton dismissed calls for her to drop out, calling the situation \"deja vu.\" She said she had faced similar pressure before going on to win New...

By Elise Amendola (AP)

Hillary Clinton is pushing on in her race for the Democratic White House bid, despite calls to drop out. She has events scheduled today in the upcoming primary states of Oregon, South Dakota and West Virginia. Barack Obama will be in Washington today.

With her money drained and her options dwindling, a resolute Hillary Rodham Clinton vowed to press on with her presidential bid even as she and top advisers were hard-pressed to describe a realistic path for her to wrest the nomination from Barack Obama.

After a wrenching primary outcome Tuesday in which she was routed in North...

By Jeff Chiu (AP)

IN THE HEADLINES

Evidence scant that Wright did much damage to Obama in Ind., N.C. primaries ... Michigan Dems agree to ask DNC committee to split delegates 69-59 between Clinton, Obama ... McCain\'s Navy record and medals chronicle the career, heroism of a pilot and POW

___

Evidence scant that Wright hurt Obama much in Ind., N.C.

WASHINGTON (AP) _ The reaction _ or lack of it _ by Indiana and North Carolina voters to the Rev. Jeremiah Wright\'s incendiary comments emphasizes how deeply entrenched the racial lines of support are for the two Democratic presidential...

By Elise Amendola (AP)

Her money drained and her options dwindling, a resolute Hillary Rodham Clinton vowed Wednesday to press on with her presidential bid even as she and top advisers were hard-pressed to describe a realistic path for her to wrest the nomination from Barack Obama.

After a wrenching primary outcome Tuesday in which she was routed in North Carolina and barely won Indiana, Clinton made a hastily scheduled trip to West Virginia to show her determination to fight on. The state holds a primary next Tuesday.

\"I\'m so happy to be here in West Virginia and excited about the next week as...

By Charlie Neibergall (AP)

Apart from George McGovern, a plainspoken man who knows something about losing elections, not a single Democrat of national stature publicly urged Hillary Rodham Clinton on Wednesday to end her campaign for the White House.

They didn\'t have to.

There was no shortage of other ways to signal, suggest, insinuate or instigate the same thing. And certainly no need to apply unseemly pressure to a historic political figure, a woman who has run a grueling race, won millions of votes and drawn uncounted numbers of new Democratic voters to the polls.

Instead, many Democrats...

By Elise Amendola (AP)

Her money drained and her options dwindling, a resolute Hillary Rodham Clinton vowed Wednesday to press on with her presidential bid even as she and top advisers were hard-pressed to describe a realistic path for her to wrest the nomination from Barack Obama.

After a wrenching primary outcome Tuesday in which she was routed in North Carolina and barely won Indiana, Clinton made a hastily scheduled trip to West Virginia to show her determination to fight on. The state holds a primary next Tuesday.

\"I\'m so happy to be here in West Virginia and excited about the next week as...

By Elise Amendola (AP)

Barack Obama pocketed the support of at least four Democratic convention superdelegates on Wednesday, building on the momentum from a convincing North Carolina primary victory. Rival Hillary Rodham Clinton vowed to remain in the race \"until there\'s a nominee.\"

The former first lady declined to say whether that meant through the roll call of the states at the Democratic National Convention this summer.

Clinton also disclosed that she had loaned her campaign an additional $6.4 million in recent weeks, evidence that her once front-runner campaign was in deep...

By Darron Cummings (AP)

A tenacious Hillary Rodham Clinton pushed ahead with her White House bid Wednesday, revealing that she lent her cash-strapped campaign $6.4 million while vowing to seek the nomination at the ballot box and through Democratic Party channels.

Clinton met with fresh pressure to bow out of the race. Former Sen. George McGovern, the 1972 Democratic presidential nominee who had backed her candidacy, urged her to get out on Wednesday and said he had decided to endorse Barack Obama.

But Clinton\'s campaign seemed determined to buy time to make her case to party elders and figure out...

By Elise Amendola (AP)

West Virginia\'s primary next week offers Hillary Rodham Clinton some of the friendliest terrain yet in her drawn-out struggle with Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination as she fights to keep her candidacy alive.

The state looks a lot like the America of a bygone era: overwhelmingly white, largely rural, and proudly blue-collar.

That presents a challenge for Obama, seeking to become the nation\'s first black president, who is within inches of grasping the nomination. After a big win in North Carolina and a near-miss in Indiana primaries on Tuesday, Obama is...

By Elise Amendola (AP)

Hillary Rodham Clinton says she will remain in the presidential race \"until there\'s a nominee.\" The former first lady declined to say whether that meant through the roll call of the states at the Democratic National Convention this summer.

Clinton also disclosed that she had loaned her campaign an additional $6.4 million in recent weeks, additional evidence that her once front-runner campaign was in deep trouble.

Meanwhile, Barack Obama pocketed the support of at least four Democratic convention superdelegates on Wednesday, building on the momentum from a convincing North...