AP - Republican presidential candidate John McCain had his own German experience Thursday—at a restaurant in Ohio. He asserted that he was happy to devote his time this week to touring the nation's heartland.

AP - House lawmakers scolded federal regulators Thursday for failing to implement recommendations made in 2001 that were designed to keep medically unfit commercial truck and bus drivers off the nation's highways.

AP - Cheered by an enormous international crowd, Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama on Thursday summoned Europeans and Americans together to"defeat terror and dry up the well of extremism that supports it"as surely as they conquered communism a generation ago.

AP - The Secret Service has asked for an extra$9.5 million to cover unexpected costs of protecting the presidential candidates during what has turned into an historic year for the agency's campaign security job.

AP - Calculated political ploy. Timely foreign outreach. A dash of each? Ask voters across the country about Barack Obama's image-packed week of foreign travel and you'll get a mix of admiration, suspicion, even a couple of bored shrugs.