Politics - AP

WASHINGTON - The Republican National Committee is halting presidential ads in Wisconsin and Maine, turning much of its attention to usually Republican states where GOP nominee John McCain shows signs of faltering.

WASHINGTON - Retreating as they brace for congressional losses, Republicans have canceled television advertising in a key Senate race in Louisiana and scaled back ads in eight competitive House contests.

WASHINGTON - Democratic Rep. John Murtha said Wednesday his home base of western Pennsylvania is racist and that could reduce Barack Obama's victory margin in the state by 4 percentage points.

WASHINGTON - The Secret Service is looking into a second allegation that a participant at a Republican political rally shouted "kill him," referring to Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.

DECATUR, Ga. - More than 540,000 ballots have already been cast in Georgia, including many from the Democratic strongholds of metropolitan Atlanta in what could be an encouraging sign for Barack Obama's presidential bid.

LANCASTER, Ohio - Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden said Wednesday that Barack Obama's plan to rebuild the nation's crumbling roads and bridges would help reverse the loss of 240,000 jobs in Ohio during the Bush years.

DOVER, N.H. - Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin said Wednesday she feels a kinship with the moose-hunting, tax-hating voters of New Hampshire who gave John McCain his first primary victory.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A state judge reaffirmed Wednesday that government-related e-mails Gov. Sarah Palin and her staff sent from private accounts must be preserved and ordered further arguments over whether to halt the use of such accounts for state business.

INDIANAPOLIS - Dan Quayle knows a little about what Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin is going through and he advised her to "just be yourself."

WASHINGTON - Advice to the next president from George W. Bush's former homeland security adviser: Tell the public quickly and clearly how you plan to protect the country from a terrorist attack.

CONCORD, N.H. - The high heels came off and the running shoes went on.

WASHINGTON - Call it the political revenge of the nerds. For nearly eight years, many mainstream scientists have been frustrated with the Bush administration. They've claimed that science has been censored, ignored and politicized on issues from global warming to stem cells to evolution. Even the presidential science adviser was booted from the White House, forced to set up office down the street.

BURLINGTON, Vt. - Walk into the storefront headquarters of Obama `08 here offering to volunteer and you might be told to take a hike — to neighboring New Hampshire.

Utah: 2,645,330

THE POLL: CNN/Time magazine/Opinion Research Corp., presidential race among likely Colorado voters (9 electoral votes).

WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's campaign sharply rejected on Wednesday a conservative columnist's report that civil rights leader Jesse Jackson expects Obama to reduce Israel's clout at the White House.

McCain, Obama confront each other in final debate ... In her first New Hampshire trip, Palin highlights anti-tax sentiment shared by Alaskans ... Biden says Obama would create 2 million jobs, help reverse Ohio losses ... Republican Party ends presidential ads in Wisconsin, Maine; increases budget for red states ... High turnout in Ga. early voting could be a promising sign for Obama

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - U.S. Rep. Tim Mahoney did not use campaign funds to buy the silence of a former aide with whom he is accused of having an affair, his attorney said Wednesday.

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. - New York's Nassau County once was such a bedrock Republican stronghold that nearly 16,000 admirers of President Nixon gathered in 1972 at the newly opened Nassau County Coliseum for a GOP rally.