john rich

Senators Edward Kennedy and Barack Obama both included gays and lesbians in their speeches during the event Monday at which Kennedy endorsed Obama in his presidential bid. Obama's inclusion of LGBT people came while he was discussing the legacy of hope that both John and Robert Kennedy inspired in people: "And it lives on in those Americans -- young and old, rich and poor, black and white, Latino and Asian and Native American, gay and straight -- who are tired of a politics that divides us and want to recapture the sense of common purpose that we had when John Kennedy was president of the United States of America."

Sen. John McCain seized command of the race for the Republican presidential nomination early Wednesday, winning delegate-rich primaries from the East Coast to California. Democratic rivals Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama traded victories in an epic struggle with no end in sight. Clinton won the biggest state, California, in the Democratic campaign, capitalizing on backing from Hispanic voters. Obama fashioned victories in Alabama and Georgia on the strength of black support. McCain's own victory in the Republican race in the Golden State dealt a crushing blow to his closest pursuer, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.