President Bush launched a sharp but veiled attack Thursday on Sen. Barack Obama and other Democrats, suggesting they favor "appeasement" of terrorists in the same way some Western leaders appeased Hitler in the run-up to World War II.

In a preview of the political onslaught Michelle Obama may face in the fall, the Tennessee Republican Party unveiled a Web video Thursday highlighting her comment that she was proud of America "for the first time in my adult life."

Republicans in the House of Representatives blocked a $163 billion war funding bill Thursday, dealing a surprising defeat to Democrats who had expected to pass the measure.

Michael Dukakis, the 1988 Democratic nominee for president and former Massachusetts governor, appeared on CNN's "Larry King Live" on Wednesday night, joining substitute host John King to talk about what the Democrats need to do to win the presidency in November. Some highlights:

Hillary Clinton's decisive win in West Virginia caused John Edwards to throw his support to Barack Obama, the Illinois senator's aides said.

Read full story for latest details.

Sen. John McCain thinks the Iraq War will be won but the threat from the Taliban in Afghanistan won't yet be eliminated, even though Osama bin Laden will be captured or killed, by 2013.

The chairman of a House panel says a Pentagon workers' compensation program for civilian employees in Iraq and Afghanistan is a "flagrant abuse of taxpayer dollars."

Federal agents sped after phantom drug runners and fired at mock hijackers in coastal Georgia this week -- honing their skills, just in case.

Congressional Democrats are pushing forward with plans for a new G.I. Bill to give veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan money to go to college for four years. House Democrats want to pay for it with what they've dubbed a "patriot tax" on people earning more than $500,000. In the Senate, one Republican who notably isn't on board is John McCain, a Vietnam veteran who says the proposal is too expensive and could encourage service members to leave the military.

In the latest political podcast, NPR Senior Washington Editor Rob Elving and Political Editor Ken Rudin discuss the ongoing Democratic race and a special election in Mississippi.

Congressional Republicans have lost three special elections this year in districts they would normally win. U.S. Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, is one of the Republicans leading the effort to keep the party from losing any more seats this year.

The House defied a White House veto threat and voted overwhelmingly for a five-year, $306 billion farm bill Wednesday, the same day that U.S. officials told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that sharp increases in food prices could soon swell the ranks of the world's hungry by a hundred million people.

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain has been courting conservatives by saying he'd appoint conservative judges. But he's also trying to appeal to independents and blue-collar Democrats on issues like global warming. Keene says he is "marginally more reassured" by McCain's efforts to solidify the GOP base in recent weeks.

Barack Obama hit the campaign trail in Michigan on Wednesday. That's where former rival John Edwards endorsed Obama for the Democratic Party's nominee. It was the Illinois senator's first campaign visit to Michigan this year. Obama didn't compete in the state's January primary that was outlawed by the National Democratic Party for violating party rules.

An unprecedented 80 percent of likely voters surveyed said the United States has gotten off-course — a huge jump from the 68 percent who felt that way in a previous NPR poll in January.

Former presidential candidate John Edwards endorses Sen. Barack Obama at a rally in Michigan, a key battleground state in the general election. The endorsement follows Obama's loss in West Virginia to Sen. Hillary Clinton.

Barack Obama has gotten one of the most sought-after endorsements of the Democratic primary race. John Edwards will join Obama at a rally Wednesday night and announce his support. Edwards' endorsement has been the object of intense wooing — by both the Obama and Clinton campaigns.

Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor testifies Wednesday before the U.S. Senate's Special Committee on Aging about her husband's struggle with Alzheimer's. It is the first time O'Connor has spoken publicly and at length about the disease. She urges Congress to speed research on finding a cure. Her husband's diagnosis was the main reason she stepped down from the court in 2005. She says he is "not in very good shape."

One theory is that Hillary Clinton is remaining in the Democratic race as a bargaining chip for the VP slot. A new poll finds Democratic voters enthusiastic about the idea of a "unity ticket." But party insiders harbor more mixed feelings.

The Democrats have won a special election in Mississippi's 1st District, the third seat this year in which they grabbed a Republican stronghold. In Mississippi, the victorious Democrat, Travis Childers, is strongly pro-gun and anti-abortion.

The Bush administration announces on Wednesday that the polar bear will be protected as a threatened species because of the decline in Arctic sea ice from global warming. It's the first time that the Endangered Species Act has been used to protect a species threatened by the impact of climate change.

Tuesday's defeat in Mississippi was the third Republican loss in House special elections this year. The GOP spent more than $1 million on the race, trying to head off what could be an ominous trend come November. We look at the history of special races resulting in a victory by the opposite party.

Hillary Clinton defeated Barack Obama by a 2-1 margin in West Virginia's Democratic primary Tuesday. But the results will do little to change the race for the Democratic nomination. NPR political editor Ken Rudin explains the end game for the Democrats and looks ahead to the final five primaries.