New York, Oct. 11 : The New York Times has shifted the ratings of three states on its electoral map, and suggests that John McCain may be losing out to Barack Obama as far as the presidency is concerned.

Chicago, Oct. 11 : Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s wife Michelle, popular talk show host Oprah, Winfrey and party vice-presidential candidate Joe Biden spoke at a women''s conference in Chicago on Friday.

Michelle Obama also spoke at the gathering at the Sheraton Hotel in Chicago, called the National Women’s Leadership Issues Conference.

Lahore, Oct 11 : Pakistani-Americans have reportedly urged upon Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama to tone down his “bombing Pakistan” rhetoric.

During his presidential debate with Republican rival John McCain, Obama had last week said that if he won the poll, he would launch strikes on Pakistan’s territory in search for Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, and also vowed to crush the international terrorist organization.

A group of Pakistani-Americans and anti-war activists delivered a letter to Obama’s Chicago office, calling on him to “cool political rhetoric about bombing targets in Pakistan”, the Daily Times quoted a report in the Chicago Tribune, as saying.

The group also has plans to send a similar letter to McCain.

Washington, Oct. 11 : Voter perceptions regarding character issues are often cited as a key factor in the outcome of presidential elections, but according to a new FOX News poll, results are mixed as to whether Barack Obama or John McCain is better suited to pass this year''s "character" test with voters.

With Election Day less than a month away, major questions still linger on a range of measures dealing with the personal make-up of the presidential contenders.

On the one hand, voters see Obama (by a 41 percent to 26 percent margin) as being more likely than McCain to hide the truth about his background and past associations.

Washington, Oct. 11 : In the latest FOX News poll, Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama leads his Republican rival John McCain by 46 percent to 39 percent as on October 10. Two weeks ago Obama led by 45 percent to 39 percent.

Obama''s advantage comes mainly from doing better among women, blacks, young voters, those with a college degree, and unmarried voters. He has increased his edge over McCain among women to 16 percentage points, up from a 4-point edge last month (Sept. 8-9).

Washington, Oct. 10 : Republican rallies across the United States are fast turning into rabble-rousing events where warm-up speakers are encouraging crowds to call Democratic contender, Barack Obama a "traitor, a criminal and a terrorist".