AP - Democrat Barack Obama, campaigning in a state that poses several challenges for him in the fall, appealed to working-class voters Wednesday with a pledge to pump billions of dollars into efforts to revitalize the nation's manufacturing sector.

Reuters - Three former chairmen of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Wednesday, bolstering the Illinois senator's economic credentials and bipartisan appeal as he closes in on his party's nomination.