Vote early, Michelle Obama urges crowd in Akron

Vote early, Michelle Obama urges crowd in Akron

COLUMBUS — Michelle Obama told Ohio audiences Friday that her husband isn’t paying attention to favorable polls and will campaign in the final days as though he were 20 points behind.

“My assumption is Barack Obama is the underdog until he’s sitting in the Oval Office,” she said.

At a rally in Columbus, the wife of the Democratic presidential nominee urged supporters to take advantage of early voting.

She said people who vote now can avoid long lines on Election Day and help get friends and family members to the polls Nov. 4.

“There’s no excuse. Don’t wait until Election Day when it’s snowing,” Obama later told an audience at Buchtel High School in Akron.

Palin testifies in St. Louis in ‘Troopergate’ probe

ST. LOUIS — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin met with an independent investigator Friday to testify about allegations she abused her powers during a long-running personnel controversy that has now distracted from her Republican vice presidential campaign.

Palin waved but did not speak to reporters when she arrived at a Missouri hotel for her deposition, scheduled to last two hours before a lawyer from the Alaska Personnel Board. The board is investigating whether Palin abused her powers by firing her public safety commissioner.

The commissioner claims he was dismissed because he refused to fire Palin’s former brother-in-law, a state trooper involved in a messy divorce with Palin’s sister. The scandal, known as “Troopergate,” took on national significance after John McCain selected Palin as his running mate.

Pittsburgh cops: McCain volunteer made up story

PITTSBURGH — A McCain campaign volunteer made up a story of being robbed, pinned to the ground and having the letter “B” scratched on her face in a politically inspired attack, police said Friday.

Ashley Todd, 20-year-old college student from College Station, Texas, admitted Friday that the story was false and was being charged with making a false report to police, said Maurita Bryant, the assistant chief of the police department’s investigations division. Police doubted her story from the start, Bryant said.

Todd, who is white, told police she was attacked by a 6-foot-4 black man Wednesday night. She now can’t explain why she invented the story, Bryant said.

Jennifer Hudson’s mother, brother found shot dead

CHICAGO — The mother and brother of Jennifer Hudson were found shot dead Friday at a South Side home, and police were looking for a missing child who is the nephew of the singer and Oscar-winning actress.

“We can confirm that there is an ongoing investigation concerning the deaths of Jennifer Hudson’s mother, Darnell Donerson, and her brother, Jason Hudson,” Hudson’s personal publicist, Lisa Kasteler, said in a statement. “No further comment will be made and the family has asked that their privacy be respected at this difficult time.”

Police spokeswoman Monique Bond said the deaths appeared to be the result of domestic abuse. The Cook County medical examiner’s office said autopsies for Donerson, 57, and Jason Hudson, 29, were pending.

New greenhouse gases

WASHINGTON — Carbon dioxide isn’t the only greenhouse gas that worries climate scientists. Airborne levels of two other potent gases — one from ancient plants, the other from flat-panel screen technology — are on the rise, too.

And that’s got scientists concerned about accelerated global warming.

The gases are methane and nitrogen trifluoride. Both pale in comparison with the global warming effects of carbon dioxide, produced by the burning of coal, oil and other fossil fuels.

Associated Press