IN THE HEADLINES

Obama, McCain suggest changes in Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac ... Republican vice presidential hopeful's church promotes prayer to make gays straight ... Presidential candidates plan joint appearance at Ground Zero to mark Sept. 11 attacks ...

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Obama, McCain call for changes in mortgage giants

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) _ Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama says any government takeover of troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac must put the interests of taxpayers and homeowners first. His opponent, GOP nominee John McCain, said it was essential to restructure the mortgage giants.

"Any action we take must be focused not on the whims of lobbyists and special interests worried about their bonuses and hourly fees, but on whether it will strengthen our economy and help struggling homeowners," Obama told reporters after a campaign stop Saturday in Indiana.

He stopped short of making detailed proposals, saying "we need to carefully address" the possible impact on community and regional banks. "But we must not allow government intervention to protect investors and speculators who relied on the government to reap massive profits," he said.

In Colorado, McCain said, "today we're looking at a federal bailout of our home loan agencies." His running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, said a "McCain-Palin administration will make them smaller and smarter and more effective for homeowners who need them." She did not elaborate.

Later, at a rally in Albuquerque, McCain added: "We need to keep people in their homes, but we can't allow this to turn into a bailout of Wall Street speculators."

In an interview for CBS "Face The Nation" to be aired Sunday, McCain said the mortgage giants need to be restructured.

Obama, talking of possible changes to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, said: "We can't have a situation in which, during boom times, management and investors are soaking up huge profits, taking extraordinary risks, and thinking to themselves that if they get into trouble because of these risky investments that somehow the taxpayers are going to be there to bail them out."

Obama restated his call for a second stimulus package this year, which would involve a tax rebate for individuals and aid to states for education, health care and other costs.

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Palin church promotes converting gays

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) _ Gov. Sarah Palin's church is promoting a conference that promises to convert gays into heterosexuals through the power of prayer.

"You'll be encouraged by the power of God's love and His desire to transform the lives of those impacted by homosexuality," according to the insert in the bulletin of the Wasilla Bible Church, where Palin has prayed for about six years.

Palin's conservative Christian views have energized that part of the GOP electorate, which was lukewarm to John McCain's candidacy before he named her as his vice presidential choice. She is staunchly anti-abortion, opposing exceptions for rape and incest, and opposes gay marriage and spousal rights for gay couples.

Focus on the Family, a national Christian fundamentalist organization, is conducting the "Love Won Out" Conference in Anchorage, about 30 miles from Wasilla.

Palin has not publicly expressed a view on the so-called "pray away the gay" movement. Larry Kroon, senior pastor at Palin's church, was not available to discuss the matter, said a church worker who declined to give her name.

Gay activists in Alaska said Palin has not worked actively against their interests, but early in her administration she supported a bill to overrule a court decision to block state benefits for gay partners of public employees. At the time, less than one-half of 1 percent of state employees had applied for the benefits, which were ordered by a 2005 ruling by the Alaska Supreme Court.

Palin reversed her position and vetoed the bill after the state attorney general said it was unconstitutional. But her reluctant support didn't win fans among Alaska's gay population, said Scott Turner, a gay activist in Anchorage.

"Less than 1 percent of state employees would even apply for benefits, so why make a big deal out of such a small number?" he said.

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McCain, Obama plan joint stop at Ground Zero

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama say they'll put aside partisan politics for a joint appearance at Ground Zero to mark the seventh anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

The Democratic and Republican presidential nominees, in a statement, said Saturday they will appear together at the World Trade Center site on Thursday "to honor the memory of each and every American who died" in the 2001 attacks.

The campaigns already had agreed to suspend television advertising critical of each other on Sept. 11. The McCain campaign has said it will air no ads that day.

Both campaigns have been running negative television ads and, at the just-concluded political conventions, held back in exploiting partisan differences.

Obama and McCain said Thursday will be different.

"All of us came together on 9/11 _ not as Democrats or Republicans _ but as Americans," they said. "We were united as one American family. On Thursday, we will put aside politics and come together to renew that unity."

A group backing community service, MyGoodDeed.org, wants Sept. 11 to become a national day of voluntary service and had asked that Obama and McCain perform acts of community service instead of campaigning.

Nearly 3,000 people were killed after hijackers rammed passenger airplanes into the Twin Towers in New York and the Pentagon. The death total includes 40 passengers and crew members aboard the fourth hijacked plane, United 93. It crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pa., as passengers rushed the cockpit, investigators believe.

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THE DEMOCRATS

Barack Obama had no public events scheduled; Joe Biden campaigns in Kalispell, Mont.

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THE REPUBLICANS

John McCain and Sarah Palin had no public events scheduled.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY:

"When you start just focusing exclusively on trying to tear the other person down instead of what you are going to do on behalf of the American people to deal with this economy, then that's not serving Democrats, that's not serving Republicans, that's not serving anybody." _ Barack Obama.

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STAT OF THE DAY:

The largest bloc of Catholic voters _ 41 percent _ identify as independents, up 11 percentage points from 2004, according to February polling for Georgetown University's Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate.

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Compiled by Ann Sanner and Ronald Powers.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.