The road leading to the epicenter of Monday's massive Chinese earthquake still wasn't clear of obstacles, but stretches of it have been transformed into major staging areas.

China issued a rare public appeal Thursday for rescue equipment as the government struggled to cope with this week’s deadly earthquake. Rescue workers broke through key roads to the epicenter in the race to find survivors, as the death toll soared to more than 19,500.

Democrat John Edwards endorsed former rival Barack Obama on Wednesday, a move designed to help solidify support for the party's likely presidential nominee.

Citing shrinking Arctic sea ice, the Bush administration on Wednesday declared the polar bear a threatened species. But activists were quick to criticize the ruling, saying it was full of loopholes.

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s hopes for the presidential nomination may in large part rest on an obscure Democratic National Committee panel, a group of several allies, but not enough at this point to achieve her goal of counting the votes or delegates of Florida and Michigan.

Myanmar's junta said Thursday that a pro-military constitution has won support in a referendum, which was held despite criticism and in the midst of the country's cyclone tragedy.