Winding roads home...Election eve polls...Car sales fall



BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. (AP) John McCain is taking a busy, winding route on his way home this election eve. At a stop in Tennessee, near the Virginia border, the Republican presidential candidate told supporters he's "not afraid to fight" and predicted victory tomorrow. He promised to win the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, cut taxes, create jobs and "make the government live on a budget."


JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) Barack Obama is urging supporters to work "like our future depends on it" over the next 24 hours. He's on a final swing that takes him from Florida to Virginia, North Carolina and Indiana before finishing with a massive rally in Chicago's Grant Park tomorrow.

UNDATED (AP) One national poll and three in swing states are all pointing Barack Obama's way. The Marist Poll of likely voters nationwide gives Obama a 9-point lead over John McCain. Quinnipiac University polls show Obama with a 10-point lead in Pennsylvania and a 7-point lead in Ohio. In Florida, it has him up by 2, but that's within the margin of error.

Washington (AP) The Federal Reserve says its latest quarterly survey of bank lending finds tighter credit standards for home mortgages to credit cards and business loans. The Fed says in the first two weeks of October, a sizable percentages of banks had "continued to tighten their lending standards and terms on all major loan categories."


DETROIT (AP) There hasn't been much traffic in the showrooms of auto dealers recently. GM says its October U.S. sales fell 45 percent, and Ford's dropped 30 percent. Low consumer confidence and tight credit are scaring customers away from showrooms. There was a 23 percent drop at Toyota, and a 25 percent decline at Honda.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 11-03-08 1339CST | save this article / add to your favorites list