Voters are most worried about long lines. More than one in three BET.com users say that they worried about long lines on Election Day, while one in four fear they will discover that they are not registered.  Get all the results from our election poll here.

Time is ticking away for candidates. With only 48 hours remaining in the race for the White House, the battleground state of Ohio has seen both presidential candidates come to state their case and deliver their argument on why undecided voters should do more than “lean” their way: They want their vote. Get more at Pamela on Politics.

A battle for the battleground states continues. The final week of the presidential campaign has begun, and both candidates find themselves battling for undecided voters, defining their messages and putting their ground teams to the test in crucial battleground states. Read more at Pamela on Politics.

But the question is: Will it be enough to defeat a surging McCain.

Obama raises a record $66 million in August. Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama’s supporters decided last month that they had better make sure their candidate has the cash to compete against his Republican rival. Get more at Pamela on Politics.

Time to get involved. The decision of who leads the United States for the next four years could very well come down to you. See how you can end up with a government you’re not ready for if you don’t go to the polls. Get the facts here.

Government doctors fight staph infection.

Just as NBA Star Grant Hill rallies others who have experience with the flesh-eating staph infection known as MRSA, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention launched a campaign to make parents more aware of the dangerous and potentially deadly effects of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The government campaign hopes to get parents to identify, prevent and combat the infection. Often mistaken for a spider bite as the symptoms, MRSA also causes painful, red, swollen areas on skin that sometimes ooz puss, experts say. MRSA infection begins as a bump or infected area on the skin, is warm to touch and maybe accompanied by fever. It is contracted when someone touches an infected area or shares a personal item with someone who is already infected. Athletes are more prone to this infection, but it is also common at hospitals. To prevent the disease, the CDC advises frequent hand-washing, no sharing of personal items such as towels and to keep any wound or cut clean and bandaged. Early detection is always advisable as the infection at a later stage becomes difficult to treat. As part of the awareness campaign, the CDC hopes to develop Web sites, brochures, fact sheets, posters, radio and print public services, Web banners and mom-blogging sites. To find out more about Hill’s personal experience with the deadly staff infection and the Stop MRSA Now campaign go to BET.com/Body & Soul.  

Study: Fast-Food Ads Target Blacks.   A higher exposure to fast-food ads and marketing of other fatty foods is in part to blame for why overweight and obesity rates are such a bigger problem for African Americans (68.9 percent) than for Whites (59.5 percent), says the numbers crunched by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Read more at BET.com’s Body & Soul.
 

Blacks with lung disease have twice the cancer risk. Blacks with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease – including chronic bronchitis and some types of serious chronic asthma – have twice the risk of developing lung cancer than Whites with the condition, according to a study published in the journal Cancer Prevention Research, Reuters reports. For the study, lead researcher Carol Etzel of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and colleagues developed a risk assessment model to help predict Blacks’ risk for lung cancer. Researchers analyzed data on 491 Blacks with lung cancer and 497 Blacks without the disease and compared those numbers against models that measured the disease in Whites. Researchers said the model will help doctors better predict lung cancer risk. The new model found that Black men with a history of chronic lung disease, often called COPD, had a more than a six-fold increased risk of developing lung cancer, which is about the same risk for those who smoke. According to Reuters, both Black and White smokers have a risk of lung cancer six times higher than that of non-smokers. Smoking is the leading cause of COPD, but pollution, and other environmental factors also play a role, Reuters reports. “What we hope is that a doctor can use these models to encourage their patients to take steps to prevent lung cancer,” Dr. Ezel says. “Even if they are never smokers, they can be at risk.”

Why did Obama’s campaign plane make an emergency landing?

Did Obama’s campaign plane have to make an emergency landing last month? ABC News says it got hold of control tower tapes that indicate the MD-80 aircraft had to make an unscheduled landing in St. Louis because the pilot said he was having trouble controlling the pitch of the plane, asked to land, and requested that the airport have crash equipment stand by. The Federal Aviation Administration isn’t disputing the network’s report. A spokeswoman says reporters were told there was no emergency because that’s what the agency was told at the time. She also notes a pilot may declare an emergency to make sure he has priority to land and to make sure there is rescue equipment ready in case there is a real problem. Obama told reporters later that day the incident was a “little glitch.” The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the incident. Federal investigators say an initial check of the plane turned up no evidence of missing parts or tampering.

It appears as though the Clinton-Obama rift is all but over in Beantown

Boston ’s big ballers broke out their checkbooks Monday night and turned Sen. Barack Obama’s 47th birthday bash into a big-time fundraiser. There was no sign of the division between the Democratic camps of Sen. Hillary Clinton and Obama, which generated so much intra-party angst during the primaries. In fact, former Clinton supporters accounted for $700,000 all by themselves. The total pot was expected to exceed $5 million, The Boston Globe reported. About 850 people showed up for the event at the posh State Room near Faneuil Hall. Some 250 of them paid $15,000 each – $28,500 per couple – to break bread with the senator following the initial meet and greet. The private birthday-campaign party was Obama’s first appearance in Beantown since clinching the Democratic nomination in June. Although he landed the endorsement of New England’s most popular politician – Sen. Edward Kennedy – Clinton won the most votes in the primary. “We all wanted to make a dramatic statement that we’re with him every step of the way,” said Steven Grossman, a leading Clinton fund-raiser and former chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

Michelle Obama covers Ebony.

While the ladies seem to love to accessorize their outfits with diamonds and pearls, Michelle Obama says her best accessory is her husband. She tells Ebony magazine, “The best thing I love having on me is Barack on my arm and vice versa, whether it’s having him standing there smiling at me or watching him mesmerize a crowd or talk to some seniors in a senior center.” Michelle Obama told the magazine, which hits newsstands Aug. 12, that should she become first lady, her primary focus will continue to be “mom-in-chief,” to their two daughters – Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7. Michelle Obama also discussed her marriage, how she balances motherhood and work and her fashion sense. Michelle Obama officially graced her way into the international spotlight as a fashion icon, making it onto Vanity Fair magazine’s International Best-Dressed List the last month. The couple also grace the cover of next month’s Essence magazine.

Barack’s home and shifts the focus back on the economy

Sen. Barack Obama made his first appearance Sunday morning following his eight-day tour through the Middle East and Europe before minority journalists gathered in his hometown of Chicago. For more on what’s happening in the presidential race, see Pamela On Politics.

Obama, Clinton break the silence, chat about the former president’s role

It looks like the big chill between Sen. Barack Obama and President Bill Clinton is beginning to thaw. According to Obama’s campaign, the two spoke by telephone, and the former president pledged his support to the Illinois senator. Get the latest at Pamela On Politics.

Pamela On Politics: Two former rivals will make their first appearance together at a

Democratic event. Obama and Clinton will hook up in a town called Unity. It’s time to unite if the Democrats want a win in November, and it looks like Clinton and Obama supporters will come together in New Hampshire to make it happen. Read more at Pamela On Politics.