NEWS SUMMARY:

The Senators John continue their cross country jaunt separately today; Sen. Kerry is in Sioux City, Iowa for a 1:30 pm ET rally before traveling to Columbus, Ohio, where he overnights. Kerry also calls into the Partnership, Inc. Democratic National Convention event on racial diversity at 9:30 am.

Sen. Edwards is in Milwaukee, where he attended a fundraiser last night, to hold a rally at Martin Luther King Park at 1:00 pm ET. He then travels to San Antonio, Texas, where he overnights.

President Bush radio address focuses on the recommendations of the 9/11 commission, and he will down at his Crawford, Texas ranch with no public events until next Friday.

Lynne Cheney is in Keizer, Ore., today to speak at the state Republican Party convention at 12:30 pm ET.

Check out the Columbus Dispatch's poll in tomorrow's paper. And expect to see plenty of Kerry interviews rolled out in various Sunday papers.

On Sunday, don't you dare miss "This Week with George Stephanopoulos." On the show, ABC's Cokie Roberts will have her interview with Sen. John Edwards. George sits down with Sen. Ted Kennedy in Hyannisport ahead of his speech to the convention Tuesday night. Two of the 9/11 Commissioners, Bob Kerrey and John Lehman, will tell us what might happen with the recommendations in their final report.

And we're bringing back The Roundtable: Cokie, Sam Donaldson, and George Will. And ABC NEWS Political Director Mark Halperin joins in to preview the convention.

On Monday at noon, ABC News Now, our new, 24-hour news service, premiers. It's on digital cable , wireless, and the Web. Join Peter Jennings and a gaggle of special guests for gavel-to-gavel coverage, directed by the world famous Roger Goodman. ABC News Now is your all-access pass to the Democratic National Convention.

For more information about how to get it, click here: LINK

And if you want the best, up-to-the-minute convention news, tidbits, and insight, you can also log on to Noted Now: LINK

You have NO excuse not to tune in and read in. Join us all for one wild ride.

We won't say much about our competitor's coverage, except to ask this question of our friends at CNN: What's with that moley-looking microphone your anchors wear? We can imagine some producer had a great idea to make face microphones flesh-colored in order to reduce their visibility. The opposite happened: on wide anchor faces, it looks like a ginormous mole.

Quite distracting.

On to today's interesting stories and must-reads, sectionalized for your reading ease.

Democratic National Convention: Kerry-Edwards 2004:

A must-read about Kerry's financial juggernaut -- trial lawyers, business interests, new donors, Dean donors, wealthy liberals and more, in the Washington Post: LINK

The Los Angeles Times' Janet Hook on the words and themes of strength and security coming from Democrats. LINK

The Boston Globe's Glen Johnson on the $25 million from his pre-convention coffers that Kerry is looking to give to the DNC. LINK

Kerry's American Aurora moment on Colorado got boffo coverage in state, which just might have been the point. LINK

A place called "Hope," A place called "Dawn . . ." LINK

More: LINK

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell thinks Kerry has to ''give a good speech at the convention," "do well at the debates and persuade the American people that he has acceptable alternatives , and he has to sharpen his message so that Americans have a better sense of who he is." LINK

They'll also be in and around Pittsburgh the same weekend: LINK and LINK

The New York Post's Vince Morris Notes Sen. Clinton's packed schedule for convention week. LINK

Democratic National Convention: protests:

A federal judge on Friday refused to issue an injunction against the "free speech zone" requested by an anarchist group, the Boston Herald reports. LINK

No creds for Nader: LINK

Will left-wingers cause trouble? Or merely contribute to a robust debate? LINK

Democratic National Convention: labor disputes:

Andrea Estes of the Boston Globe reports that the firefighters union has scheduled last-minute bargaining negotiations this morning, raising hopes that if the city could reach an agreement with these last holdouts, there might be no picket lines during the Democratic convention. The president of the police patrolmen's union promised to picket in solidarity with firefighters if no agreement is reached -- as did the head of Massachusetts' AFL-CIO. LINK

The Boston Herald's Elizabeth Beardsley reports a thaw in the tough language the BPPA had thrown around earlier in the week -- provided that the firefighters get their settlement. LINK

Democratic National Convention: security:

The Boston Globe's Brian MacQuarrie and Bryan Bender report that eight F-16s fighter jets have been added to the security contingent and will patrol the skies over Boston during the convention under the direction of the Secret Service. LINK

The Boston Herald's J.M. Lawrence reports on the FBI warning that news crews could be targeted by radical groups. LINK

Democratic National Convention: the opposition:

The Boston Globe's Brian Mooney devotes a short write-up to the RNC poll that suggests that 59 percent of Massachusetts voters say they're "concerned" that Sen. Kerry '''missed 70 percent of the votes in the Senate over the last two years'" and 45 percent say he should resign his Senate seat." LINK

Other must reads:

The Boston Globe's Wayne Washington paints a picture of a less-than-stunning reception for President Bush 's innovative remarks at the National Urban League's conference. LINK

More: LINK

Matt Kelley of the Associated Press reports that the found payroll documents for President Bush that had been thought destroyed don't shed much light on his National Guard service. LINK

More: LINK

The New York Times' Elizabeth Rosenthal goes door-to-door with ACT to see how volunteers work their pitch without endorsing or opposing a candidate. LINK

TODAY'S SCHEDULE (all times ET):

—9:30 am: Sen. John Kerry calls into the Partnership, Inc. Democratic National Convention event on Racial Diversity
—10:06 am: President Bush delivers the weekly radio address
—11:06 am: Sen. Kerry delivers the weekly Democratic radio address
—12:30 am: Lynne Cheney speaks at the Oregon Republican Party Convention at the Wittenberg Inn, Keizer, Ore.
—1:00 pm: Sen. Edwards participates in an "America's Freedom Trail" rally at Martin Luther King Park, Milwaukee, Wis.
—1:30 pm: Sen. Kerry speaks about "American Optimism" at a rally at the Sioux City Anderson Dance Pavilion, Sioux City, Iowa