KERRY

MYRTLE BEACH, South Carolina (AP):

Barack Obama is being endorsed by fellow Senator, John Kerry, the Democrats' 2004 presidential nominee who lost the United States election to George W. Bush that year and gave up his own plans for a 2008 run, a year ago.

Kerry, a senator from Massachusetts, planned to announce his support yesterday at a college rally, said a Democrat familiar with Kerry's decision. The 2004 nominee was to argue that Obama can best unite the country and has the potential to create transformational change, the person said.

Kerry should be able to provide some organisational muscle to Obama as he battles against Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in a race to become the first black American president.