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presidential election

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Associated Press

U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., and the party's presidential nominee, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., met privately Thursday night to talk about uniting the Democratic Party.

On June 3, Democratic candidate Barack Obama received the 2,118 delegates needed to secure the party's nomination. Hillary Rodham Clinton decided Thursday to withdraw her candidacy for president and support Mr. Obama, who hasn't made a decision on whether he'll ask Mrs. Clinton to be his running mate.

money

Tax rebate checks made a difference. Although consumer confidence hit a 16-year low in May, spending went up. The stores that saw the biggest boost were Costco and Wal-Mart. Teen retailers had mixed results. American Eagle Outfitters Inc. sales fell 9 percent, but Aeropostale Inc. saw a 6 percent rise.

music and politics

Since Mr. Obama secured the Democratic presidential nomination, some members of the hip-hop community expressed their excitement, according to MTV News.

Sean "Diddy" Combs called it the best day of his life. Rappers such as Will.I.Am, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Common, Jay-Z and 50 Cent have been rooting for Mr. Obama.

The rapper Nas will even come out with an Obama-inspired song, Black President.

entertainment

Here are the songs topping the charts on the Billboard Hot 100:

1. Lollipop, Lil Wayne and Static Major

2. Bleeding Love, Leona Lewis

3. Viva La Vida, Coldplay

4. Take a Bow, Rihanna

5. I Kissed a Girl, Kate Perry

6. Love in This Club, Usher and Young Jeezy

7. No Air, Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown

8. Sexy Can I, by Ray J & Yung Berg

9. The Time of My Life, David Cook

10. 4 Minutes, Madonna and Justin Timberlake.