Ex-Gov. Deval Patrick launches `Hail Mary´ bid for president
(WorldNews Politics)

WASHINGTON (AP) - Deval Patrick launched what he acknowledged to be a `Hail Mary` bid on Thursday for the Democratic presidential nomination, testing whether voters sifting through an already crowded field are open to hearing from new candidates less than three months before the primary voting officially begins. Raised in poverty on the South Side of Chicago, Patrick made history in 2007 as the first black governor of Massachusetts. He has close ties to former President Barack Obama and his network of advisers, which could help him quickly establish contacts and raise money in the critical states that begin voting in February. But his late item presents significant organizational and...