Republican presidential candidate John McCain announced Wednesday that he is suspending his campaign after an upcoming appearance and is returning to Washington to help work on the financial crisis. McCain is urging Democratic nominee Barack Obama to suspend his campaign too, and he has also called for Friday's presidential debate to be postponed.

Obama, who says his campaign has spoken to McCain's, says he plans to continue preparing for the debate and as of now is expecting to participate in it. Friday's debate, to take place in Mississippi, is the first scheduled head-to-head debate between the two. Obama has said that in light of the financial crisis, it's important for voters to hear the differences between the two candidates' positions and ideas.

Obama has said that he'll join McCain in Washington if it it will help with the negotiations over the financial rescue package proposed last week by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. The package has been greeted with skepticism by members of both parties in Congress.