Scientists find bugs that eat waste and excrete petrol  —  Silicon Valley is experimenting with bacteria that have been genetically altered to provide ‘renewable petroleum’  —  “Ten years ago I could never have imagined I'd be doing this,” says Greg Pal, 33, a former software executive …

Many historians see little chance for McCain  —  One week into the general election, the polls show a dead heat.  But many presidential scholars doubt that John McCain stands much of a chance, if any.  —  Historians belonging to both parties offered a litany of historical comparisons that give little hope to the Republican.

A Partnership With Iraq  —  The Shiite government signals a desire for an alliance with the United States.  Shouldn't that be welcomed?  —  THOUGH IT was hardly noticed in Washington, Iraq's Shiite-led government sent a powerful message to Iran and to the Middle East last week.

Don't listen to the liberals - Right-wingers really are nicer people, latest research shows  —  George Orwell once wrote that politics was closely related to social identity.  ‘One sometimes gets the impression,’ he wrote in The Road To Wigan Pier, 'that the mere words socialism …

Tribute in Russert's studio  —  On a memorial edition of NBC's “Meet the Press,” moderator Tim Russert was remembered in his studio as a friend of politicians who prepared rigorously for the powerful show and was “offended” when they didn't do the same.  —  The show, with just one commercial …

Free speech cannot be an excuse for hate  —  One staple of anti-Semitism has been that Jews have taken over the world, or are about to.  Now Muslims are being accused of the same.  —  That Muslims pose a dire demographic and ideological threat to the West was the hypothesis of a 4,800-word article …

Olbermann Asked To Tone Down Hillary Hate, Refused … (Emphasis supplied.)  More . . .  BTW, this is the same Phil Griffin who was quoted as saying: … There appears to be a credibility problem for Phil Griffin on this issue.  Obviously he DID think his network, or at the least …

Get Osama Bin Laden before I leave office, orders George W Bush  —  President George W Bush has enlisted British special forces in a final attempt to capture Osama Bin Laden before he leaves the White House.  —  Defence and intelligence sources in Washington and London confirmed that a renewed hunt …

The Chris Matthews Show: Acting!  —  Kathleen Parker has written a book on poor, put upon men (they suffer so much in this country), and for reasons obvious to only Chris Matthews' psyche, it put him in mind of this 2002 Saturday Night Live skit where John McCain plays a sensitive, giving husband.

Powerful Iraqi Cleric Recalibrates Strategy  —  The movement of anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said Saturday that it would not take part in provincial elections this year, one day after it formed a new paramilitary group to fight U.S. troops.  —  The back-to-back moves suggested …

Edwards backs off from veep refusal  —  John Edwards this morning backed away from statements he made in Spain earlier this month that he would not take the vice presidential slot if Barack Obama offered it to him.  —  Still, Edwards told moderator George Stephanopoulos on ABC's “This Week” …

Gallup Daily: Obama 45%, McCain 42%  —  Obama's lead stays at the three-point level  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Barack Obama maintains a three percentage point advantage over John McCain in national registered voter preferences for the general election, with a 45% to 42% edge in Gallup Poll Daily …

At Obama's Former Church, Hurt Lingers  —  Members Feel Bruised By Time in Media's Glare  —  CHICAGO — They paraded through the summer-like heat last weekend in long dresses and suit coats, hundreds of families following the same paths that lead them to church every Sunday morning.

Lost city of ... Iowa  —  The streets in Cedar Rapids, Iowa - all 400 blocks of them - were filled with floodwaters and other strange sights: floating Dumpsters and utility poles and sandbags piled in vain.  —  The cresting Cedar River wreaked widespread havoc Friday on Iowa's second-largest city …