Gallup Daily: Obama-McCain Race Reverts to Virtual Tie  —  Percentage undecided now 15%, highest of the year  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Voters are closely divided between Barack Obama and John McCain in Gallup Poll Daily tracking conducted June 12-14, with 44% of national registered voters favoring …

Obama Sharply Assails Absent Black Fathers  —  CHICAGO — Addressing a packed congregation at one of the city's largest black churches, Senator Barack Obama on Sunday invoked his own absent father to deliver a sharp message to African-American men, saying, “We need fathers to realize that responsibility does not end at conception.”

3 likely candidates express little interest in VP  —  WASHINGTON - Two former senators and one sitting governor thought to be possible candidates for vice president on Sunday expressed minimal interest in the job but didn't remove themselves from consideration.  —  Been there, done that, said one.

McCain has diluted his rare reputation  —  John McCain once had the most powerful brand in American politics.  —  He was often called the country's most popular politician and widely admired for his independent streak.  It wasn't too many years ago that “maverick” was the cliche of choice in describing him.

ONE ANGRY MAN  —  Is Keith Olbermann changing TV news?  —  It was nearly midnight before Keith Olbermann left the NBC News election studio on May 13th, having spent five hours on the air, co-anchoring coverage of the West Virginia Democratic primary.  Olbermann had a short ride home …

Michelle Obama in for ‘Very Ugly Stuff’  —  She's the New Woman Conservatives Love to Hate  —  Like Eleanor Roosevelt and Hillary Clinton before her, Michelle Obama is becoming the would-be first lady conservatives love to hate.  —  The conservative National Review recently showed …

Report: Smuggling Network Had Blueprint for Advanced Nuclear Weapon  —  A draft report released by a former U.N. weapons inspector found that the international smuggling ring that supplied nuclear designs to Iran, Libya, and North Korea also obtained the blueprints for an advanced nuclear warhead, The Washington Post reported Sunday.

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 …

Of Floods And Politics  —  Very deft p.r. from the Obama camp.  This is the kind of thing a president would do - and the contrast with Bush after Katrina is powerful:

America's prison for terrorists often held the wrong men  —  GARDEZ, Afghanistan — The militants crept up behind Mohammed Akhtiar as he squatted at the spigot to wash his hands before evening prayers at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.  —  They shouted “Allahu Akbar” — God is great …

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 …

Is Obama smearing Rush?  —  News item: Barack Obama campaign starts new Web site to fight smears from political opponents at www.fightthesmears.com.  —  The first smear mentioned:  —  “LIE: Rush Limbaugh says a tape exists of Michelle Obama using the word ‘whitey’ from the pulpit of Trinity United.”

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.