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 …

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 …

Mark Warner Rejects VP Talk, Wants Senate Seat  —  HAMPTON, Va., June 14 U.S. Senate candidate Mark R. Warner took himself out of the running as a potential vice presidential candidate this year, telling about 2,000 delegates at the state Democratic convention that he will say no if Sen. Barack Obama offers him a spot on the ticket.

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 …

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.

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.”

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:

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

This Week: Fred Thompson Muddies The Waters On SCOTUS Gitmo Decision  —  This is what aggravates me so much about the Sunday “news” shows.  There is so much lying and muddying of the waters so that the average American-who doesn't have the time to read judicial decisions-doesn't understand …

I'll Tell You What Banks Told Me: Go 'Head, Switch The Style Up  —  Let's put a few Sadr-related things together.  —  First, Sadr has long been favored by Iraq watchers to win the provincial elections in Shiite areas — which helps explain why they're probably not going to happen on time, if at all.

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.