We helped in Iraq - now help us, beg Georgians  —  As Russia forces its neighbour to retreat from South Ossetia, the people of Gori tell our correspondent of betrayal by the West  —  As a Russian jet bombed fields around his village, Djimali Avago, a Georgian farmer, asked me: “Why won't America and Nato help us?

Obama's VP choice imminent via website, e-mail, text message  —  Sen. Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, is on vacation in Hawaii tonight.  We believe.  But, thanks to loyal Ticket reader Mark, just minutes ago we learned that the freshman senator's presidential campaign …

Wolfson: Edwards' Cover-up Cost Clinton the Nomination  —  Aides Say She Would Have Won Iowa if Edwards Affair was Exposed  —  Sen. Hillary Clinton would be the Democratic presidential nominee if John Edwards had been caught in his lie about an extramarital affair and forced out of the race last year …

7 worrisome signs for Obama  —  A few weeks back, Time magazine was musing that John McCain was in danger of sliding from “a long shot” to a “no-shot.”  Around the same time, a hard-nosed former Hillary Clinton insider declared the race “effectively over” thanks to the McCain campaign's ineptitude …

Democrats Shrug Off Edwards' Affair, Paternity Questions  —  WASHINGTON — While many questions remain unanswered regarding John Edwards' affair with a woman he hired to produce videos of him, some Democrats are already writing off the impact of the news.  —  Edwards, who admitted on Friday …

‘No way’ turns into ‘no quit’ for Lezak, men's relay team … BEIJING — Halfway through what might have been the greatest comeback swim in Olympic history, Jason Lezak peered through his goggles at the lane to his right and briefly abandoned hope.  —  “The thought really entered my mind for a split second,” Lezak said.

Beijing Olympic 2008 opening ceremony giant firework footprints ‘faked’  —  Parts of the spectacular Beijing Olympics opening ceremony on Friday were faked because of fears over live filming, it has emerged.  —  As the ceremony got under way with a dramatic, drummed countdown …

Iraq Private Sector Falters; Rolls of Government Soar  —  BAGHDAD — Hampered by years of violence, a decimated infrastructure, a lack of foreign investors and a flood of imports that undercut local businesses, Iraq's private sector, particularly its small non-oil economy, has so far failed to flourish as its American patrons had hoped.

Life Sentence  —  Stop kidding yourself: John McCain is a pro-life zealot.  —  John McCain was mad.  Fuming mad.  It was then the early days of his political career, and he had paid an unscheduled visit to a Planned Parenthood clinic in Mesa, which was within his Arizona congressional district.

Angelina Jolie's Endorsement  —  It may seem as if most entertainment industry figures are aligning with Barack Obama and just a few with John McCain, but there are still a handful of famous names who are still on the fence.  And both campaigns are well aware of one star who stands out among the undecideds: Angelina Jolie.