It's official: Barack Obama is the first African-American nominated for President by a major party. Gustav's path is still unclear, but New Orleans officials aren't taking any chances. The EU holding an emergency meeting to discuss possible sanctions against Russia. Some UT professors not too excited about the possible formation of a Charlie Wilson Chair of Pakistan Studies. Facebook: The Movie? 27-year-old arrested for streaming unreleased Guns 'N Roses songs on his blog. Hilary......

I-35 at Round Rock was shut down after fiery wreck this morning. Suspended cop: Sex with prostitute wasn't fun, it was work. Deal would have U.S. troops out of Iraq by 2012. Scary. Texas officer gets death threats after dog dies. Russia is pulling out, but it left some behind. Sex trade spikes during conventions. Conservative "satire" coming soon to a theater near you.......

Now that the Russians took our Humvees, we're really pissed. Will it be Evan Bayh? Please no! Taliban fighters attacked a United States base last night. Shawn Johnson finally takes home the gold. College prez coalition, faced with imminent spectre of illicit orientation keggers, asks for lower drinking age. Amazingly, 50 Cent still makes more money than God. Ellen DeGeneres gets Lindsay Bluth in her kitchen. For life!......

Russian attacks on Georgia may or may not be over. Yucca Mountain may cost McCain Nevada. Huckabee + Fox = inevitable? NYPD plans license plate monitoring, radiation scanning of cars entering Manhattan. Michael Phelps is operating on a whole other level. Look out, endangered animals - Bush is coming for you! Mothering advice from the woman who brought us Britney and Jamie Lynn? Could work....

Forget the old Monica scandal, what about this new Monica? She's way worse. Military reverses itself, admits to killing innocent Iraqi commuters. Blackwater: the friendly face of your local small business? In what sounds like it should be a political no-brainer, Congress agrees to ban nasty toxins from kids' toys. Remember when you swore you'd quit smoking when they invented a functional jetpack? Get your gum ready... Christopher Nolan gets all modest on us.......

Wachovia adds itself to the injured list. Young voters, John McCain is coming for you. Mwahahahaha. 15% of women seeking VA help after active duty in Iraq or Afghanistan have experienced sexual trauma. O'Reilly compares Netroots Nation to the Klan. But cuter! NYT to McCain: Revise and resubmit. Say it ain't so: Christian Bale accused of assaulting his mum and sis?? Madonna is throwing hissies left and right these days.......

Holy $155 million, Batman! Obama kicks it with Karzai. Speaking of Obama, Maliki likes how he thinks. Treasury Secretary: "Hold on bitches, it's gonna get worse!" US and Iran: The new Paris and Nicole? Probably not. But they are talking. Dolly. Now more than just a cloned sheep or kick-ass country idol. It's hot. Surprise. ...

Israel swapping prisoners with Lebanon. After nine soldiers were killed there earlier this week, American troops leaving remote outpost in Afghanistan. House Minority Leader Boehner keeps saying there is no wildlife in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but there, like, totally is. Shocker: Consumer prices went up in June. Global warming may increase kidney stones, ick. Did you stay up last night to watch the longest All-Star game ever? "9 to 5" musical to......

Athletes, take your oxygen masks: pollution levels aren't looking that great for the Beijing Olympics. G8 leaders pledge to cut in half the amount of greenhouse emissions by 2050. Earthquake this morning hits southern Peru. Church of England is now allowing female bishops. Alcohol abuse becoming more prevalent in vets of Afghanistan and Iraq wars. The military wants to help shape the form of the modern war movie (but don't call it censorship). Segregation......

More troops are now dying in Afghanistan than in Iraq. Think we suck a lot of energy now? Just wait 'til 2030. "Foreign policy expert" McCain mixes up African countries - easy ones, too. Amsterdam cafes can only roll pure Js from now on. All right, all right. Gas prices taking a bite out of live music (praise the Lord we live in Austin). Will actors accept this deal? According to a French mag,......

Conspiracy buffs, bookmark this one: McCain advisor admits that big terrorist attack on the US would help his guy... Meanwhile, McCain's Vietnamese captor (who's a big fan) says that he was never tortured in the Hanoi Hilton. James Hansen, who talked about global warming before practically anyone, wants to put CEOs on trial for lying about climate change. Gas prices are hard on everyone, even the po-lice. Don't worry, everyone - the economy may......

After the opposition party leader dropped out of the "run-off" in Zimbabwe, the party's headquarters were targeted and the leader is trying to seek refuge at the Dutch embassy. UN finally acknowledges rape as a war crime. EU imposing financial sanctions on Iran. Ferry from the Phillipines carrying 800 passengers overturns in a typhoon. Obama has campaign advisors with strong ties to the ethanol industry. The national economy may be headed downhill, but Houston's......

Mississippi river levees burst north of St. Louis. The NASA Phoenix Mars Lander may have discovered ice crumbs. Google launches new space race to the Moon. Bush totally thinks he has done a kickass job. McClellan doubts Bush knew about CIA leak. Condo company unwraps plan for clothing-optional pool. Bikini-clad Cambridge student arrested for attacking spectator at jelly-wrestling match.......

APD seeks help in finding the man (pictured on the right) who hit a South Austin convenience store on June 15. Georgetown landscaper charged with deceptive trade practices (taking customers' money and not doing the job). Austin firefighter who was fired for sexual harassment of a co-worker (and for viewing porn at work) is appealing. Visitability organization asking city officials to require homebuilders make new homes handicap-accessible....

Al Gore called Barack Obama "elegant" yesterday. Oh yeah, and he gave him his endorsement as well. Meanwhile, makers of a decidedly inelegant Obama sock monkey toy are going to keep on producing. Lately, the Supreme Court has seemed downright heroic! Taliban to Afghanistan: "Not dead yet." Airplanes of the future may be auto-medicating. New dinos found in Utah. K-Fed is father of the year. Somewhere.......

Lesbian couple of 55 years to be the first in line today in San Francisco to get married. Honda starts commercial production of hydrogen-powered cars. Obama spoke about fatherhood at a church yesterday. The Odd Couple: British PM Gordon Brown and Dubya say they understand each other. After the untimely death of Tim Russert, what's next for "Meet the Press"? Keith Olbermann thinks he is a serious newsman, others disagree. "In the Heights" wins......

Zimbabwe's military deeply involved with Mugabe's re-election campaign. Flooding this week a "historic hydrological event" in Iowa. Study finds that female veterans don't receive the same quality of treatment as males at VA facilities. Oops: Chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit Alex Kozinski, currently presiding over an obscenity trial, posts p*rn-type content to his personal website. Reaction to a story on the first integrated high school prom in......

Just one more reason to wait for your locally-grown tomatoes. Seen the YouTube clip where McCain lets it be known that he thinks Vladimir Putin is doing a great job as president of...Germany? The Kooch is at it again. Gennifer Flowers and Paula Jones redefine "classy." Teachers in Japan are facing down an attack of "monster parents." (Nobody wanted to make a joke about "Godzilla parents"?) Got an iPhone last year? Apple is making......

Last night, Clinton and Obama had a quiet meeting at Sen. Feinstein's home. Mother to Son: 'Obama Proved Me Wrong' Increase in unemployment rate is the highest since 1986. Senate Republicans filibuster a global warming bill that McCain says he would support. The news from Zimbabwe is not improving: now police have stopped the opposition candidate from campaigning. Coco Wang's comic strips on the earthquake's damage to China. The rain in Spain stays mainly......

Obama thinks tonight's the night. Tampa gives nation the massive creeps. Teddy's surgery goes well; nonetheless, his prospects are not stellar. The end of an era: Kinko's is no more. Money and happiness may be mutually exclusive. Entertainment Tonight's journalism is called into question. Amy Winehouse looks like something out of a dermatology textbook.......

Chinese officials may bend the one-child rule for those who lost a kid in the quake. Mexico's government is giving $$ for food to its poorest citizens. More accusations out today that some international aid workers abuse those they are trying to help. Pot crops may be worth $14 billion to California's economy. Police and FBI are in the process of infiltrating Minnesota potlucks RIGHT NOW. Actor/director Sydney Pollack, of "Tootsie" and "Out of......

The Colbert Report it ain't. FOX News jokes about assassinating Obama. Hill still all, "Oops my bad." Tornadoes seriously screwing up holiday weekend in central states. The Phoenix has landed. Anti-gay website decides gay marriage and Nazi sympathizing not totally the same thing. Shoe found near Lake Travis with "possible human remains inside." Hungry famous people Lance Armstrong and Kate Hudson spotted together at the Hula Hut with kids in tow.......

China plans to relocate 12 *million* people. President Bush is really, really sorry that some troops used a Koran for target practice. (Or, at least, he's sorry people found out about it.) Obama meets big crowds in Oregon (surprise, surprise). Spain's defense minister is changing diapers right now. Always wanted to be a newspaper reporter, or just feeling sad about the death of print? Try moving to India. Netflix to introduce a little box......

Australian investment company wants to operate ABIA. Man found this morning hanging from Oak Hill cell phone tower. 18-year-old Austinite found guilty of killing a Tennessee state trooper. Invasive species: Crazy rasberry ants swarming in Houston. Good news for the Cowboys? Jessica Simpson and Tony Romo are dunzo, supposedly....

Thousands and thousands and thousands of people are dead in China. McCain comes out in favor of carbon caps. Teenagers who smoke pot are likely to be depressed later on, gov't says. Biggest immigration raid of the year, at a meat packing plant, means hundreds are arrested. If Congress is banning flavored cigarettes, why aren't menthols part of the package? Could this be true? Man claims Jet Blue made him sit on a toilet......

It may be best to stay off IH35 this weekend; the highway closure in Buda will surely slow down traffic in Austin. Don't forget the municipal election tomorrow! Yeah, yeah, we know already: Perry reaffirms that he will run again for governor in 2010. Sinkhole overtaking the town of Daisetta....

Junta allowing aid supplies to slowly come into Burma. Chinese team takes the Olympic torch up Everest. Oklahoma hit by severe storms. Campaign official basically admits that Clinton will be out of the race by June 15. American women waiting later and later in life to have their first babies. Vote for the best character on TV: c'mon, Olive Snook (or Liz Lemon)! What happens when gas costs over $7 per gallon?......

Indiana and North Carolina vote today. Saddam thought that he might get VD from the American guards in his prison. Never let anyone tell you that European news is sooo much more dignified than American news. They are currently fascinated by this Austrian father-daughter sex slave story (but who can blame them?) First Texas needle exchange program will not come to pass. Scientists have now found that being smart may not lead to evolutionary......

Employers cut fewer jobs in April. Hooray for April! Stocks jump after employment report. Barbara Walters had an affair with U.S. senator and I just threw up a little in my mouth. Bush wants $70 billion for war fund for 2009. Look at the size of this bridge! Texas gas prices continue upward trajectory. Madonna has some issues.......

Tornadoes hit Virginia. Will Ashley Dupre be the one to finally bring "Girls Gone Wild" down? Only click on this link if you can stand really sick-o crime stories. A dolphin died after a collision with another dolphin at Sea World over the weekend. Supposedly, the new Grand Theft Auto is really, really good. Sex tape of Jimi Hendrix now for sale.......