Showdown at Saddleback
John McCain outperformed Barack Obama at Saddleback Church, where they expressed their different worldviews.

Higher Costs Taking a Toll on Business
Businesses have been passing the costs on to consumers, just as joblessness expands and spending power shrinks.

Names of the Dead
The Department of Defense has identified 4,138 American service members who have died since the start of the Iraq war and 572 who have died as a part of Operation Enduring Freedom, which is centered in Afghanistan. It confirmed the deaths of the following Americans yesterday:.

Obama’s Ads in Key States Go on Attack
Barack Obama has started a hard-hitting ad campaign against John McCain in vital states, painting Mr. McCain as disconnected from middle-class struggles.

National Briefing | South: Georgia: Dr. King’s Son Sues Siblings
Two of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s children have been sued by the institution that their mother founded and their brother heads.

Exposing Bush’s historic abuse of power
Salon has uncovered new evidence of post-9/11 spying on Americans. Obtained documents point to a potential investigation of the White House that could rival Watergate.

The Obama show lands in Israel
He got a rock-star reception here, but an intriguing question lingers: Which U.S. presidential candidate is better for this country?

Court Rejects E.P.A. Limits on Emissions Rules
The federal appeals court ruling is the most recent in a series of judicial setbacks to the Bush administration’s efforts to reshape federal policies under the Clean Air Act.

The Prospects: One Hand on Her Job, the Other Across the Aisle
Of all those said to be on the short list for the Democratic vice-presidential nomination, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas best embodies the kind of bipartisanship that Barack Obama has hailed.

The Education of McCain
John McCain and his advisers are running a much more conventional race, the kind he used to ridicule. The inescapable fact is: It is working.

Texas Panel Rejects Plea to Halt Execution of Accomplice in 1996 Murder
Jeffrey Lee Wood is sentenced to die this week for the murder of a store clerk during a robbery, even though he was sitting in a truck outside the convenience store when it happened.

Chaos in the Caucasus
An expert on Russian politics talks about what’s behind the military assault on Georgia, and how the U.S. and Europe failed to prevent it.

Jack C. Landau, Who Fought for Rights of News Reporters, Is Dead at 74
Mr. Landau called himself a “First Amendment guerrilla,” and used his education as a lawyer in advocacy for journalists around the country.

Would Obama prosecute the Bush administration for torture?
Obama’s brain trust wants to form a commission on torture and call Bush officials as witnesses, but put off prosecutions — if any — till a second term.

Former Economic Development Ministry official gets 10 years in penalcolony (Interfax)
MOSCOW. Aug 18 (Interfax) - The Moscow City Court sentenced former Economic Development Ministry and Russian Federal Property Agency officials to four to ten years in prison for bribery and aiding bribery on Monday.

Officials talk economic development in Urbana (Springfield News-Sun)
Urbana City Council members and Champaign County commissioners are exploring the best way to promote economic development in the county.

Greenfield Planning Board proposes ‘green technology campus’ as best hope for economic development. (The Republican)
GREENFIELD - The Planning Board has proposed that the city shoot for a “green technology campus” as its best bet for economic development.

The Intellectuals and Socialism (Ludwig von Mises Institute)
In all democratic countries, in the United States even more than elsewhere, a strong belief prevails that the influence of the intellectuals on politics is negligible.

SUSSEX COUNTY: Economic development chief hired (The Daily Times)
GEORGETOWN — A Salisbury, Md., executive has been hired as economic development director for the Sussex County government.

Council To Seek Economic Development Consultant (The Morning News)
FAYETTEVILLE - Through the help of an economic development consultant, the Fayetteville City Council hopes to get a good look not only at itself, but how the outside world sees the Northwest Arkansas city.

City to look locally for economic development specialist (The Pulse-Journal)
The city of Monroe is planning to conduct a local search to find an applicant to fill its newly created position of economic development specialist.

Zecotek Receives Payment From the Government of Singapore Economic Development Board (PrimeNewswire via Yahoo! Finance)
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 18, 2008 — Zecotek Photonics Inc. today announced it has received the first grant payment under the previously announced Government of Singapore Economic Development Board’s Research Incentive Scheme for Companies.

Japanese Bank Buys Rest of UnionBanCal
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, one of Japan’s largest banks, agreed to buy the remaining part of UnionBanCal Corporation that it does not already own for about $3.5 billion.

Russia’s Conflict Worries Wall Street
As a military conflict between Russia and Georgia ends its first week, a number of big Wall Street banks are beginning to reassess the stability of their businesses in Russia.

Around the World, Pessimism About the Economy
The Bank of England offered a pessimistic outlook for the rest of the year, saying it expected inflation to hit 5 percent, while Japan appears to be flirting with recession.

World Business Briefing | Europe: Germany: Investor Confidence Rises
German investor confidence recovered in August from a 16-year low the month before, as fears of an economic downturn in Europe’s biggest economy appeared to ease.

Saturday Interview: For Deliveries, Speed Not Quite of the Essence
The chief executive of DHL Express talks abut hiring a rival, United Parcel Service, to handle its air cargo operations in the United States.

Challenges facing Indian broadband
For all the hype, few Indians have fast broadband internet, which is critical for using high-bandwidth services such as videos and internet telephony such as Skype

As Oil Giants Lose Influence, Supply Drops
Though eager to expand, the major Western oil companies are finding it harder than ever to find new prospects.

Export Boom Helps Farms, but Not American Factories
A surge in U.S. commodity exports is a relief in an otherwise bleak economy, but it is an unreliable prop for an industrial power.

UK rises to India’s largest foreign investor
Indirect deals made by British companies through Mauritius, the British Virgin Islands and Cyprus push investments to more than £8bn, outstripping those from the US

Comedy show plays on Danes’ fears of Islam and terrorism (International Herald Tribune)
“The Terror Cell” is largely the work of Omar Marzouk, a Muslim who is one of the best-known stand-up comics in Denmark. He chides the Danes for avoiding hard questions about immigration and the country’s role in the Middle East.

‘Youngest terrorist’ jailed (AFP via Yahoo! News)
A London court has convicted three men on anti-terrorism charges, including a teenager who becomes the youngest Briton found of guilty of such offences.

Two jailed for possession of terror guides (Gulf Times)
LONDON: A Briton described by prosecutors as a terrorism ‘Mr Fix-it’ who recruited young people to Al Qaeda’s ideology over the Internet was jailed for 12 years yesterday while one of his accomplices received a 10-year term.

43 are killed in suicide bombing in Algeria (Winston-Salem Journal)
ALGIERS, Algeria — A suicide bomber drove a car full of explosives into a line of applicants at an Algerian police academy yesterday, killing at least 43 people in the deadliest terror attack to jolt this energy-rich U.S. ally since the 1990s.

A Soggy View / Suicide bomber kills 43 in Algerian attack (Pioneer Press)
ALGIERS, Algeria — A suicide bomber drove a car full of explosives into a line of applicants at an Algerian police academy Tuesday, killing at least 43 people in the deadliest terror attack to jolt this energy-rich U.S. ally since the 1990s. Witnesses said the blast in the town of Les Issers, about 35 miles east of Algiers, tore a 3-foot-deep crater in the road, ripped off parts of the police …

U.S. counter-terrorism officials express relief over Musharraf exit (Los Angeles Times)
Even at the height of his powers, he had produced uneven results in battling Al Qaeda and the Taliban. Whether it was the hunt for Osama bin Laden or secret airstrikes on Taliban forces in the badlands of Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan, much of the Bush administration’s war on terrorism has hinged on its relationship with general-turned-president Pervez Musharraf.

U.S. condemns terror attack in Algeria (People’s Daily)
The United States condemned on Tuesday a suicide bombing attack near a military school at Issers in eastern Algeria, in which 43 people were killed, and 45 others wounded. “We condemn this attack, it’s just another example of the reach of extremists and we would support the government of Algeria as best as we can in trying to fight this scourge,” State Department spokesman Robert Wood said at a …

Terror trial (Montreal Gazette)
Momin Khawaja may have wanted to wage violent a jihad in Afghanistan, but he had no knowledge of a plot to blow up a number of European targets, including a night club in central London, defence lawyer Lawrence Greenspon said as Khawaja’s terrorism trial resumed Tuesday.

Discuss: Obama Worked for a Terrorist (WOAI San Antonio)
Barack Hussein Obama refers to radical Weather Underground terrorist William Ayers as “just a neighbor.” As it turns out, Obama’s ties to Ayers have much deeper roots then just the…

Al-Qaeda calls for jihad in Mauritania after coup (Mail and Guardian)
The map will replace this text. If any users do not have Flash Player 8 (or above), they’ll see this message. Al-Qaeda’s North Africa wing has called for a holy war in Mauritania to establish Islamic rule after a military junta toppled the country’s elected president.

43 killed in terrorist bombing in Algeria (Islamic Republic News Agency)
Algeria - Terrorism A suicide bomber rammed an explosives- filled car into a police academy 60 kilometers east of Algiers early Tuesday, killing at least 43 people - mainly civilians and young recruits who had been waiting to take an entrance exam.

Mounting Terror in Algeria (Time Magazine)
The worst yet in a spate of suicide bombings stokes fears of more attacks during the coming holy month

Islamist terror cell plotting to kill British Queen? (Express India)
An Islamist terror cell busted with details of bomb-making and suicide vests is said to have been plotting to kill the British Queen and some high-profile members of the Royal Family, including Prince Charles.

NATO condemns terrorist attack in Algeria (People’s Daily)
NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer condemned on Tuesday the bombing in Algeria that killed 43 people. “On behalf of NATO, I condemn in the strongest possible terms the terrorist attack in Issers today,” he said in a statement. “There can be no justification for this destruction,” he added. NATO will continue to work with Algeria and other countries in the Mediterranean to cooperate in …

Iraq: A Chronology of UN Inspections (Arms Control Association)
In April 1991, as part of the permanent cease-fire agreement ending the Persian Gulf War, the UN Security Council ordered Iraq to eliminate under international supervision its biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons programs, as well as its ballistic missiles with ranges greater than 150 kilometers.

Egypt: Iran should reassure West on nuclear issue (Las Vegas Sun)
Sat, Aug 16, 2008 (1:15 a.m.) Iran should not give Western nations the justification to “drag the region down a dangerous slope” by its lack of transparency and flexibility in the conflict over its nuclear program, Egypt’s presidential spokesman said Saturday.

The Limits of Modest Progress: The Rise, Fall, and Return of Efforts to Strengthen the Biological Weapons Convention (Arms Control Association)
Next month, Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) member states will gather for a review conference five years after a previous meeting dissolved amid acrimony. So far, the signs are that countries participating in November’s BWC review meeting will avoid a repeat of late 2001’s scarring experience.

Out Damn Blot: A Letter to Colin Powell (Middle East Online)
We now know from former CIA officials that information on the absence of WMD was concealed from Congress, from our senior military, and from intelligence analysts — including those working on the infamous National Intelligence Estimate of Oct. 1, 2002, says Ray McGovern .

Double Standards in the Global War on Terror (Middle East Online)
Once US weapons labs were identified as the sources of the anthrax, why were no special ops teams sent in to occupy the facilities, shut them down, and fly those found there, shackled and blindfolded, to Guantanamo or other more secret sites? Asks Tom Engelhardt .

How Tenet ‘betrayed’ the CIA on Iraq (Asia Times)
WASHINGTON - Journalist Ron Suskind’s revelation that Saddam Hussein’s intelligence chief was a pre-war intelligence source reporting to the British that Saddam had no weapons of mass destruction (WMD) adds yet another dimension to the systematic effort by then Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director George Tenet to quash any evidence - no matter how credible - that conflicted with the George …

Photos: Training for WMD terrorist attacks (CNET)
Firefighters don hazmat suits in exercise to prepare for major attacks involving chemical weapons, other biohazards.

More National Security Pages (Heritage Foundation)
Section 1062 of the National Defense Authoriza tion Act for Fiscal Year 2008 created a congressionally appointed commission to review the strategic posture of the United States.

FBI presents more details in anthrax case (San Jose Mercury News)
WASHINGTON - FBI officials laid out Monday their most detailed scientific case to date against Bruce Ivins, the military scientist accused of being the anthrax killer, but they acknowledged that the many mysteries of the case meant an air of uncertainty would always surround it.

Missile system turns Britain into a target (Socialist Worker)
George Bush’s plans for a “missile defence shield” have already played a major part in goading Russia and destabilising the Caucasus. Now it could turn Britain into a target in any future nuclear confrontation.

Meeting on Chemical Weapons Convention in Colombo (Daily News)
The Regional Summit of the National Authorities and Parliamentarians in Asia on the National Implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention will be held in Sri Lanka this year with the participation of 30 countries in the region.

Preparing for an urban WMD attack (CNET via Yahoo! News)
SAN FRANCISCO–”Weapons of mass destruction multi-agency exercise.”

Israel’s Airstrike on Syria’s Reactor: Implications for the Nonproliferation Regime (Arms Control Association)
On September 6, 2007, in a surprise dawn attack, seven Israeli warplanes destroyed an industrial facility near al-Kibar, Syria, later identified by the CIA as a nearly completed nuclear reactor secretly under construction since 2001.[

Iran Pushes Ahead on Nuclear Power Plants With Search for Sites (The New York Sun)
TEHRAN — Iran took a step toward building more nuclear power plants, selecting six Iranian companies to find sites for the projects. “These companies have 13 months to identify suitable locations for the construction of nuclear plants,” the deputy head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, Ahmad Fayaz Bakhsh, was cited as saying yesterday by the state-owned Islamic Republic News Agency. He …

N. Korea says US is hampering nuclear disarmament (Las Vegas Sun)
Mon, Aug 18, 2008 (6:21 a.m.) North Korea accused the United States on Monday of using human rights to block progress in a six-nation agreement on eliminating nuclear weapons in the communist country.

New air force chiefs promise to raise nuclear standards Washington (AFP) Aug 12, 2008 (Space War)
The US Air Force’s new chiefs vowed Tuesday to restore “perfection” as the standard for the control of US nuclear forces, in the wake of a series of embarassing blunders that cost their predecessors their jobs. “It is a mission where anything less than perfection is not acceptable.

Nuclear weapons not likely to be affected by president leaving (Texarkana Gazette)
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—Pervez Musharraf’s departure from the presidency is unlikely to have a significant impact on how Pakistan’s nuclear weapons are controlled.

N. Korea says US is hampering nuclear disarmament (AP via Yahoo! News)
North Korea accused the United States on Monday of using human rights to block progress in a six-nation agreement on eliminating nuclear weapons in the communist country.

Japan signals approval of India-US nuclear deal (AFP via Yahoo! News)
Japan on Tuesday signalled it would approve a nuclear energy deal between India and the United States, raising the chances that the controversial pact will come into force.

Iran picks firms to hunt for new nuclear plant sites (AFP via Yahoo! News)
Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation on Tuesday tasked six local companies to hunt for potential sites for new nuclear power plants, the official news agency IRNA reported.

Contracts signed for construction of six nuclear power plants in Iran (Nasdaq)
(RTTNews) - Iran’s state agency for nuclear energy production signed contracts with local companies to build six more nuclear power plants in the country, the official news agency IRNA reported Tuesday.

Report: Iran to build more nuclear power plants (San Francisco Chronicle)
Iran’s official news agency says the country is preparing to build more nuclear power plants. Tuesday’s IRNA report quotes Ahmad Fayyazbakhsh, the head of a state-owned nuclear energy production company. He says his company signed agreements with other…

Russia threatens Poland with nuclear weapons (Calcutta News)
Russia has warned Poland it could be laying itself open to a nuclear strike because of its deal with the US.

Solving the Iranian Nuclear Puzzle (Arms Control Association)
Three years after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed that Iran had secretly built uranium-enrichment facilities, diplomatic opportunities to resolve concerns about Iran’s nuclear weapons ambitions are narrowing fast.

Russia denies plans for nuclear-armed Baltic fleet (Reuters via Yahoo! UK & Ireland News)
A senior Russian military official on Tuesday denied Western media reports that Moscow was planning to equip its warships in the Baltic Sea with nuclear weapons.

Non-Nuclear Warhead Urged for Trident Missile (Washington Post)
A National Research Council blue-ribbon panel of defense experts is recommending development and testing of a conventional warhead for submarine-launched intercontinental Trident missiles to give the president an alternative to using nuclear weapons for a prompt strike anywhere in the world.

Report: Iran to build more nuclear power plants (AP via Yahoo! News)
Iran’s official news agency says the country is preparing to build more nuclear power plants.