AP - Barack Obama stepped triumphantly into history Wednesday night, the first black American to win a major party presidential nomination, as thousands of Democrats transformed their convention hall into a joyful, shouting celebration.

AP - Sen. Barack Obama dropped in on his own party at the Democratic convention a day early Wednesday to praise his wife, his former rival, and former President Bill Clinton for going to bat for him.

AP - Western leaders warned the Kremlin on Wednesday to "change course," hoping to keep the conflict from growing into a new Cold War after tensions broadened to imperil a key nuclear pact and threaten U.S. meat and poultry trade with Russia.

AP - Gustav stalled offshore Wednesday and poured more misery onto Haiti after landslides and flooding killed 23 people. Oil workers began leaving their rigs and New Orleans drew up evacuation plans as forecasters warned the storm could plow into the U.S. Gulf coast as a major hurricane.

AP - Conditions in the western Iraqi province of Anbar, where a brutal insurgency once ruled, have improved so dramatically that the United States is handing over responsibility for security in the Sunni stronghold to Iraq within days. Troops freed up in Iraq could shift to Afghanistan.

AP - On the eve of Hurricane Katrina's third anniversary, a nervous New Orleans watched Wednesday as another storm threatened to test everything the city has rebuilt, and officials made preliminary plans to evacuate people, pets and hospitals in an attempt to avoid a Katrina-style chaos.

AP - The Bush administration is raising the stakes in a court fight that could change the balance of power between the White House and Congress.

AP - Talk about an extreme makeover: Scientists have transformed one type of cell into another in living mice, a big step toward the goal of growing replacement tissues to treat a variety of diseases.

AP - Marion "Suge" Knight was jailed Wednesday on assault and drug charges after he was accused of beating his girlfriend while brandishing a knife near the Las Vegas Strip, police said.

AP - Daniel Murphy hit a tiebreaking double after Carlos Delgado's second solo homer had tied the game in the eighth and the New York Mets beat Philadelphia 6-3 on Wednesday night to reclaim first place in the NL East.

Reuters - To shouts of "Yes we can," Democrats nominated Barack Obama on Wednesday as their presidential candidate in a historic first for a black American, backed by his ex-rivals Bill and Hillary Clinton.

Reuters - Tropical Storm Gustav pulled away from Haiti and the Dominican Republic on Wednesday after killing 23 people and threatened to become a major hurricane aimed at New Orleans and Gulf of Mexico oil fields.

Reuters - The top U.S. Marine officer said on Wednesday he could reduce his 25,000-strong force in the former al Qaeda stronghold of Iraq's Anbar province to reinforce military operations against a growing Taliban threat in Afghanistan.

Reuters - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev looked east on Thursday for support for Moscow's tough line over Georgia, which has inflamed relations with the West and prompted talk of a new Cold War.

Reuters - A federal jury in Idaho sentenced Joseph Duncan on Wednesday to death for shooting to death a 9-year-old boy in front of his younger sister after kidnapping and sexually abusing the boy.

Reuters - A car bomb blew up as a Pakistani police bus traveled across a bridge in the country's northwest on Thursday, killing 11 people, police said.

Reuters - Lesbian activist Del Martin died on Wednesday, just two months after marrying her partner of 55 years in one of the first legally recognized California same-sex weddings.

AFP - In a deafening moment of history, Democrats anointed Barack Obama the first black major-party nominee for president, in a cathartic release of unity, hope and tears.

AFP - Russia lashed out at the West for ratcheting up tensions in the Black Sea with an increased NATO naval presence, and warned against isolating Moscow over the conflict in Georgia.