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Environmentalists on Wednesday accused the U.S. government of not doing enough to ensure the survival of the Rio Grande silvery minnow as drought tightens its grip on one of the longest rivers in the West. In a lawsuit filed in federal court, the group WildEarth Guardians asked a judge to force the Bureau of Reclamation and the Fish and Wildlife Service to reassess the effects of water management activities on the endangered fish. They also want federal officials to develop enforceable measures to keep dams and diversions along the river’s stretch through New Mexico’s most populated region from jeopardizing the...

After meeting with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown today, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, came before the microphones... SNIP But the Pentagon said that wasn't true, that Obama was more than welcome to come, it was just that he couldn't bring the media or campaign staff. So here's what Obama said about it all: "The staff was working this so I don’t know each and every detail but here is what I understand happened," Obama said. "We had scheduled to go, we had no problem at all in leaving, we always leave press and staff off -- that is why we...

Blackfive posted this email yesterday and has another supporting account (added below in an update) from another member of the military who was also present during Obama's carefully scripted P.R. World Tour. I think you should read it. Hello everyone, As you know I am not a very political person. I just wanted to pass along that Senator Obama came to Bagram Afghanistan for about an hour on his visit to "The War Zone". I wanted to share with you what happened. He got off the plan[sic] and got into a bullet proof vehicle, got to the area to meet...

As the US Democratic Presidential candidate, Barack Obama has drawn wide attention in the United States and elsewhere in the world from his first-ever overseas tour. During his ongoing trip, he has not been taken as an ordinary US Senator in a "routine" visit but is treated as a promising presidential hopeful. Special coverages filed by his accompanying reporters from mainstream US media organs on the great, high-profile reception he was accorded amid tight security arranged by the Afghanistan government is just an indisputable proof. Why should Senator Obama, who is now so busy and engrossed with his presidential race,...

A dozen top foreign policy advisers are either traveling with Obama or doing groundwork ahead of his arrival in each country. This group is supplemented by his usual contingent of almost a dozen traveling aides, including chief campaign strategist David Axelrod and communications director Robert Gibbs, and too many advance staff to count. With layers of Secret Service agents, they zipped through Amman Tuesday in a motorcade of 20 vehicles. The mix of policy and political advisers reflects the split dimension of the senator’s tour through Europe and the Middle East: Even as his closest aides insist that the trip...

US Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) is saluted as he steps off an osprey upon arriving at Marka Airport in Amman, Jordan, July 22, 2008.

Bob Denver, whose portrayal of goofy first mate Gilligan on the 1960s television show "Gilligan's Island," made him an iconic figure to generations of TV viewers, has died, his agent confirmed Tuesday. He was 70. Denver, who underwent quadruple heart bypass surgery earlier this year, died at Wake Forest University Baptist Hospital in North Carolina, according to agent Mike Eisenstadt. Denver's death was first reported by "Entertainment Tonight."

A mysterious tale is emerging from southern California, involving the lost lover of one of Australia's most famous singing exports, Olivia Newton-John. US investigators have few leads as they try to solve the disappearance of the singer's partner, Hollywood cameraman Patrick McDermott. He was last seen seven weeks ago, after telling friends he was going on an overnight fishing trip. The 48-year-old has been missing since July 1. The US Coastguard does not know whether he disappeared while fishing off the coast of southern California, or made it back to shore. Warrant officer William Epperson says some of Mr McDermott's...