+The Nightowl Newswrap - a roundup of news you might have missed

Arrests made in Colorado on suspicion they planned to assassinate Senator Obama CBS4 in Denver reported this evening that at least four people are under arrest in connection with a possible plot to assassinate Barack Obama at his Thursday night acceptance speech in Denver. All of the suspects are being held on charges related to possession of either drugs or weapons. CBS4 reported that one of the suspects told authorities they were "going to shoot Obama from a high vantage point using a ... rifle … sighted at 750 yards." Law enforcement sources said that one of the suspects "was directly asked if they had come to Denver to kill Obama. He responded in the affirmative."

This illustrates perfectly the utter meanspirited stupidity of the wingnut freakazoids Glenn Beck has his undies in a bunch over the offorts of the Democrats to have a "green" convention. He apparently finds this offensive, and wants his listeners to waste energy the next few days to offset the savings of the convention. How idiotic. It isn't going to cost the Democrats anything if Becks slavish followers waste a bunch of energy! It's going to come out of the pockets of the idiots who listen to the king of the morons.

"We will get sued November 4" said Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, bracing for up to 80% turnout in November, "Looking at the interest in this election, we think it's highly probable." While she was unwilling to force counties to completely abandon DRE machines, she said all voters would have the option to vote on a paper ballot and officials were implementing more stringent security procedures in the 53 counties that still used electronic machines. Brunner said she could not fund the switch from electronic voting in those counties and did not want to implement an unfunded mandate on areas of the already economically struggling state.

Ties between Zalmay Khalilzad and Azif Ali Zardari face scrutiny Bush's ambassador to the U.N. is facing angry questions from other senior administration officials over what appear to be unauthorized contacts with Pakistani presidential candidate Zardari, the widower of slain former Prime Minister Bennazir Bhutto. The two have been chatting on the phone several times a week for several weeks, until Khalilzad was confronted about the unauthorized contacts, a senior United States official said.


South Ossetia welcomes the bear's embrace “Finally, finally, Russia has acknowledged that we exist, and that we have suffered,” said Vova Bakayev, 41, an Ossetian soldier stationed outside Tskhinvali’s makeshift International Press Center. The recognition is largely symbolic, but it's still causing Dick Cheney's blood pressure to tick upward.

E.U. lacks the bluster of DC where Russia and Georgia are concerned European diplomats on Monday began the delicate task of finding a consensus on the Russia-Georgia crisis before an emergency summit meeting of the European Union on Sept. 1. Europe generally agrees that Russia overreacted, but there is no consensus what to do about it, and widespread realization that there isn't a lot they could do about it anyway.

12 states sue EPA to regulate CO2 emissions from oil refineries The lawsuit, led by Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo of New York, accuses the agency of violating the federal Clean Air Act by refusing to issue standards, known as new source performance standards, for controlling the emissions. “The E.P.A.’s refusal to control pollution from oil refineries is the latest example of the Bush administration’s do-nothing policy on global warming,” Mr. Cuomo said in a news release. “Oil refineries contribute substantially to global warming, posing grave threats to New York’s environment, health and economy.”

Some Hallmark outlets in Idaho balk at selling gay marriage cards Seven stores in and around Nampa, Idaho have refused to stock and sell the controversial greeting cards. All seven outlets are owned by a single family.

John Mccain has a Randy Scheunemann problem Schuenemann has specious lobbying dealings other than representing Georgia's interest while simultaneously advising McCain on Georgia - He has also sided with the gun industry to lobby against closing the "terrorist loophole." When asked if Scheunemann had ever lobbied McCain on gunn issues, the campaign “declined to say if Scheunemann had ever lobbied McCain on gun-control bills.”

Too bad ABC didn't catch this and broadcast it on an endless loop A Faux Noise crew setting up in their broadcast booth at the convention got doused when the sprinkler system kicked on. Firefighters who responded believe the news crew’s broadcast lights were too close to the sprinkler heads and set off the system. It was reportedly caught on tape, but we haven't found the youtube...yet...

This is getting embarrassing to watch The McCain camp really was serious when they indicated they thought that he was not flogging his POW status enough, because he was back at the well once more tonight during an appearance on Leno.

Big Bang test is a go A spokesperson for the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) said weekend trials in the vast underground LHC machine in which the particle-smashing experiment will take place over the coming months and years "went without a hitch." The final tests involved pumping a single bunch of energy particles from the project's accelerator into the 27-km (17-mile) beam pipe of the collider and steering them counter- clockwise around it for about 3 kms (2 miles). Earlier in the month a clockwise trial in the LHC -- which runs deep under French and Swiss territory between the Jura mountains and Lake Geneva -- had been equally successful, CERN said.