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

Hillary sure is a class act I was moved to the verge of tears when she interrupted the roll call to move that Senator Obama be nominated by acclimation. It was historic, and I am proud to be one of those 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling. And I still want her to be the Majority Leader come January.

We still love the Big Dog He stepped up to the plate and knocked it out of the park. He needs a role - ambassador to the UN maybe?

Beau Biden gave a hell of a speech, too Joe Biden does have a very compelling story, and his son told it very well.

Damn, he's scrappy This is going to be one hell of a campaign!



They prayed for rain but they wanted it to disrupt the Obama's acceptance speech. In a karmic twist of fate, the gulf coast is threatened by Gustav and could make landfall as the GOP convenes in the twin cities for their convention. What a poignant reminder of how bu$h has failed that city and what McSame was doing when the storm came ashore.

ABC investigative journalist roughed up and arrested in Denver The journalist, Asa Eslocker, and a camera crew were on a public sidewalk attempting to take pictures of Democratic senators and VIP donors leaving a private meeting at the Brown Palace Hotel. A cigar-smoking Denver police sergeant, accompanied by a team of five other officers, first put his hands on Eslocker's neck, then twisted the producer's arm behind him to put on handcuffs. A police official later told lawyers for ABC News that Eslocker is being charged with trespass, interference, and failure to follow a lawful order. He also said the arrest followed a signed complaint from the Hotel.

Another record year for sea ice melt The National Snow and Ice Data Center reported this week that Sea ice currently covers 2.03 million square miles, and with three more weeks of summer left, this year could surpass last years record melt, when sea ice fell to 1.65 million square miles.

Punk rocker jailed in Cuba for "social dangerousness" The Cuban rocker whose biting profanity-laced lyrics against the Castro government has previously gotten him in trouble is now in detention and expected to face trial Friday, according to human rights groups in Havana...Gorki Aguila, 39, heads Porno Para Ricardo -- Porn for Ricardo -- a 10-year-old punk rock group that regularly denounces the government in its songs. Aguila was picked up Monday during a rehearsal for an album tentatively called ''Geriatric Central Committee,'' an apparent jab at the aging members of Cuba's communist party leadership...He is charged with ''pre-crime social dangerousness,'' a law the Cuban government uses on people it considers a threat to the revolution.

Xcel to disclose global warming risks One of the country’s largest builders of coal-fired power plants signed a landmark agreement with New York attorney general, Andrew M. Cuomo in which they agree to give investors detailed warnings about the risks that global warming poses to its business.

She died a married oman Del Martin lived long enough to marry Phyllis Lyon, her partner of 55 years, and San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom performed their ceremony the very moment he legally could, and they became the first same-sex couple to wed in the state. Mrs. Martin and Mrs. Lyon were a loving couple for 55 years and a married couple for two months and eleven days. She was 87, and she died with her partner at her side at the UCSF medical center. Godspeed, Del.

GOP tosses platform planks to accommodate McCain That isn't likely to placate a base that has misgivings about him anyway.

Virus found on laptop on the International Space Station NASA confirmed on Wednesday that a computer virus was identified on a laptop computer aboard the International Space Station, which carries about 50 computers. The virus was quarantined with virus protection software and posed no threat to ISS systems or operations, said a NASA spokesperson.