Democratic convention. Democrats make history behind Obama "Democrats swept away more than 200 years of history and nominated Barack Obama for the White House," Democrats Nominate Obama "Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois completed an improbable and historic journey when he was nominated by acclamation as the Democratic candidate for president, becoming the first African American to lead a major political party into a general-election campaign." Barack Obama's nomination is unanimous and historic "Barack Obama, riding a message of change, swept aside a Democratic dynasty and two centuries of history to become the first African American to lead a major political party into the fall campaign for the White House."

March on Washington. 'I never ... thought I would live to see this day' "Preston Marshall stared down fire hoses, billy clubs and hatred to march with Martin Luther King Jr. Eufaula Frazier watched her Liberty City neighborhood burn after police were cleared of beating an unarmed black motorcyclist to death. Neither thought they would ever see this day." Years Later, Lewis Watches History Being Made "When the Democratic Party officially nominated Barack Obama for the presidency Wednesday night, a 68-year-old son of Alabama sharecroppers sat in section 122 of the Pepsi Center, pondering a time when the scene before him was utterly inconceivable." Witnesses to Dr. King's Dream See a New Hope "Dezie Woods-Jones plans to stand Thursday night with her California delegation in a stadium here and listen to Barack Obama, the first black major-party presidential nominee in the nation's history, give his acceptance speech. Ms. Woods-Jones, now in her 60s, is one of a tiny handful of delegates who on the same day in 1963, Aug. 28, stood with hundreds of thousands at the March on Washington and heard a young minister, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., deliver his soaring 'I Have a Dream' speech." Houston activists say equality is now more than a dream "When Bill Lawson marched for civil rights in the 1950s, his aims were relatively modest - just being able to try on shoes in a whites-only department store, for example."

McCain VP. McCain Has Made His Pick and Is Set to Tell on Friday "Senator John McCain has decided on his running mate, two Republican strategists in contact with Mr. McCain's campaign said Wednesday. He is expected to reveal his choice at 11 a.m. Friday at a rally at a basketball arena in Dayton, Ohio."

Immigration raid. Businesses Cite a Catch-22 After Miss. Immigration Raid "The arrests this week of nearly 600 immigrant workers at a manufacturing plant in Laurel, Miss., are fueling a national debate over a federal system to check new hires' work documents, a program whose expansion the Bush administration has made a cornerstone of its fight against illegal immigration." Simmering tension between union, immigrants boiled over into raid on Miss. factory "Union bosses in this region of rural Mississippi have long grumbled that the largest factories here hire illegal immigrants, and that the immigrants were starting to get more overtime and supervisory positions."

Global warming. Arctic sea ice melts to 2nd lowest level in 30 years; scientists see ominous signs "More ominous signs Wednesday have scientists saying that a global warming 'tipping point' in the Arctic seems to be happening before their eyes: Sea ice in the Arctic Ocean is at its second lowest level in about 30 years."

Global poverty. Poverty, lack of healthcare a global killer: WHO "A 'toxic combination' of poverty and social injustice is killing people on a grand scale, a World Health Organization report said Thursday, urging states to fund healthcare to cut inequalities." World health inequalities: ten of the worst

Iraq . Top Marine wants to shift troops from Iraq to Afghanistan "Marines in western Iraq's Anbar province no longer face a serious threat from insurgents and would be better used in increasingly violent regions of southern Afghanistan, the top Marine Corps officer said Wednesday." U.S. to transfer military control of Anbar to Iraq "The western province was where U.S. forces saw some of the fiercest fighting since Vietnam, a place where more than 1,100 U.S. troops have been killed in action since the start of the war. And with a largely Sunni population that was hostile to U.S. forces and the newly empowered Shiite government in Baghdad, Anbar looked as if it would be the toughest nut to crack in Iraq."

Afghanistan. Only a Two-Page 'Note' Governs U.S. Military in Afghanistan "For the past six years, military relations between the United States and Afghanistan have been governed by a two-page 'diplomatic note' giving U.S. forces virtual carte blanche to conduct operations as they see fit."

Russia. EU considers sanctions on Russia "EU leaders are considering sanctions 'and many other means' against Russia over the Georgia crisis, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner has said. But he said he hoped the matter would 'be solved by negotiation.'"

Pakistan. Pakistan rocked by renewed violence and angry demonstrations "Fierce fighting between militants and government forces continued in Pakistan's lawless western provinces today as hundreds of lawyers staged demonstrations calling for the reinstatement of the judges fired by the former president, Pervez Musharraf."

Kenya. Village builds its own future "This is the story of a village, spurred by two extraordinary women, rising from the depths of the AIDS epidemic to build a future for itself. In 10 years, with hardly any international aid, this poor farming community has founded a nursery school and feeding program, a pharmacy, a youth group and income-generating projects. The work touches more than 10,000 people in 10 villages and keeps growing."

Passing. Peace pioneer Abie Nathan, 81 "Abie Nathan, the pilot, entrepreneur, peace activist and founder of the groundbreaking Voice of Peace radio station, died yesterday at Tel Aviv's Ichilov hospital, the hospital said in a statement. He was 81."

Editorial. Headway with the homeless (Christian Science Monitor) "After 30 years, one of America's most intractable social problems is finally turning around: Overall homelessness has fallen 12 percent since 2005. Thanks goes to a eureka insight, followed by a coordinated nationwide push. The progress proves that Americans at all levels can tackle difficult challenges if they commit to them."

Opinion. Johnson's Dream, Obama's Speech (Robert A. Caro, New York Times) "As I watch Barack Obama's speech to the Democratic convention tonight, I will be remembering another speech: the one that made Martin Luther King cry. And I will be thinking: Mr. Obama's speech - and in a way his whole candidacy - might not have been possible had that other speech not been given. That speech was President Lyndon Johnson's address to Congress in 1965 announcing that he was about to introduce a voting rights act."