The second presidential debate: "remarkably sedate", "low-voltage", "tedious" The Federal Reserve and other world banks enact an emergency rate cut Work with glowing jellyfish leads to Nobel Prize in chemistry Caution: No cold medicine for kids under 4 Wal-Mart says shoppers are sticking to necessities Vanishing Saturday Night Live sketch stirs controversy Esquire names Halle Berry as this year's Sexiest Woman Alive......

Senate to vote today on the bailout plan (or rescue plan, if you like) Journalism major Palin doesn't name a single paper she reads Somali pirates still holding tanks and weapons for ransom Latest weather forecast for Mars: snow! New York mayor Bloomberg wants to stick around for a third term White Sox win playoff; baseball post-season set to begin Officer expects house cat, gets cougar......

FBI investigating four firms at the heart of this financial meltdown Warren Buffett in a buying mood; pours $5 billion into Goldman Sachs McCain aide’s firm was paid by Freddie Mac up through last month ABC/Washington Post polls says: Obama 52 percent, McCain 43 percent North Korea bars inspectors from nuclear plant T-Mobile's Google-powered phone could give the iPhone some competition Clay Aiken is gay. Yes, he is.......

The Federal Reserve lends insurer AIG $85 billion to stay afloat Howard Stern pranksters make out behind live news report from Wall Street 16 die in attack on U.S. Embassy in Yemen McCain adviser: McCain helped invent the Blackberry T-Mobile to show off the first Googlephone on September 23 Austin hurricane shelters not as well-stocked as elsewhere World's shortest man meets world's leggiest woman......

"Big Bang" machine, Large Hadron Collider (hee hee): Still, it works Was Obama referring to Palin when he said "lipstick on a pig"? Hurricane Ike enters Gulf; on path for Texas Apple announces new iPods; still overshadowed by iPhone Wall Street firm Lehman Brothers lost nearly $4 billion last quarter Britney Spears wins big at MTV Video Music Awards Oyster lunch uncovers cluster of 26 pearls......

Palin takes the stage tonight to speak to Republican convention Google releases a new web browser, called Chrome, to take on Microsoft Following up on Gustav, Tropical Storm Hanna expected to hit Friday US plans to send $1 billion in aid to rebuild Georgia Don LaFontaine, the voice you know from movie trailers, dies at 68 The Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, meet in US Open quarterfinals Study finds the older the father, the......

Clinton's convention speech: "No way, no how, no McCain" Chatter over Hutchison as McCain's possible VP pick gets louder. Isn't she running for governor? Suffering from exhaustion, Dalai Lama cancels international trips Fear grips immigrants after largest raid in U.S. history Tropical Storm Gustav remains a major threat to the Gulf Coast Rap impresario Dr. Dre's 20-year-old son was found dead in Los Angeles Instant replay comes to baseball beginning Thursday......

Deaths reported as plane skids off runway at Madrid airport Hua Guofeng, who succeeded China's Chairman Mao, dies at 87 Obama and his new VP choice to campaign together on Saturday Tropical Storm Fay may rebound and hit Florida again Dave Matthews Band sax player LeRoi Moore dies The Bigfoot body captured in Georgia? That's right -- a hoax Olympic spoiler alert: Jamaica's Usain Bolt wins 200 meters in world record time......

Georgian president says "there is no cease-fire" as Russian convoy advances Phelps makes Olympic history with two more golds; US women gymnasts take silver Opening ceremonies singer, chosen for her cuteness, lip-synched song Retail sales fall for the first time in five months Mark Warner to deliver keynote at Democratic Convention Firefighters douse blaze at Apple's Cupertino campus Unabomber objects to having his cabin on display at Newseum......

Scientists in the Congo discover a previously unknown group of 125,000 gorillas Over the objections of pretty much everyone, Texas executed a convicted rapist and murderer Tuesday night Perchlorate (a salt used in rocket fuel) found in Martian soil Hackers steal more than than 40 million credit and debit card numbers Gas prices at the pump fell nationwide for the 20th straight day U.S. cyclists apologize for wearing masks upon arrival in Beijing Paris......

Los Angeles gets back on its feet after yesterday's earthquake President Bush signs massive housing relief bill 82-year-old Alaska senator Ted "Series of Tubes" Stevens indicted North Carolina man charged with murdering pregnant soldier China will block some Internet access for Olympic journalists Lance Armstrong and Kate Hudson decide to go their separate ways In happier news, Cheech and Chong patch things up and plan a tour......

Driver slams his bulldozer into a crowded bus in Jerusalem, killing at least 3 people Manhunt ends in Illinois for suspect in eight murders Hospital employees disciplined after ignoring a woman who collapsed and died in an ER waiting area Starbucks closing 600 stores across the country President Palmer from '24' believes his role helped Obama Tabloids buzzing about potential Alex Rodriguez-Madonna hookup Texas ex Piersol sets world record at Olympic swimming trials......

Obama "outraged" by ex-pastor's "ridiculous propositions" US troop deaths hit 7-month high in Iraq What recession? Economy grows slightly in first quarter Albert Hofmann, father of drug LSD, dies in Switzerland Happy 75th birthday, Willie Nelson Paula Abdul gets confused on "American Idol" Spurs eliminate Suns to advance in NBA playoffs......

Clinton wins in Pennsylvania; North Carolina and Indiana next up World food prices soar; threaten the poorest nations Violent days in Chicago: 36 shootings, 9 homicides PETA offers $1M prize for lab-grown meat Mysterious lights in the sky over Phoenix spook residents Bear from Will Ferrell movie kills trainer 15-year-old Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana) to write memoir......

The economy "shed" 80,000 jobs in March. Hillary denies denial after "mishearing." 81% of Americans polled think the nation is heading in the wrong direction. How many Romans thought Rome was heading in the wrong direction? The Round Rock officers who shot and killed a naked man have been identified. What the hell is a WAG and why do they all seem cracked out? Formula One motor racing chief Max Mosley has sick Nazi......

Word on the street is the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission will approve plans to build the first nuclear power plants (three of 'em, to be exact) since the meltdown at Three Mile Island back in 1979. The question at the heart of this issue: is nuclear energy really a safer, healthier alternative to coal? As the sunny season approaches, this Slate article on whether sun-bathing is bad for you makes a nice, edifying read.........

Austin police are investigating the death of a man whose body was found in a Northeast Austin Creek last night. A painful breakup with his wife has prompted a man to put his entire life - his house, his car, his job, even his friends - up for sale online in an effort to start over. Spitzer's call girl gone wild. The shots stopped falling, Boston's stars took over and just like that, the......

Guess what! We're pulling out of Iraq today! Not. Kenyan politician, voice for peace is shot to death in his driveway. New York State archivist sells important documents from American history on Ebay. Those archivists - you just can't trust 'em. As if FEMA's reputation could get any worse... FOX News struggles with the plural form of "Kennedy". Is your HD DVD player totally lame now? Tom Brady attended practice yesterday, bootlessly. He's back...possibly.......

Today's Mega News Bits by Patrick Dentler and Rebecca Onion Asian markets fall; the Fed is really, really worried. Not convinced Giuliani's a dangerous, power-mad nutcase? Read this. The Great iPhone Heist! Tom Brady limps through the streets of New York with a walking boot on his foot. (The question is, what the hell was he doing in enemy territory in the first place?) Unhappy news for pregnant ladies, those who must inhabit the......

Presidential Primaries: Hillary and Mitt Romney take Nevada, McCain takes South Carolina....

More talk of the coming recession: "The question is not whether we will have a recession, but how deep and prolonged it will be." Meanwhile, Austin's economy may be uniquely positioned among the nation's cities to withstand a potential recession....

Elections to continue in Pakistan despite the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif's vow to boycott them. Republican Mike Huckabee is clueless about Pakistan. Your tax refund could be delayed due to Congress' late fix to the alternative minimum tax. UT won the Holiday Bowl and the sports world yawned. San Francisco zoo director Manuel Mollinedo claims that the tiger's enclosure fell short of the industry's safety standards. Is anyone else......

Russian Premier, er, we mean President Putin using Soviet-style measures to suppress political opposition? The evidence just keeps on rolling in... Yesterday, British forces formally handed the province of Basra to the Iraqi government. This is the ninth province transferred to Iraqi control by American-led forces since July 2006. The week-long U.N. climate-change conference, held in Bali, ended last Friday. A ranking has been released showing which countries have the most proactive greenhouse gas......

Democrats debate in Iowa, everybody yawns. Al Gore blames you. "If you wanna get down, down on the ground..." It is so freaking cold in the midwest! Call your grandma and check on her. New Jersey is set to abolish the death penalty. Paris Hilton likes to show skin. Wastewater spills into Bull Creek tributary.......

Some would rather vote for a yellow dog. Image from DemocraticStuff.com Lou Dubose presents Bill Of WrongsTuesday, November 27BookPeople (603 N. Lamar)Free, Starts at 7pm[info] Fiery Austin columnist Molly Ivins was once described to us as "equal parts sugar, spice, piss, and vinegar" by friend and fellow yellow-dog-democrat Bob Mann. To this day we still can't think of a better way to describe her. Her death last January left a deafening silence — gone was......

We expect this to be the most popular news bits ever, as well as the best day ever, since everybody's favorite drive-in eatery (Sonic, duh) is giving away FREE root beer floats tonight from 8pm till midnight. Go ahead, locate every Sonic in town and drive around getting free floats until you can't drink root beer floats anymore. This is such a big deal, even Forbes wrote about it. And if you don't get......

Russians plan to stop global warming with vodka--er, sulfur-containing aerosol. However, it sounds like this could also promote global dimming. We may be screwed either way, so drink up. Bush plans to stop global warming by having a series of meetings to set "a long-term global goal" by "the end of next year." The sense of urgency is palpable. Neapolitans' ice cream is melting due to trash fires necessitated by the closure of all......

Elsewhere in the Ist-averse [08.05 in Special] Out the Other's ACL Previews: Son Volt, Willie Nelson, The Long Winters and More [08.05 in ACL] Keep Keith Away From The Trees: Stones Confirm Zilker Details [08.04 in Music] Political Tidbits & Outlawing Cleavage [08.04 in Politics] It's Not What You Think! [08.04 in News] Walker, Hungarian Ranger [08.04 in News] Extremely Rare: Free Concert Worth Attending [08.04 in Music] Project Runway #1 In Our Hearts......

As if we needed to be more aware of the pain, this week is National Headache Awareness Week. A whole week dedicated to being completely aware of that pounding, that vice grip on your head. We propose a National Let's-Get-Drunk Week (no, that's not every week!) so we can really justify those headaches. A man in Kiev was not protected by God when he jumped in to the lion's cage at the zoo. Brian......

Austin is getting a new public Art Installation. Today at 11am, Mayor Will Wynn and Gibson Guitars will be part of a ceremony kicking-off the project in front of City Hall. Austin GuitarTown is going to feature guitars scattered around the city, placed in front of landmarks and significant businesses, that are painted by local musicians and artisans. NASA is planning to bomb the moon in order to study dust particles that come from......