At 18, Ed Pulido joined the Army and spent 19 years in uniform. Four years after being wounded by a roadside bomb in Baquoba, Iraq, he lost his leg. He was discharged in 2005 and afterwards he decided to devote the rest of his life to work with a foundation helping the families of veterans who have been wounded or killed.

Republican Sen. John McCain heads into the final stretch of the U.S. presidential campaign with a 4-point lead over Democrat Sen. Barack Obama, USA Today/Gallup poll released on Sunday showed.

The Parliament of Venezuela has approved a new law giving the state a majority share in the distribution of fuel. President Hugo Chavez claimed the measure was needed to stop intermediary firms from profiting from high oil prices.

The BBC News reports that, “they will now have a limited role in transporting fuel to the country’s petrol (gas) stations. This is the latest in a series of state takeovers of private companies by Venezuela’s socialist government, including major U.S. oil companies.”

Most Americans had never heard of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin just a week ago. Now, following her Vice Presidential acceptance speech viewed by more than 40 million people, Palin is viewed favorably by 58% of American voters. The most recent Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 37% hold an unfavorable view of the self-described hockey mom.

Smog, soot and other polluting particles often seen hanging over Beijing add to global warming and may raise summer temperatures in the American heartland by three degrees in about 50 years, said a new federal science report released on Thursday.

Famed TV talk show host Oprah Winfrey may have introduced Democrat Barack Obama to the women of America, but Oprah is not rushing to embrace the first woman on a Republican presidential ticket.

Sources tell the Drudge Report, “Oprah’s staff is sharply divided on the merits of booking Sarah Palin.

On Thursday, news executives tried to shake off the excoriations of the media emanating from the Republican National Convention, defending their coverage of GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin as supposedly “responsible and evenhanded.”

Some top television network officials and newspaper editors largely dismissed the critiques as partisan rhetoric, but some fretted that charges of media bias had reached a new and disturbing level.

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and Sen. Barack Obama shared a warm man-hug before a huge Motown crowd long before sex, lies and texting caused Kilpatrick to plead guilty to two felonies and resign on Thursday. This occurred 16 months ago as Obama was launching his campaign for president. He called Kilpatrick, a “great man” who will do “astounding things for many years to come.” But these words have backfired for Obama as Kilpatrick now heads to jail for four months.