Today's Details

-Sen. Joe Lieberman, under fire from activists in his own party, has lost ground to his challenger and is narrowly trailing him for the first time in their race for the Democratic nomination, a new poll released Thursday shows. DETAILS

-The governor sent in the National Guard to evacuate people from their sweltering homes Thursday after storms knocked out power to more than half a million St. Louis-area households and businesses in the middle of a deadly heat wave. DETAILS

-The fundraising organization that helped vault former Rep. Tom DeLay to Republican leadership ranks in the House and distributed election money to numerous Republicans has been fined for campaign finance violations and is shutting down.Under an agreement with the Federal Election Commission, Americans for a Republican Majority's political action committee agreed to pay a $115,000 fine and close. The agreement, reached July 7, was made public late Wednesday. DETAILS

-U.S. military officials reported a 40 percent increase in the daily average of attacks in the Baghdad area. DETAILS

-U.S. Marines landed in Beirut on Thursday for the first time in more than 20 years, helping evacuate Americans onto a Navy ship bound for Cyprus from battle-torn Lebanon. DETAILS

-President Bush acknowledged persistent racism in America and lamented the Republican Party's bumpy relations with black voters as he addressed the NAACP's annual convention Thursday for the first time in his presidency. " DETAILS

-Powerful storms with rain and strong winds left nearly half a million homes and businesses without power early Thursday as the region braced for another day of 100-degree heat. DETAILS

-Iranians were believed to be present at North Korea's July 4 missile tests, assistant Secretary of State Chris Hill, the chief U.S. negotiator with Pyongyang, testified today. DETAILS