Today's Details

-BP, one of the world's largest oil companies, posted a net profit of $7.3 billion for the three months ended June 30, up from $5.6 billion a year earlier. Revenue rose 24 percent to $73.5 billion from $59.3 billion. DETAILS

-Scorching heat pushed California's electricity supply to the brink Monday and threatened another round of blackouts as utility crews across the state struggled to restore power to tens of thousands of people left in the dark over the weekend. (Running out of electricity? This sounds like the kind of stuff we used to read about in third world countries yet more and more routinely it happens right here. Why isn't there more outrage over this?) DETAILS

-White House press secretary Tony Snow apologized on Monday for suggesting that President Bush believed stem-cell research amounted to "murder," saying he was "overstating the president's position." (Well now - they've obviously noted the conflicting positions - between "murder" and all President Bush has done to advance stem cell research per the White House website.) DETAILS

-In a surprise visit to a battered Beirut, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice praised the beleaguered prime minister of Lebanon on Monday for his courage in struggling to contain the fighting between the Hezbollah militia and Israel. (Why does this administration do so many "SURPRISE" visits? The stealth arrivals are always more newsworthy than the substance of visits. A distraction. Never mind, I just answered my own question.) DETAILS

-Sen. Inhofe compares people who believe in global warming to 'The Third Reich'. DETAILS

-Vice President Dick Cheney on Friday pointed to the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah as fresh evidence of the ongoing battle against terrorism that underscores the need to keep President Bush's Republican allies in control of Congress. DETAILS

-Teens looking to hook up with a friend on the popular Web community MySpace may bump into an unexpected buddy: the U.S. Marine Corps. DETAILS

-Rather than being bashful, Democrats should openly talk about their religious beliefs and moral values, say moderates urging the party to court voters beyond the traditional Democratic base to win control of the GOP-run Congress this fall and the presidency in 2008. (Bashful? Being bashful has nothing to do with it. This is about a belief that one should not mix religion and politics. Other than acknowledging one has faith in a higher power - religious beliefs should not become political agendas. Calling Dems "bashful" about their religious beliefs shows moderates don't understand the church/state issue. They have an administration in the WH now pushing their ideology as an agenda - do they want more of the same?) DETAILS

- NOBEL peace laureate Betty Williams displayed a flash of her feisty Irish spirit yesterday, lashing out at US President George W.Bush during a speech to hundreds of schoolchildren. DETAILS