Ted Stevens, who is the longest-serving Republican in Senate history, is running for re-election this fall. He is charged with seven counts of failing to list on his Senate disclosure forms goods and services provided by long-time associate Bill Allen that were used to refurbish the Stevenses’ family home. The trial has been accelerated at Mr. Stevens’ request, in hopes of obtaining a verdict before Election Day.

Posing as a mere “issue advocacy” operation, the “Real Truth About Obama” group’s ad attacks Mr. Obama’s character and trashes the candidate’s nuanced position on abortion. To spread these lies, the group wants an injunction against the Federal Election Commission’s disclosure and spending rules, instituted after the 2004 campaign.

John McCain and Barack Obama have made it clear that they would pick very different kinds of justices. The results could be particularly dramatic under Mr. McCain, who is likely to complete President Bush’s campaign to make the court an aggressive right-wing force.

Opponents of the proposed same-sex marriage ban worry that many black voters, enthused by Senator Barack Obama’s candidacy but traditionally conservative on issues involving homosexuality, could pour into voting stations in record numbers to punch the Obama ticket — and then cast a vote for the marriage ban.

President Thabo Mbeki has lost a power struggle against his rival, African National Congress leader Jacob Zuma, and has been under pressure to quit following a judge’s ruling this month that he was instrumental in Mr Zuma being charged with corruption.

A man in the US state of Wisconsin has been sentenced to six years in prison for stealing $US20 ($24) from a two-year-old girl’s piggy bank.

A Melbourne jury had that morning acquitted four people of terrorism charges but convicted six others after a trial spread over seven months. Now the Attorney-General was calling the Canberra press gallery together to crow about the convictions. They were, he said, “the most successful terrorist prosecution this country has seen”.

The unnamed donkey was found in possession of the research institute’s corn and a local judge sentenced him to 24 hours in prison. The man who had his ass thrown in jail got off with a fine of 50 Egyptian pounds ($11.40).

An Indiana drug dealer asked a customer to pay him an extra $US25 “for gas money to deliver the cocaine,” court documents showed. With petrol retailing at about $US4 a gallon (3.79 litres), the dealer likely made a small profit on the fuel charge.

A Florida judge has deemed unconstitutional a law banning saggy pants that show off the wearer’s underwear. The law was approved by Rivers Beach voters in March after supporters of the bill collected nearly 5,000 signatures to put the measure on the ballot.