Carol Fowler, the South Carolina Democratic Party chairwoman, says McCain chose a running mate, “whose primary qualification seems to be that she hasn’t had an abortion.” Ms. Fowler made the remarks on Wednesday to a reporter fro the Web site Politico.

Suspected thieves attempted to break into the home of Barack Obama’s elderly step-grandmother in Kenya, the U.S. presidential candidate’s uncle said Thursday.

The Houston Chronicle reports that, “the suspects did not manage to enter the house where Sarah Obama lives in the western Kenya village of Kogelo, according to Obama, the candidate’s uncle.”

In 2008, Great Britain, Germany and Spain will fall into recession, the European Commission has predicted.

The BBC News reports that, “Brussels said the three countries would see two negative quarters of economic growth in a row, which is the technical definition of a recession.”

Ron Paul, a Texas congressman, has urged voters to reject Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain and vote for a third party U.S. candidate instead.

According to BBC News, “he is backing independent Ralph Nader, Libertarian Bob Barr and Green Party and Constitution Party candidates.”

The Florida Federation of Republican women has launched a much-publicized boycott against Oprah Winfrey’s TV show and magazine since the talk queen refuses to put Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin on her show until after the election.

Sen. Barack Obama reference to “lipstick on a pig” has Sen. John McCain demanding an apology and Democrats accusing McCain of a “pathetic attempt” to play the gender card.

According to CNN, “McCain’s campaign said Obama’s remarks were offensive and a slap at Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin – despite the fact that the Arizona senator himself used the phrase last year to describe a policy proposal of Hillary Clinton’s.”

On Wednesday, Hurricane Ike barreled across the warm, energizing waters of the Gulf of Mexico on its way toward the Texas coast after lashing through Cuba’s tobacco country and demolishing aging Havana buildings.

John McCain grabbed a lead in national polls after the recently-ended Republican National Convention, but Barack Obama continues to lead in the electoral vote, according to a CNN story today.  In national surveys, McCain leads by 2 points, 47 percent to 45 percent, according to CNN's poll of polls.  In the Electoral College standings, the most recent survey shows 243 electoral votes either safely in Obama's column or leaning his way. At this point, McCain can claim only 189. Many of the state polls used to determine the Electoral College standings, however, were conducted before the conventions.

The Dallas County Commissioners’ Court formally issued a ‘Declaration of Emergency’ today as requested by Robbie Robinson, the Dallas County director of security and management. Apparently, the county commissioners believe the arrival of Hurricane Ike will cause crises to Dallas County residents; hence they must declare a state of emergency to seek reimbursements from FEMA. County Commissioner John Wiley Price told reporters that “the County stands in a state or readiness.”

In France, the Church of Scientology will be tried in court for “organized fraud,” as reported by legal sources. The lawyer for one of the plaintiffs behind the case claimed to the BBC that if convicted, the controversial Church could be banned.