AP - The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to decide whether Exxon Mobil Corp. must pay interest on punitive damages awarded in the nation's worst oil spill.

AP - The government owns hundreds of underground fuel tanks — many designed for emergencies back in the Cold War — that need to be inspected for leaks of hazardous substances that could make local water undrinkable.

AP - Republican Secretary of State Mike Coffman won his GOP congressional primary Tuesday and looked set to succeed Rep. Tom Tancredo, the five-term Colorado congressman whose forceful opposition to illegal immigration vaulted him to national prominence.

AP - Republican John McCain quickly took a hardline stand against Russia after it sent troops and tanks into the former Soviet state of Georgia. Democrat Barack Obama's initial condemnation of Russia was tempered by a call for diplomacy and restraint on all sides.

Politico - —While virtually every other world leader called for calm in Georgia last Thursday morning, John McCain did something he’s done many times over his career in public life: He condemned Russia.

AP - John Edwards lost a prime-time speaking slot at the Democratic National Convention. He likely blew a chance at a possible Cabinet post in a Barack Obama administration. And he may very well have lost any hope of being the voice for America's poor and forgotten.

AP - Hawaiian vacations aren't usually money makers, but Barack Obama's has been, as his home state supporters contributed $1.3 million to his campaign at a sold-out fundraiser Tuesday.

AP - Never mind the last days of the presidential campaign. The busiest days for Barack Obama's campaign in this perennial swing state are likely to be a month before Election Day.

AP - Talk of Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel as a potential running mate for Democratic candidate Barack Obama tends to confound partisans in both parties.

AP - Georgia brought another last-ditch appeal Monday to the United Nations Security Council to stop Russia's advancing army, which U.N. officials confirmed has driven beyond Georgia's breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

AP - A federal appeals court said Tuesday it would not resurrect a lawsuit that former CIA operative Valerie Plame brought against members of the Bush administration.