AP - The sabal palm, Florida's state tree, is under attack by a microscopic killer that has scientists stumped. An unknown but growing number of sabal palms in the Tampa Bay area have died from a mysterious disease that researchers are struggling to identify. Even after scientists pinpoint the disease — and that could take years — they will have to learn what insect spreads it. The disease will be tough to stop.

AP - Seven Western states are joining four Canadian provinces to propose a plan to limit greenhouse gas emissions through use of a "cap and trade" system.

AP - Obama defends plans for direct talks with Iran; McCain campaign says Obama is backtracking ... McCain credits Bush lifting of drilling ban on offshore oil for drop in oil and gas prices ... Economy top issue, but energy concerns grow most as Iraq worries dip in AP-Ipsos poll ... People Magazine: Obama girls offer irreverence, boundless energy

AP - The European Union proposed an import ban Wednesday on products derived from seals that are killed in a cruel way, a move that could hurt the annual seal hunt in Canada — the largest in the world.

AFP - Hurricane Dolly slammed onto South Padre Island, Texas, near the Mexico border, Wednesday as a powerful category two storm, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

AFP - The belief that dinosaurs underwent explosive species diversification just before they were wiped out is an illusion, for the beasts' main evolutionary shifts took place millions of years before, a study says.

AFP - Tropical Storm Dolly grew into a category one hurricane Tuesday as it headed toward the US-Mexican border, forcing the evacuation of thousands in Mexico while the US Navy sheltered aircraft.

LiveScience.com - A college student's new discovery of fossils collected in the East Antarctic suggests that the frozen polar cap was once a much balmier place. The well-preserved fossils of ostracods, a type of small crustaceans, came from the Dry Valleys region of Antarctica's Transantarctic Mountains and date from about 14 million years ago. The fossils were a rare find, showing all of the ostracods' soft anatomy in 3-D. The fossils were discovered by Richard Thommasson during screening of the sediment in research team member Allan Ashworth's lab at North Dakota State University. ...

AFP - Leading oil and gas producers Russia and Venezuela will coordinate energy policies, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Tuesday after meeting his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez.