Obama campaign hits back against Palin comments

Barack Obama's top strategist dismissed Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin's prime-time convention address as dishonest about Obama's record and suggested Thursday that John McCain's running mate was only parroting what she had been told.

David Axelrod told reporters aboard Obama's campaign plane that the Republican National Convention speakers on Wednesday had distorted the Democratic candidate's record and ignored his resume. He also signaled that the Democrats would not hesitate to take on John McCain's running mate.

"There wasn't one thing that she said about Obama or what he's proposing that is true," Axelrod said. "She …

Teenagers get into the picture for arts project

A classic twist on an old seaside favourite has been createdthrough a community arts project in Bath.

Young people from the city took part in a half-term event tocreate life- sized character portraits - with the faces missing sopeople could pose behind them.

All the boards were inspired by 18th-century portraits at theHolburne Museum which were given a modern makeover.

The museum teamed up with Compass and Mentoring Plus, two organisations which work on youth crime prevention, for the week-long project.

The aim was to work positively with teenagers and has resulted inthe art being displayed in Sydney Gardens.

Emma Finch, education and outreach …

Sad Day for Racing: Barbaro Euthanized

KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. - So many people felt a stake in Barbaro's recovery. They imagined his pain, grimaced each time he faltered, took heart as each day passed and he was still alive, making painfully slow progress.

The 2006 Kentucky Derby winner's fight for survival was their fight, a symbol of strength, courage and comfort - and, more than anything else, a source of inspiration.

He was, after all, winner of the world's most famous race, in a sport desperate for a superstar. For months he seemed, remarkably, to take everything that came at him: good and bad.

Finally, it was too much.

Barbaro was euthanized Monday after complications from his gruesome …

Gere tours Galapagos, meets unique tortoise

Richard Gere may be adopting a new cause: the preservation of the Galapagos Islands.

Galapagos National Park spokeswoman Vanessa Garcia says that during a visit to the Ecuadorean islands, he offered to speak out publicly for their conservation.

The Galapagos are home to unique animal and plant species and were a living laboratory for Charles Darwin. But conservationists say …

Wood tosses inning in relief

FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood worked an inning ofscoreless relief in a rehab assignment Sunday for Class A Peoria.

"Everything feels fine, felt pretty good," Wood said of his fifth-inning outing against Fort Wayne. "I threw some pretty goodfastballs, located some of them, threw some good sliders. It'sanother step in the right direction."

The Cubs plan to use Wood, who has been troubled by problems inhis right shoulder, out of the bullpen when he comes off the disabledlist Friday.

"The arm is fine coming here, and the reason for me coming hereand getting these two innings is to just get …

Water flow in offshore waves

What happens in the crests of large, steep waves? Circumstantial evidence from the offshore engineering industry points to much higher flow speeds than predicted by the Stokes model, but definitive measurements allowing careful comparison with the theory are generally lacking. Near-surface velocity measurements at higher sea states are notoriously difficult to acquire, motivating development of innovative instrumentation. Recent observations with under-water acoustic sensors indeed show that surface flow speeds can differ from theoretical expectations, especially in wave crests.

We used a method of acoustical remote sensing that bears some similarity to bistatic radar measurement …

Brazil's carnival in high gear as 2nd-division samba groups seek to impress judges

Swarms of carnival partiers dressed as drag queen cavemen and mini-skirted police danced through Rio's streets Saturday, hours before plumed dancers fill the city's famed Sambadrome for an event that will last until dawn.

When Rio's second-division samba groups pour into the 85,000-seat venue late Saturday, they'll try to wow judges with stories-high gilded parade floats, hoping for promotion to Samba's first division _ an honor that brings lucrative sponsorship deals.

"We work all year for this one day," said Fabio Ricardo, carnival designer for the second-division samba group Academicos da Rocinha. "It's not a game, it's a competition, like …