WASHINGTON (AP) -- Some 90 billion barrels of oil and nearly a third of the world's undiscovered natural gas remain untapped under an area north of the Arctic Circle, government scientists estimate, in the largest-ever survey of the area's energy potential.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Borrowing from a European model, Minneapolis and St. Paul police hope to quell any disruptions at this summer's Republican National Convention by exchanging cell phone numbers and offering other olive branches to demonstrators.

BERLIN (AP) -- Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama arrived in Berlin on Thursday, meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel and kicking off the European leg of his overseas trip amid high expectations.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Al-Qaida's foreign fighters who have for years bedeviled Iraq are increasingly going to Afghanistan to fight instead, the Iraqi ambassador to the US said.

JERUSALEM (AP) -- Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama paid a predawn visit to the holiest place in Judaism on Thursday, bowing his head in prayer at the Western Wall.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The House approved an $8 billion infusion into the highway trust fund, restoring temporary solvency to the federal account essential to keeping the nation's roads and bridges safe.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Lawmakers chided AG Michael Mukasey for opposing legislation that would allow reporters to protect the identities of confidential sources.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The State Department reversed course and turned down a Syrian delegation's request for a meeting with a top U.S. diplomat for the Middle East.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Dozens of cities will receive less federal money this year than last for anti-terror programs, The Associated Press has learned.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Rescue legislation sailed through the House on Wednesday aimed at helping 400,000 strapped homeowners avoid foreclosure and preventing the collapse of troubled mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Top Pentagon leaders are expected to recommend soon that Defense Secretary Robert Gates order hundreds of additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan over the next month or so, according to a senior military official.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Opponents of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays in the military denounced it as cruel and unpatriotic Wednesday. Supporters insisted it was needed to maintain military morale, and raised the prospect of a rise of HIV infection.

By Christopher G. Adamo -- Lurking in the gloom of the Democrat agenda is a resuscitation of the so-called "Fairness Doctrine," which would allow the federal government, at the behest of liberal special interests, to selectively harass and intimidate radio stations whose broadcasting format it finds objectionable. Thus, the proliferation of conservative talk-radio and virtually all of the alternative media would be threatened with eventual extinction.

By Robert D. Novak -- Rep. Roy Blunt, the House Republican whip, on July 8 introduced a resolution demanding that the Defense Department better enable U.S. military personnel overseas to vote in the November elections.

By Paul M. Weyrich -- Without doubt the federal appointee who was most effective dealing with sex-trafficking was former Representative John R. Miller (R-WA). President George W. Bush has sought to end sex slavery within the United States.

By Lisa Fabrizio -- Every Sunday night I go out to my favorite club to engage in lively conversation and enjoy some adult companionship. In the summertime, this often includes taking in ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball.

By Michelle Malkin -- A jaw-dropping political miracle may be on the horizon. No, I'm not talking about the second coming of the Obamessiah. I'm talking about the long-deserved comeuppance of troop-smearing, pork-feasting, Rep. Jack Murtha of Pennsylvania.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens asked Congress on Tuesday to "clear the path" for his plan to boost use of wind and natural gas for U.S. energy needs. Pickens has been on a $58 million publicity tour to promote his plan to erect wind turbines in the Midwest to generate electricity, replacing the 22 percent of U.S. power produced from natural gas. The freed up natural gas then could be used for transportation.

ROCHESTER, N.H. (AP) -- Yet another town-hall meeting isn't doing the trick. Neither is dropping in on a former Republican president. So just what can John McCain do to draw attention away from his showy Democratic rival? Pick a running mate, perhaps.

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas wants Barack Obama to take away one message from their meeting Wednesday -- he should focus immediately on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict if elected, or any gains made in peace talks could vanish.