AP - Russia's president defended Moscow's role in World War II before the 70th anniversary of its outbreak, saying in an interview broadcast Sunday that anyone who lays equal blame on the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany is telling a 'cynical lie.'

Time.com - Even if Obama agrees to send more troops, major challenges remain in the war the President has declared his top national-security priority

Politico - Handicappers can now envision an election in which Democrats suffer double-digit losses in the House.

AP - Allies of the Italian government have pledged to patch up ties with the Catholic church, after a newspaper in Premier Silvio Berlusconi's media family attacked a Catholic editor who had demanded he answer allegations in a sex scandal over young women.

AP - The British government allowed the Lockerbie bomber to be covered by a prisoner transfer agreement with Libya because that was in the 'overwhelming interests of the United Kingdom' as a major oil deal was being negotiated, a newspaper reported Sunday.

AP - A Sri Lankan reporter singled out by President Barack Obama as an example of persecuted journalists around the globe was sentenced Monday to 20 years in prison on charges of violating the country's harsh anti-terror law.

AP - Former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said Monday people 'are hyperventilating' about his assertion that politics played a role in talk of raising the terror alert before the 2004 elections.

AP - Voters inflicted losses on Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives in state elections Sunday, a setback weeks before a national election that she hopes will produce a new center-right government.

AP - Ikea, the Swedish furniture chain, said Sunday it never expected such a backlash after switching typeface in its latest catalog.

BusinessWeek - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke received a boost this week when President Obama reappointed him to another four-year term, pending confirmation by the Senate. Obama credited him with containing the financial crisis, but much work remains to get the economy growing again. BusinessWeek Chief Economist Mike Mandel and Economics Editor Peter Coy assess Bernanke's performance and look at some of the problems the U.S. economy could still endure.

AP - U.S. military authorities in Afghanistan have terminated a contract with a public affairs company that was producing background profiles of reporters covering a war that's becoming increasingly unpopular with the American public.

AP - For all the GOP howling about Barack Obama radically steering the government to the left and leading the nation toward socialism, some of his major appointments are Republican men and women of the middle.

Politico - Sarah Palin has made no commitments so far.

AP - A Swiss tightrope walker has staged a spectacular climb up a steep cable on the slopes of Germany's highest mountain.

AFP - President Barack Obama's national security adviser will lead the US delegation to ceremonies in Gdansk, Poland, for the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II, the White House said Monday.

AP - The Pentagon's chief says an upcoming report from the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan will likely highlight some bright spots about the military mission there along with grimmer conclusions that he described as 'gloom and doom.'

AP - An 88-year-old Michigan man accused of helping the Nazis during World War II faces deportation after the Justice Department filed court papers seeking to throw him out of the country.

Reuters - Massachusetts' Democratic Governor Deval Patrick will make an announcement at 3 p.m./1900 GMT on Monday about a special election to fill the U.S. Senate seat left vacant when Democrat Edward Kennedy died of cancer last week, his office said.

AP - The decision to release the only person convicted in the Lockerbie bombing was based on justice rather than commercial decisions, a senior Scottish politician said Monday.

AP - Pope Benedict XVI has accepted the early retirement of a U.S. bishop who has denounced nuns for sponsoring lectures by gay-rights advocates and directed priests to deny communion to abortion backers, the Vatican said Monday.

AFP - A Sri Lanka court sentenced a Tamil reporter, cited by US President Barack Obama as an 'emblematic example' of a persecuted journalist, to 20 years in prison Monday on charges of supporting terrorism.

AP - Mexico is preparing for a second wave of swine flu, looking at what worked and what didn't last spring when it banned everything from dining out to attending school in an effort to control the virus.

Politico - When it comes to policy, Code Pink and the individuals yelling at town halls couldn't be more different.

Politico - Says�Kennedy would�be told to�“go home to take pain pills and die” under Obama�overhaul.

AP - The White House spokesman says President Barack Obama has not yet seen a new assessment of the Afghan war.

Reuters - Democrats leading the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee widened their probe of the health insurance industry on Monday, seeking information on companies' policies for small businesses.

AP - The strategic review of the war in Afghanistan prepared by the top commander of U.S. and NATO forces there has been received by commands on both sides of the ocean, officials in Brussels said Monday.

AP - The EU will start making the transition from power-draining lightbulbs to more energy efficient ones Tuesday, the European Commission said.

AP - Five months after President Barack Obama ordered a dramatic increase in American civilian experts in Afghanistan to undergird a new military push, the so-called civilian surge is moving too slowly, U.S. officials and outside experts warn.

AP - Fever, chills, vomiting: It starts like a stomach bug or the flu. But bacterial meningitis can go on to kill terrifyingly fast � one of the few infections in the U.S. where someone can feel fine in the morning and be dead by night. And prime targets are tweens, teens and college freshmen.

Bloomberg - Aug. 31 (Bloomberg) -- Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick said he will work with state lawmakers to allow appointment of a temporary replacement for the late Senator Edward Kennedy before a Jan. 19 special election to choose someone to serve out his term.

AP - President Barack Obama confronts a tortuous September � and it's not just the divisive political fight over health care.

AFP - The United States voiced disappointment Monday over a WTO decision allowing Brazil to retaliate against American cotton subsidies and relief it gave the South American nation less than it sought.

AP - A top European Union official said Monday that renewal of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks could be announced in late September.

McClatchy Newspapers - WASHINGTON � Congress' efforts to overhaul the nation's health care system are plagued by an age-old urban-rural, east and west coast vs. the heartland schism in the Democratic Party.

CQPolitics.com - The special election to fill Massachusetts Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's seat will be held on Jan. 19, Gov. Deval Patrick announced Monday.

Bloomberg - Aug. 31 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama’s spokesman said congressional Republicans are “stepping away” from attempts to reach a bipartisan agreement on overhauling the U.S. health-care system, Obama’s top legislative priority.

Politico - Under FEC pressure, it revealed Monday that it recently contributed to a raft of conservative Republicans.

Politico - The elite conservative commentator will call for ground troops to leave Afghanistan,�say�publishing sources.

AP - Another Kennedy just might occupy the Kennedy seat in the Senate.

Reuters - Democrats pushed Monday to fill the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by the death of Edward Kennedy, with the Massachusetts governor throwing his support behind a proposal to name an interim successor and help Democrats retain a critical margin in the chamber.

AP - Jet fighters sent by Saddam Hussein for maintenance 20 years ago have been found in Serbia, but they will be of little use in rebuilding Iraq's Air Force because most are in pieces, Serbian officials said Monday.

Reuters - Facing a September 17 deadline on whether to restrict tire imports from China, President Barack Obama Monday met with U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk over a game of golf.

AP - European and American officials plan to mark Tuesday's 70th anniversary of World War II with a ceremony bringing former friends and foes together on the Baltic peninsula where the conflict began.

AP - Riot police briefly detained about 15 people trying to hold an anti-Kremlin demonstration in central Moscow on Monday to defend Russians' constitutional right to assembly.

McClatchy Newspapers - WASHINGTON � The prospect that U.S. Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal may ask for as many as 45,000 additional American troops in Afghanistan is fueling growing tension within President Barack Obama's administration over the U.S. commitment to the war there.

CQPolitics.com - Gun rights advocates scored a victory Thursday as the House Financial Services Committee adopted an amendment to allow guns in public housing projects.

AP - U.S. Sen. Max Baucus of Montana says a health care overhaul will happen this year even if Republicans back out of bipartisan talks under growing public pressure and that the death of Sen. Edward Kennedy could help hold together a compromise deal.

Politico - Democrats lost the month of August. The question now is whether they can win September.

Politico - Rod Blagojevich’s biography is called “The Governor,” but it could easily be retitled “The Victim.”

AP - Germany and France on Monday reinforced a call for Iran to respond to concerns about its nuclear program in September or face tougher sanctions, and said they wanted wide international agreement on those measures.

Reuters - The United States is having more success fighting terrorism under President Barack Obama partly because of his 'radically different' approach to foreign policy, National security adviser Jim Jones said on Monday.

CQPolitics.com - Under heavy criticism from Democrats for the strong social conservatism detailed in a 1989 thesis, Virginia gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell said voters on Nov. 3 will be swayed by his record as a public official and not for what he called an 'academic exercise.'

AP - The economic downturn has taken a toll on U.S. cities, forcing them to slash jobs, raise taxes and fees and limit hours of operation at libraries, zoos, parks and other popular facilities, according to a survey.

Bloomberg - Sept. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick set in motion a plan to allow him to pick a temporary successor for the late Senator Edward Kennedy before voters choose someone to serve out his term in a Jan. 19 special election.

AP - Where you live matters when it comes to children's waistlines, says a report that finds lots of options localities could and should use to fight child obesity � from easy bike paths, to luring healthier stores, to taxes on junk food.

Bloomberg - Aug. 31 (Bloomberg) -- Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich writes in a new book that White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel wanted a “placeholder” put in the Chicago congressional seat he vacated so he could reclaim it in 2010.