Seven nuclear power companies announced a joint effort to "apply for a license to build a new commercial power plant" -- the first in 30 years. The consortium will "test a simplified licensing system created by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission... to help the industry go from reactor order to electricity production in 5 years, as opposed to the 10 or 12 years" it used to take.

"With the White House weathering allegations from its former anti-terrorism adviser, revelations about the health of Medicare and unrelenting turmoil in Iraq," George Bush is trying to recapture a "compassionate conservative" image to boost his campaign.

The secretive Washington-based PR firm the Rendon Group apparently dealt the Columbian Ministry of Defense a losing hand.