BULLETIN:  Senator John McCain has decided on his running mate, two Republican strategists in contact with McCain's campaign said Wednesday. He is expected to reveal his choice at a rally at a basketball arena in Dayton, Ohio, at 11 a.m. Friday.  McCain's decision is known only to his small inner circle of advisers, no more than three or four people, who have refused all public discussion on the matter. Republicans close to the campaign said that the top contenders remained the same three men who have been the source of speculation for weeks: former Governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota and, possibly, Senator Joseph Lieberman, independent of Connecticut.

1)  Baseball steps forward on Thursday, flailing around a little as baseball always does with change, when instant replay is introduced for the first time in the game's long, well-chronicled history.  Replay will be in use to determine home runs on so-called "boundary" calls only . Bud Selig was adamant that baseball's decision to go to replay will work .  Decision was one of the biggest changes in game since implementing DESIGNATED HITTER in 1973.  http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/john_donovan/08/26/replay/index.html?bcnn=yes

2)  Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) might have to borrow money from the Treasury Department to see it through an expected wave of bank failures, the Wall Street Journal reported.  The borrowing could be needed to cover short-term cash-flow pressures caused by reimbursing depositors immediately after the failure of a bank, the paper said.  The borrowed money would be repaid once the assets of that failed bank are sold.  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26420600 

3)  A Tennessee woman is accused of hitting her husband where it really hurts -- in the Harley.   Barbara Waskey is charged with torching her husband's Harley in the Maryland resort town of Ocean City.   Police said she stuffed a towel in the gas tank of Joseph Waskey's motorcycle and set it on fire. There is no word of what sparked the fight.  Police add they found the bike's gas cap in the woman's car. She's now charged with arson.  http://www.nbc30.com/news/17299002/detail.html

4)  The Mohegan Sun resort is growing again. Already one of the largest gambling facilities in the world, the Sun is opening its new Casino of the Wind of Friday. It will include a 42-table poker room, more than 650 slot machines and 28 table games.

5)  Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman is on the list for the first night of next week's Republican National Convention to give a speech. The Star Tribune newspaper reports that the first-day list also includes President Bush, Vice President Cheney, first lady Laura Bush, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch.

6)  On a historic night for America, Barack Obama secured the Democratic Party's nomination for president and emerged for the first time on stage in Denver with running mate Sen. Joe Biden.  Obama on Wednesday officially became the first African American to lead a major party ticket.    Delegates cried and cheered as former rival Sen. Hillary Clinton motioned to cut the roll call vote short, saying "Let's declare together with one voice right here, right now, that Barack Obama is our candidate and he will be our president."  The dramatic move was carefully choreographed to put down any fears of a divided party following the protracted primary battle.  Outside the hall, Republican leaders also hailed the achievement.   On Thursday, the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech, in the culmination of the Democratic National Convention, Obama will address an estimated 70,000 people at Invesco field in Denver.   http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/08/27/dnc.main/index.html

7)  Tropical Storm Gustav's impending arrival in the Gulf of Mexico, potentially as a major hurricane, has prompted Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal to declare an emergency for the state.  The move puts Louisiana in position to receive federal disaster assistance. Jindal also said 3,000 National Guard members will be deployed to vulnerable areas in Louisiana on Thursday to assist with securing shelters and preparing for possible evacuations.  Jindal cited forecasts that Gustav, which killed 22 people in Haiti and the Dominican Republic this week, could become a Category 3 hurricane in the coming days and hit the Gulf Coast by late Monday morning.  Computer models show the storm could head toward New Orleans, but forecasters warn that Gustav's destination cannot be pinpointed.  http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/weather/08/27/gustav.nola/index.html

8)  Authorities are crediting the TV show "America's Most Wanted" for helping in the capture of a double murder suspect on the FBI's list of 10 most-wanted fugitives.   Michael Jason Registe was arrested Wednesday on the Caribbean island of St. Marteen, according to a news release from the Atlanta FBI office.  Authorities got multiple tips about Registe's whereabouts after his story was featured on a recent "America's Most Wanted" episode, the FBI said.  Registe was wanted for the 2007 execution-style slayings of two Columbus State University students, the FBI said.   Registe was added to the FBI's 10 most-wanted fugitives list, which also includes al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.  http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/08/28/fbi.most.wanted/index.html

9)  A nearly fatal bite by a poisonous snake led to the arrest of a man Wednesday for keeping 51 deadly cobras and mambas in his Tokyo apartment without permission.  The illicit collection was discovered when Nobukazu Kashiwagi called for an ambulance after being bitten on a finger by one of his snakes, a spokesman for the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department said Wednesday on condition of anonymity, citing department policy.  Kashiwagi, aged 41, was trying to feed the snake when he was bitten in mid July. He was seriously ill in a Tokyo hospital for several weeks, but subsequently recovered. Police arrested Kashiwagi after he was discharged, the spokesman said.  Kashiwagi kept the deadly snakes without permission from the Tokyo metropolitan government.  http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/08/27/japan.snakes.ap/index.html

10)  Stacy Pearson keeps buying food she knows she'll never eat -- from tomato soup to green beans to ramen noodles -- merely because it's on sale. Why? Blame her mother.  Sandra Reishus, a Sacramento, California, therapist and author of "Oh No! I've Become My Mother," says it's not surprising that some daughters come to emulate their mothers even after living in fear of that outcome.  "It's inevitable, because our brains were forming when we were around her," says Reishus, who has been in practice for 16 years. "She was our window into the world."  "I see it all the time," she adds. "Even if a daughter takes after her dad, there's still a bit of her mom in her."  http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/08/27/lw.help.im.turning.into.my.mom/index.html

11)  Everything is bigger in Texas, especially the calorie counts at the State Fair, which will offer such delicacies this year as deep-fried s'mores and a fried banana split.  The State Fair of Texas begins late next month, and a competition is being held to honor its tastiest fried fare. The eight finalists were announced Wednesday.  They include the campfire favorite and the banana split, as well as chocolate truffles, grilled cheese and Jelly Bellys. And don't forget the chicken-fried bacon strips and fried chocolate-covered strawberry waffle balls on a stick.  Abel Gonzales, whose fried cookie dough took top honors last year, will defend his title with a pineapple ring battered and deep-fried, topped with banana-flavored whipped cream frozen by liquid nitrogen and ladled with strawberries and syrup. He calls it Fire & Ice.  The winner will be announced Monday.  http://connecticut.cox.net/cci/newsnational/national?_mode=view&_state=maximized&view=article&id=D92QVGB80&_action=validatearticle

12)  Spanish revelers have pelted each with 113 tons of ripe tomatoes in an annual food fight. Town hall says an estimated 40,000 people took part in the hour of messy fun in the village of Bunol near Valencia. The ritual dates back to the 1940s.  Some warriors in Wednesday's battle wore swimming goggles to protect themselves from the acid sting of projectiles in the form of pear-shaped tomatoes. Others swatted them away with tennis rackets.  Afterward, many washed off in a nearby river while crews hosed down a town painted red.  http://connecticut.cox.net/cci/newsnational/national?_mode=view&_state=maximized&view=article&id=D92QOSAOI&_action=validatearticle