Democrat Barack Obama raised $52 million last month for his presidential campaign, more than twice as much as Republican rival John McCain in a significant boost to his financial cache for the fall contest. The Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee ended June with a combined total of $92.3 million in the bank. The figure represents a notable fundraising jump, especially for the DNC. Obama reported $72 million cash on hand and the DNC $20.3 million. But the Democrats still lag Republican John McCain’s presidential campaign and the Republican Party. Last week, McCain reported raising more than $22 million in June, which was his best month of the year. Together, the McCain campaign and the Republican National Committee began July with about $95 million in the bank.

The reason for the discrepancy, greater fundraising by Obama and the DNC but less money in the bank than McCain and the GOP, is because until now the DNC had spent much of its money, leaving little cash on hand.

The $52 million is Obama’s second-best fundraising month of the year – he raised $55 million in February. Of his June total, about $50 million was money that can be spent in the remaining summer primary season and about $2 million can only be spent in the fall.

That means Obama has been able to continue to tap new donors and donors who have yet to contribute the $2,300 maximum to the primary portion of his campaign. Altogether, Obama has raised nearly $340 million during his presidential run, $12 million of which is for the general election.

Unlike McCain, Obama has chosen to bypass the presidential public financing system for the fall campaign, which would have provided him with $84 million but would have prevented him from raising private money. McCain has agreed to accept the public money, which puts a greater emphasis on party fundraising.

Obama can roll over unused primary election money into the fall general election contest. By being able to continue to raise primary election dollars, Obama now has a vast network of donors that he can still tap for the general election. Donors are allowed to give up to $2,300 for a primary election and another $2,300 for the general.

The DNC said it raised $22.4 million in June, a dramatic increase from the $4.7 million it raised in May. The spike in fundraising came after Obama and the DNC formed a joint fundraising effort. Donors can give a maximum contribution to the party of $28,500.

The DNC still fell short of its Republican counterpart, which raised $26 million in June.

With the substantial help of their respective parties, each campaign is looking to raise more than $400 million during the five months preceding the November election.

McCain, aided by a large cash on hand surplus at the RNC, is off to a head start and has been outspending Obama in advertising. McCain has concentrated his advertising in about 11 battleground states. Obama has been spending less but has broadened the field to about 18 states.

You probably haven’t heard the name Tim Gill, and that’s just the way he wants it. Carrie Earll, Senior Director of Issues Analysis for Focus on the Family explains, “Tim Gill is stealth. He’s under the radar. When he goes after a candidate he doesn’t make homosexuality the issue. He picks something else because he knows the issue of homosexuality is still risky among the electorate.” A Colorado native, Gill still calls Denver home. He made his millions in the 80s and 90s as the founder of the publishing software giant Quark, but in 2000, he moved to full-time philanthropy. Gill favors giving to main-stream charities like the Denver Aquarium. He ties the money to so-called “non-discrimination” policies and establishes himself as a community pillar. But it’s in the area of politics where his giving is starting to get the most attention.

Earll says, “His strategy is to go after the young, up-and-coming conservative, to knock them out early and to send a message of intimidation and fear to other conservatives.”

Gill’s giving to candidates and causes began in 2000. According to Atlantic Monthly, it started with $300,000, then $800,000 in ‘02 — and a whopping $5 million in ‘04.

But unlike so many other big-time political donors, Gill focuses on state and local races–believing public policy starts from the ground up.

One of Gill’s 2004 targets was Ray Martinez of Fort Collins, Colorado.

As the three-time Republican mayor of this Republican leaning area, Martinez thought he had a great shot at winning a state senate seat. Martinez told that “the odds looked very good. The polling we saw was very favorable.”

But in the last few weeks of the campaign, Martinez got hit with an avalanche of media attacking his personal character and pro-life stance.

“We didn’t know who was funding it,” Martinez said. “We heard rumors of their names, but we could never find their names and we couldn’t expose those because they were buried in a barrage of paperwork.”

Martinez had raised over $300,000 – more than enough he thought to win Fort Collins. But several published reports show Gill and various associates had poured close to $1 million into the race through ‘527′ political organizations.

By taking out Martinez and other Republicans, Gill helped Democrats seize control of Colorado’s statehouse for the first time in 30 years.

The result? A slew of gay-friendly laws that redefine the family in Colorado.

Today, pro-family lawmakers in the Rocky Mountain state say the “Gill factor” is impossible to ignore.

State representative and Minority Whip Cory Gardner says “it puts extreme pressure on people who are trying to make a living at work and trying to raise money for a campaign who don’t have deep pockets.”

In 2005, Gill started the Gill Action Fund. The fund’s mission is “securing equal opportunity for all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender expression.”

The next year, the fund’s success rocked the political world. According to several published reports, it orchestrated donations worth $15 million to Gill’s favored candidates and causes.

The payoff this time was wins in 50 of 70 targeted campaigns and power changes in the state chambers of Michigan, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Iowa.

Gill took out Iowa House Speaker Danny Carroll with one of his favorite stealth tactics: small checks from Gill and friends around the country. Carroll says he never knew what hit him until after the election when he checked campaign contributions for his opponent.

Gill did tell Atlantic Monthly that he has an even “larger target list in 2008.”

Last fall, according to the New York Attorney General’s office, Gill gave $50,000 to the New York State Democratic Senate Campaign Committee.

Jason McGuire, a lobbyist with the New Yorker’s Family Research Foundation, is well aware of Gill. He notes, “a few thousand dollars in a state race can make a huge difference.”

Why did Gill pick New York? For starters, the Empire state teeters on the brink of legalizing same-sex marriage. The state assembly has already passed a bill and lawmakers agree: If Democrats can pick up one more Senate seat and take control of that chamber – same-sex marriage will pass.

McGuire says of Gill, “as far as his strategy, I think it’s brilliant. He rightly recognizes that many of the battles are being fought at the state level and so by trying to tip just a few races at the state level he can make a huge impact.”

Perhaps one of Gill’s smartest strategies is staying behind the scenes.

In Albany, had a hard time finding a lawmaker who knew his name, let alone anything about his influence.

Even the hard-charging Senate Majority leader Joseph Bruno who stands to lose the most knew little.

Across the country in Colorado, state Republican chair Dick Wadhams insists that pro-family issues can and should win the day. “There is,” he says, “a myth in politics that the person who spends the most money always wins.”

But for many pro-family advocates, Gill’s multi-millions make it a David-and-Goliath fight. Matt Barber with Concerned Women for America says “we don’t have an evangelical Christian Tim Gill that has stepped forward.”

It’s ironic that Gill himself uses spiritual language to define his detractors. In Atlantic Monthly he called his opponents “the forces of darkness.”

It’s a warning, say his observers.

Earll says Gill and associates “are not shy about saying that every dollar they spend is with the goal of ‘punishing the wicked.’ And the wicked are anyone who has a moral or biblical opposition or concern about homosexuality.”

From their Denver office to Washington, D.C., Gill and his political co-horts are mapping the country, looking for the key ‘08 races that could flip statehouse chambers and ultimately – the way the country views sexuality and the family.

More than 100 USB memory sticks, some containing secret information, have been lost or stolen from the Ministry of Defence since 2004, it has emerged. The department also admitted that more than 650 laptops had been stolen over the past four years – nearly double the figure previously claimed. The Liberal Democrats condemned the latest security breaches as evidence of”shocking incompetence”. But the MoD insisted its policies were “generally fit for purpose”. Previously the MoD had confirmed that 347 laptops were stolen between 2004 and 2007. The Mod said it has no idea on when, where and how the memory sticks were lost. Defence Secretary Des Browne issued revised figures after “anomalies in the reporting process” were discovered.

The official total is now 658 laptops stolen, with another 89 lost. Just 32 have been recovered. In a separate response, ministers said 121 of the department’s USB memory sticks had been taken or misplaced since 2004.

Some 26 of those went this year – including three which contained information classified as “secret” and 19 which were “restricted”.

Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Teather received the information after tabling a question in parliament.

Ms Teather said: “It seems that this government simply cannot be trusted with keeping sensitive information safe.

“This shows a shocking degree of incompetence.”

Shadow defence secretary Liam Fox said: “To treat national security in such a cavalier fashion is unforgivable.”

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said any loss of data was subject to a full inquiry and measures were being put into place to improve data protection.

This is the latest in a series of data loss incidents:

• November 2007 – Revenue and Customs officials lost the personal details of 25 million people
• June 2008 – A computer was stolen from the office of Communities Secretary Hazel Blears and files on counter-terrorism were left on a train
• January 2008 – The MoD revealed that one of its laptops – containing the details of 600,000 people – was stolen from a car

Ms Teather added: “How can they expect us to trust them to keep our personal information safe in their unnecessary and expensive ID card scheme?”

Last month the MoD was heavily criticised by a review of its data procedures which warned that basic security discipline had been forgotten and there was “little awareness” of the danger of losing information.

But an MoD spokeswoman said officials were taking the situation very seriously: “Any loss of data is investigated fully.

“The recent report on data losses by Sir Edmund Burton found that MoD policies and procedures are generally fit for purpose, but also identified a number of areas where MoD needs to do better in protecting personal data.

“MoD has developed, and is now working through, an action plan to address all of the report’s recommendations and bring the department’s handling of personal data to an acceptable state.”

Since the Burton report in June 2008 the MoD has recalled 20,000 non-encrypted laptops and are now encrypting them.

So far half have been through the process. About 2,000 are unable to be encrypted so have been taken out of service.

A man who killed his wife’s dog and threatened to kill her has been sentenced to six months in jail. William David Streeter, 29, of Cloyfin Park, Coleraine, was convicted of seven counts of animal cruelty and one of making threats to kill. The judge said it was one of the worst cases he had seen involving animals. Streeter hanged golden retriever Mac by his collar, kicked him with steel toe-capped boots and hit him with a boulder in October 2006. North Antrim Magistrates’ Court heard that he threatened to kill his wife two days after the dog’s death. The one-year-old pedigree dog died after Streeter put a choke chain around its neck and hanged it from a rafter in his garage. The dog suffered severe bruising and swelling to his back and head as well as two broken ribs. There was also evidence of bleeding on his brain and lungs.

One day earlier, he had left the dog hanging in the garage and taunted his wife who untied her much-loved pet.

Speaking outside court, Streeter’s former wife Alison McMonagle said she believed the sentence should have been longer.

“He was just like Jack Nicholson (in The Shining) – it was as if he was inhuman. He was just pure evil.

“I was shocked, I thought the sentence should maybe be a wee bit longer. Mac’s laid to rest today. It was the one thing I wanted to do and I did it,” she said.

A defence lawyer said Streeter “has accepted that his behaviour on the days in question went far beyond the pale, he has made no excuse for his behaviour.

“He simply lost it. It is behaviour that he sincerely and genuinely regrets.”

Magistrate Richard Wilson said he had little alternative but to impose a custodial sentence.

He said he wanted to convey the court’s disapproval and detestation of what happened over a period of days in imposing an immediate prison term.

Streeter was released on bail pending a High Court appeal.

As part of his sentence, he was banned from having an animal for 10 years.

On June 20, 2008 in Houston, Texas, along with more than 12,000 in attendance, Michael W. Smith recorded his third worship album, A New Hallelujah, which will be available everywhere October 28, 2008 (Reunion Records). A choir of 250, along with special guests, The African Children’s Choir and worship leaders Israel Houghton and Coalo Zamorano, led a two-hour worship event, yielding A New Hallelujah. The upcoming record, Smith’s 21st, will offer a unique, moving worship experience through songs like “Mighty to Save,” “Amazing Grace/My Chains Are Gone” and “I Surrender All,” (song list subject to change) along with several new songs that Michael wrote especially for the project. The title track was penned by Smith, his wife Debbie and friend Paul Baloche, and the album was arranged and produced by Smith.

“Since my last world tour a few years ago, I’ve been looking forward to recording a live worship project that reflected something more global than I’ve ever done before; a collection of songs and voices to translate what I experienced that year. I had hoped for an evening of worship that reflected the corners of our nation, and the world; I think we captured that,” shares Smith. “My great friend Israel Houghton, the world renowned African Children’s Choir, an incredible young worship leader named Coalo Zamorano and a 250-voice choir elevated the songs to amazing moments of praise and worship. It was more than I could have hoped for.”

Smith’s first worship album, simply titled Worship, released on September 11, 2001 and has sold more than a million-and-a half copies. It’s follow up Worship Again released September 19, 2002 and is nearing the 800,000 mark.

Throughout his 25-year career as a recording artist, Michael W. Smith has amassed an impressive catalog of achievements. His 20 albums have garnered multiple honors including an American Music Award, 3 GRAMMY Awards (from 13 nominations) and 42 Gospel Music Association Dove Awards and 33 No. 1 radio hits.  In addition, he holds 16 Gold and 5 Platinum albums and career sales approaching 15 million.

Smith has scored several film projects, written 11 books and been named one of People Magazine’s Most Beautiful People. His tours consistently rank among the best attended in the country and he has performed to capacity crowds throughout the world.

Constantly giving back to the community, one of his current projects is Rocketown — a nightclub for teens in his hometown of Nashville, Tenn. — which serves as safe place for young people to enjoy music and for artists to be discovered. He is married to Debbie Smith and they are the proud parents of five children.

Republican presidential nominee John McCain had the chance to pray with an old acquaintance of his family on Sunday. He met privately with Billy Graham and his son Franklin at Graham’s home in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. The three men met for almost an hour. It was McCain’s first time to meet the evangelist. The elder Graham had prayed with McCain’s parents twice while John was being held as a prisoner of war in Hanoi during the Vietnam War. Franklin Graham said his father “expressed gratitude for the senator’s long and brave service” to the country. McCain has been trying to court the religious and conservative vote, but he insists the meeting wasn’t a political one. “They have known my family and me for many years, and the great leaders of this nation,” McCain said. “I appreciate the opportunity to visit with him and am very grateful for the time they spent with me.”

After the meeting, Franklin Graham praised McCain for his “personal faith and moral clarity.” He said he would not endorse anyone for president, but he asked “men and women of faith” to vote and be involved in the political process. Graham also said they had the opportunity to pray for the senator and his family, and “for God’s will to be done in this upcoming election.”

“I encourage people to vote for the candidate at every level who best represents their values and convictions, and then to pray for those in authority over us as required in Scripture,” Franklin Graham said.

McCain said last week that he did not consider the meeting with Franklin Graham political.

“He is a man whose family is respected, incredibly respected, and I consider it a privilege to have the opportunity to meet with him,” McCain said.

“I think the Graham family really transcends politics in America. Billy Graham was an adviser to every president and so I’m not sure that there is any – there certainly is no political aspect to the meeting that I will have,” he explained.

Earlier this month, Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee, met with the younger Graham and 30 other evangelical leaders in Chicago.

TETON VILLAGE, Wyo. – Governors from several Western states voted Sunday to form a council that will study ways to protect wildlife habitat in the face of ever-increasing demand for energy development in their region. The governors were attending the first day of the annual Western Governors’ Association conference, held this year in the valley of Jackson Hole in Wyoming’s northwestern corner. The task of the Western Wildlife Habitat Council will be to identify key wildlife corridors and habitats for animals such as pronghorn antelope, sage grouse and bear. It is also considering the potential impact of energy development, both in the form of oil and gas drilling and new construction of solar and wind generation plants, as well as the matter of infrastructure for the rising population in the region and the effects of climate change.

“It is very interesting that you often have world-class habitat that is sitting right above world-class energy reserves,” U.S. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne said.

“It is to our benefit that they are not mutually exclusive. When you look at the $4 a gallon gasoline and see what the implications are of that for the American family with regard to fuel and food, you need to do all you can to responsibly and environmentally develop our energy resources.”

Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal, chairman of the association’s board of directors, has stressed the preservation of wildlife habitat, particularly to protect hunting, as his state enjoys the benefits of wealthy coal and natural gas reserves.

Along with gathering a foundation of information on wildlife habitats, Western states and the federal government should cooperate to make sure energy developers follow through with mitigating habitat disruption, he said.

“There are some companies that are doing a very good job, but there are also some companies who are not,” Freudenthal said.

Steve Elbert, vice chairman of BP America Inc., said his company supports the association’s wildlife corridor initiative.

He noted that even if attempts at energy conservation and production of renewable sources are successful, the United States “will need more coal, more oil, more natural gas, more nuclear power in 2030 than it does today,” Elbert said. “The West is and will remain a critical supplier of energy for the nation.”

TV journalist Tom Brokaw, who spoke at the conference after hosting NBC’s “Meet the Press” in Jackson Hole earlier Sunday, told the governors he was excited to see the West gaining prominence in this presidential election year.

“I know the people here across the political spectrum, representing so many cultures, so many national interests, so many ideologies, are always first and foremost citizens of the land they inhabit,” said Brokaw, a South Dakota native who now owns a ranch in Montana.

SEOUL, South Korea – A U.S. ship carrying thousands of tons of food aid has arrived in North Korea, after the communist nation agreed to expanded international assistance for its impoverished people, the U.N. food agency said Monday. The World Food Program said the American ship that arrived Sunday carried 37,000 tons of wheat, the first installment of 500,000 tons in promised U.S. aid that will be distributed by the United Nations. The aid was not directly related to the ongoing nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang, as the U.S. says it does not use food as a means of diplomatic coercion. However, the shipment came just days after the North handed over its delayed atomic declaration and blew up the cooling tower at its main reactor site. In exchange, Washington has removed some economic sanctions against the North and said it would remove the country from a U.S. State Department list of state sponsors of terrorism.
Sunday’s wheat shipment will be enough for the WFP to expand its operations to feed more than 5 million people, up from 1.2 million people now getting international aid.

The increased aid comes as the WFP and other groups have issued increasingly dire warnings about the food situation in the North.

The country’s regular annual shortages were expected to worsen this year due to floods last summer that decimated the North’s agricultural heartland. The U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization has said North Korea’s cereal crop will fall more than 1.5 million tons short this year, its largest food gap since 2001.

Shortages have already led to prices soaring at the markets to which North Koreans who can afford it turn to when public rations fail to provide enough food for their families.

The U.N. agencies are conducting a food survey expected to be ready in July to determine where to distribute the aid, but the WFP said preliminary reports “indicate a high level of food insecurity in the country.”

The North has long bristled at the monitoring requirements of international donors to make sure that the food is reaching the needy. However, the WFP said that North Korea had permitted the agency to sent nearly 50 more international workers to the country for monitoring.

“The challenge will now be to put words into action and quickly expand distributions of badly needed food aid to the hungriest people” of North Korea, Jean-Pierre de Margerie, WFP’s Pyongyang-based country director, said in a statement.

The U.S. is the largest donor to the WFP’s aid program in North Korea, having pledged $38.9 million, followed by South Korea at $20 million.

Democratic hopeful Barack Obama has paid tribute to Hillary Clinton for her campaign to become the party nominee for US president.

He said his former rival had “shattered barriers on behalf of my daughters and women everywhere”.

The praise came after Mrs Clinton formally abandoned her bid for the nomination at a rally in Washington.

She said Mr Obama had proved his “grace and grit”, and she urged her supporters to put their energy into electing him.

Mr Obama is expected to face the Republican presumptive nominee, John McCain, in November’s presidential election.

In a statement, Mr Obama said he was “thrilled” to have Mrs Clinton’s endorsement.

He credited her with reaching out to many American voters and making him a stronger candidate.

“She inspired millions with her strength, courage and unyielding commitment to the cause of working Americans.”

Mr Obama also said Mrs Clinton’s presence on the American political scene would continue.

“No one knows better than Senator Clinton how desperately America and the American people need change, and I know she will continue to be in the forefront of that battle this fall and for years to come.”

His campaign website asked supporters to send a message of thank you to the Clinton campaign.

Earlier, Mrs Clinton formally suspended her 16-month-long campaign with a speech at the National Building Museum in Washington.

She opened by saying: “This isn’t exactly the party I planned but I sure like the company.”

Mrs Clinton thanked the “18 million of you from all walks of life” who voted for her and threw her support behind Mr Obama.

Although she had not succeeded, she said there were now “18 million cracks in the glass ceiling” preventing a woman from winning the White House.

Referring to her formal rival, she said: “I’ve had a front-row seat to his candidacy and I have seen his strength and determination, his grace and his grit.”

Recently honored by the Gospel Music Association during this year’s GMA Dove Awards, Michael W. Smith is busy preparing for his next project; a live worship CD to be recorded June 20 at Lakewood Church in Houston, TX. Doors open at 6:30 PM and the free event will start promptly at 7:30 PM. Lakewood Church is located at 3700 Southwest Freeway, Houston, TX 77027. Respected as a pop artist, composer, author and worship leader, Smith’s first two worship projects, Worship and Worship Again, garnered fans in the millions, worldwide.

The upcoming album, Smith’s 21st, will be recorded with the African Children’s Choir as he leads worship for a group that is expected to exceed 15,000 in attendance.

His song list will include familiar worship songs as well as new songs Michael has written especially for this project.

Title and release dates for the CD will be announced in coming weeks.

Throughout his 25-year career as a recording artist, Michael W. Smith has amassed an impressive catalog of achievements.

His 20 albums have garnered multiple honors including an American Music Award, 3 GRAMMY Awards (from 13 nominations) and 42 Gospel Music Association Dove Awards.

In addition, he holds 16 Gold and 5 Platinum albums, 33 No.1 radio hits, and has been named one of People Magazine’s Most Beautiful People.

Smith has also scored several film projects and written 11 books.

His tours consistently rank among the best attended in the country and he has performed to capacity crowds throughout the world.

Constantly giving back to the community, one of his current projects is Rocketown — a nightclub for teens in his hometown of Nashville, Tenn.

He is married to Debbie Smith and they are the proud parents of five children.