Drought to Continue in Plains and Rockies, Though Storm Did Bring Relief to Some Areas

For Farms in the West, Oil Wells Are Thirsty Rivals

By JACK HEALY

A race for water is rippling through the drought-scorched heartland, pitting farmers against oil and gas interests that use the water-intensive hydraulic fracturing process.

Bits of Mystery DNA, Far From ‘Junk,’ Play Crucial Role

By GINA KOLATA

At least four million gene switches that reside in sections of the human genome once thought to be inactive turn out to have critical functions in the body, researchers reported.

Court Rulings Help Illegal Immigrants’ College-Bound Children

By JULIA PRESTON

Some college-bound children of illegal immigrants have been denied resident tuition and financial aid, but New Jersey and Florida courts have recently made it more difficult for states to discriminate.

Steel Leads Revival in Ohio River Valley

By KEITH SCHNEIDER

From the vantage point of crew members of the tugboat Mike Weisend, the regional economy is improving as seen in increasing shipments along the Ohio River.

Like the Army Itself, Recruiters Prepare to Make Do With Less

By ADESHINA EMMANUEL

The Army is remaking its recruiting structure amid concerns over whether budget cuts scheduled for 2013 will make joining the service a tougher sell.

U.S. to Retain Role as a Jailer in Afghanistan

By CHARLIE SAVAGE and GRAHAM BOWLEY

The United States military will continue indefinitely to operate a section of the Parwan complex holding foreign combatants, even as the two countries mark a transfer of authority.

Obama Girls’ Role: Not to Speak, but to Be Spoken Of

By JODI KANTOR 12:39 PM ET

The girls’ appearance at the Democratic convention will underscore their importance to their father’s image as a likable family man.

Clinton Delivers Impassioned Plea for Obama Second Term

By JEFF ZELENY and MARK LANDLER

Former President Bill Clinton drew sharp lines between the choices voters face, using the economic successes in his presidency as a case for re-electing President Obama.

• Interactive Feature: Anatomy of a Speech: Bill Clinton

Man in the News | Barack Hussein Obama

4 Years Later, Scarred but Still Confident

By PETER BAKER

President Obama is making the case that while progress is slow, he is taking America to a better place — and that he will be a better president over the next four years than the last.

Obama Faces Test From Voters Who Drifted Away

By SUSAN SAULNY

President Obama is preparing to make an aggressive pitch at the Democratic convention, hoping to return to the fold voters who supported him in 2008 but now express disappointment.

Libyan Alleges Waterboarding by C.I.A., Report Says

By CHARLIE SAVAGE and SCOTT SHANE

A new report by Human Rights Watch, based on interviews with 14 Libyans, documents accounts of detention in Afghanistan and, in one case, of waterboarding by the C.I.A.

• Spy Chief for Qaddafi Is Extradited to Libya
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