SPB News for Thursday.

Iraq Looking at Oil Surplus, Big Profits --Senators: Iraq will realize 'at least $100 billion in oil revenues in 2007 and 2008' Iraq is looking at a potential boon in oil revenue this year, as the U.S. spends some $153 million a month in the country on fuel alone. Sens. Carl Levin, D-Mich., and John Warner, R-Va., have called for an investigation into Iraq's handling of the money. Iraq relies heavily on U.S. dollars to provide citizens with basic services, including more than $45 billion for reconstruction.

Contracts for Body Armor Filled Without Initial Tests --Inspections Skipped in 13 Of 28 Deals, Report Finds Government auditors said yesterday that nearly half of 28 contracts to manufacture body armor for Army soldiers were completed without the gear ever going through an initial test. Nearly $3 billion worth of body armor did not go through early inspections known as "first article testing," or FAT, that are performed before major production to ensure that a company can meet the contract's requirements and to catch any defects, according to a report by the Defense Department's inspector general.

Boxer blasts Bush administration for polar bear listing delay California Sen. Barbara Boxer accused the Bush administration today of delaying a decision on whether to list the polar bear as an endangered species so it could finish its oil lease sales in Alaska's Chukchi Sea, where one-fifth of the world's creatures live. "The administration went ahead and accepted bids, even though oil and gas activities may disturb polar bears making a den, and even though an oil spill could pose big risks to the polar bear population," said Boxer, who chairs the Senate Environment and Public Work Committee.

Intelligence Centers Tap Into Personal Databases --State Groups, Dozens of 'Fusion Centers,' Were Formed After 9/11 Intelligence centers run by states across the country have access to personal information about millions of Americans, including unlisted cellphone numbers, insurance claims, driver's license photographs and credit reports, according to a document obtained by The Washington Post. One center also has access to top-secret data systems at the CIA, the document shows, though it's not clear what information those systems contain. From 2004 to 2007, state and local governments received $254 million from the Department of Homeland Security in support of the centers, which are also supported by employees of the FBI and other federal law enforcement agencies. In some cases, they work with the U.S. Northern Command, the Pentagon operation involved in homeland security.

Inside the Pentagon's Black Budget One patch shows a space alien with huge eyes holding a stealth bomber near its mouth. "To Serve Man" reads the text above, a reference to a classic "Twilight Zone" episode in which man is the entree, not the customer. Military officials and experts said the patches are real if often unofficial efforts at building team spirit... The classified budget of the Defense Department, concealed from the public in all but outline, has nearly doubled in the Bush years, to $32 billion.

Obama... like Heinz Kerry's husbands? — From NBC/NJ's Matthew Berger — PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Teresa Heinz Kerry joined Michelle Obama at a rally at Carnegie Mellon University today, saying she hoped the state would support Obama the way it had voted for both of her husbands.