“Sex-tour trial set to begin in Phila.; Eight Moldovan teens were flown in to testify against a N.J. millionaire accused of child molestations there”: This article appears today in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

And The Associated Press reports that “Trial Set in Overseas Child Sex Case.”

St. Louis Cardinals 10, Philadelphia Phillies 2: The quixotic quest of the Phillies to avoid becoming the first North American team in professional sports history to reach 10,000 losses came to an end tonight in front of a sell-out home crowd (which included my son and me) at Citizens Bank Park as the team failed to achieve a sweep of a three-game series against the world champion Cardinals.

The Phillies thus managed to earn this mark of indistinction against a surprisingly appreciative home crowd, as the team now jets to southern California to face the top two teams in the National League West. The Phillies pitching staff gave up a total of six home runs tonight to the Cardinals, including two to Albert Pujols, giving him four in the three-game series. Phillies relief pitcher Brian Sanches, who entered the game in the top of the seventh inning with the Phillies trailing 6-0, gave up three solo home runs in that half inning, including two after having recorded two outs. Because the Phillies were so far out of contention in the game, Sanches was allowed to return to pitch the top of the eighth inning, where he performed comparatively better, yielding only one solo home run.

On the bright side, the Phillies did outscore the Cards in the ninth inning 2-0. But, regrettably, the preceding eight innings also counted toward the result. After the Cardinals had recorded the first two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, the remaining crowd was surprisingly enthusiastic, applauding the Phillies as the team stood one out away from its 10,000th loss. After the final out was recorded, when slugger Ryan Howard struck out swinging, the crowd was quizzically quiet, unsure of how to respond.

You can access the box score of tonight’s game at this link, while wraps from MLB.com are available here and here. The Philadelphia Inquirer provides a news update headlined “Phillies lose No. 10,000.” The Associated Press reports that “Cardinals hand Phillies 10,000th loss.” And Bloomberg News reports that “Phillies Fall to Cardinals for 10,000th Loss in Team History.”

“Rally urges racial justice; Thousands call for Wilson’s release”: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution today contains an article that begins, “As thunder rumbled overhead, about 2,000 marchers chanted through the streets of Douglasville Saturday morning in a ‘March For Justice’ protest organized by the NAACP, calling for the release of convicted teen sex offender Genarlow Wilson.”

“Terrorism and the Law: In Washington, a Need to Right Wrongs.” The New York Times today contains an editorial that begins, “Congress and President Bush are engaged in a profound debate over what the founding fathers intended when they divided the powers to declare and conduct war between two co-equal branches of government. But on one thing, the Constitution is clear: Congress makes the rules on prisoners.”

“Keeping Secrets: How to balance national security with people’s rights to have their day in court.” The Washington Post contains this editorial today.

“Dred Scott v. Sandford: Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer presides over a moot court to reconsider the Dred Scott case at Harvard University’s Law School in Cambridge, MA.” This broadcast (RealPlayer required) appeared two weeks ago on C-SPAN’s “America & the Courts.”

“A Fight over Privileged Positions”: In the July 23, 2007 issue of Time magazine, Reynolds Holding will have an article that begins, “You would think that after 218 years, 43 Presidents and countless partisan battles, the Federal Government would have worked out the rules for when Congress gets to question White House officials. But as President George W. Bush and the House and Senate Judiciary committees have made clear, you would be wrong.”