Dems gather in Denver;
Democrats gathered in Denver Monday to formally nominate Barack Obama as standard-bearer, but Republican opponent John McCain was giving no peace -- sniping away with new ads to stir discord over the Illinois senator's choice of Sen. Joe Biden as a running mate.
US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called today for ``friends of democratic Syria'' to unite and rally against President Bashar Assad's regime, previewing the possible formation of a formal group of likeminded nations to coordinate assistance to the Syrian opposition.