MSNBC Digital Network (MSNBC) was the top U.S.-based news and current events website in August, according to Nielsen Online.
Surging interest in the Beijing Olympics and the U.S. political conventions, which occupied back-to-back weeks in August, may have played a part in boosting MSNBC past its close competitor, Yahoo! News, Editor & Publisher reported Tuesday. 
In August, MSNBC drew 52.2 million unique visitors — 12 million more than Yahoo!’s news portal, according to Nielsen.  During the prior August, both Yahoo! News and CNN Digital Network edged past MSNBC.com, with 34.3 million and 31.7 million unique visitors, respectively, to MSNBC’s 29.6 million …