Exclusive: Diebold 'Nukes' Humboldt County

Oklahoma Legislature Investigates Richard Dawkins' Free Speech

Slain Loudoun Man Did Contract Work for CIA

Ex-CNN Anchor Joins TYT To Discuss Cable News, Fake Neutrality & More

Neocons Launch New Foreign Policy Group A newly-formed and still obscure neoconservative foreign policy organization is giving some observers flashbacks to the 1990s, when its predecessor staked out the aggressively unilateralist foreign policy that came to fruition under the George W. Bush administration.

AIG aircraft unit warns of problems another potential fallout from the financial woes of insurance giant American International Group Inc., the world's largest aircraft leasing company warned Wednesday that its

Lawsuit by a father in Indiana targets polluters Ron Kurth, who grew up in Gary and worked in the steel mills, raised his family in the region near the outskirts of Chicago. He always wondered about the smoke and smog that overcast the Lake Michigan shoreline.

Wal-Mart sex discrimination case back in court A U.S. court began considering on Tuesday whether to uphold a lower court ruling allowing about 2 million current and former female Wal-Mart workers to sue the firm for sexual discrimination as a group

Concerns stall plan to poison Rio Grande banks Federal officials postponed poisoning a mile-long stretch of the Rio Grande's banks this week after residents complained that doing so posed health and environmental risks on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. U.S. officials want to eradicate the invasive Carrizo cane, saying it provides cover for immigrants crossing the border illegally and poses a danger to agents trying to stop them.

Engine parts from US plane fall from sky in Brazil Engine pieces from a U.S. plane fell from the sky early Thursday in Brazil, hitting 22 houses and a car but sparing passengers and residents on the ground.

2,000 cities to turn out lights for Earth Hour In honor of Earth Hour, lights are scheduled to go out at hundreds of popular tourist landmarks and buildings worldwide, including New York, London, Paris, Dubai, Hong Kong, Mosco and Nairobi.

U.S. lags in high-speed rail To Americans, high-speed trains evoke the gee-whiz factor of a trip to Tomorrowland: Ride futuristic cars that zoom you to a destination in a fraction of the drive time — without having to fight your way through an airport.

Cop disciplined after threatening NFL player A police officer was placed on administrative leave Thursday over a traffic stop involving an NFL player whom he kept in a hospital parking lot and threatened to arrest while his mother-in-law died inside the building.

Girl posts nude pics, is charged with kid porn A 14-year-old New Jersey girl has been accused of child pornography after posting nearly 30 explicit nude pictures of herself on MySpace.com — charges that could force her to register as a sex offender if convicted.

Two Who Warned of Financial Crisis Win JFK Awards

Schwarzenegger Opens California Fairgrounds to Homeless Camp

DEA Raids SF Pot Club

U.S. Steps Up Wage-Law Enforcement

Hemp Is Not Pot: It's the Economic Stimulus and Green Jobs Solution We Need

Injured prefer combat to recovery at Bragg Soldiers in a recovery unit for wounded troops at Fort Bragg told the Secretary of the Army that they feel forgotten by the military and that combat duty would be better than the treatment they get now, according to a memo obtained by the Associated Press.

Suicide numbers on rise with combat stress In Maj. Thomas Jarrett’s stress management class, troops are urged not to accept post-traumatic stress disorder as an inevitable consequence of war.

Judge defends pretrial secrecy of 9/11 documents A judge said Wednesday he favors keeping Sept. 11-related documents and interviews secret until the trials for several families of victims suing the airline industry, an opinion that upset several victims' family members.

Genetic embryo screening: Questions grow with practice Both the number of families checking embryos for genetic defects and the conditions being tested for are growing rapidly. But figuring out the ethical and regulatory guidelines for such screening is proving difficult. The Tribune's Laurie Goering reports from London.

Science standards challenging evolution The Texas Board of Education this week will vote on science standards that critics say seek to cast doubt on the theory of evolution.

Pentagon exploring robot killers that can fire on their own

Why secretly funded DEA surveillance planes aren't flying

Gas prices: Above $2, and rising

Los Alamos' security flaws exposed An Energy Department investigation into a plutonium mix-up reveals deficiencies that the New Mexico nuclear weapons lab must address, an official says.

Independent journalists detained after FIU videoconference Independent journalists taking a course from Florida International University hoped to avoid detention by police this week by leaving the U.S. Interests Section in group, but two of them were detained.

ConsumerMan: Overdraft protection debate Most checking accounts are now automatically enrolled – as a customer service – in an overdraft protection program. The banking industry loves it. Consumer groups hate it.

Investigators Find Abuse in Small Business Program GAO: Undeserving companies collected millions in federal contracts due to poor SBA oversight

Irregular war must be core competency The military must make combating irregular warfare a “core competency,” one top American commander told a Senate panel on Tuesday, while another warned Washington’s relations with Russia will remain prickly for some time.

Frank explains why he called Scalia a homophobe Representative Barney Frank yesterday defended his use of the term "homophobe" to describe Antonin Scalia, the conservative Supreme Court justice who has ruled in favor of limiting legal protections for gays.

GOP Leader Skips Obama Speech for Britney Concert

Big Brother Gov't Could Own the News A new Senate bill that would give government funding to struggling newspapers could result in complete state control of the press, critics say.

Ex-SEC chief: Bankruptcy the answer, not bailouts  Former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Richard Breeden told the Senate Banking Committee Thursday that failing companies like AIG should be turned over to a special bankruptcy court rather than receive federal bailouts."Bankruptcy is there, but it seems we have policymakers who don't understand it and fail to use it," said Breeden, who now lives in Darien

Vet groups seek update in combat definition A World War II-era law established that veterans who “engaged in combat with the enemy” receive special treatment when they seek disability compensation, making it less burdensome for them to prove the injury was from their time in the service.

Investigators say food tracing system full of gaps Government investigators testing the nation's food tracing system were able to follow only five out of 40 foods all the way through the supply chain, according to a report to be released Thursday.

Insurgents kill 9 police in southern Afghanistan Insurgents staged two attacks against police in Afghanistan on Thursday, killing nine officers and wounding six others, officials said, in the latest violence against the lightly armed force that has born the brunt of rising attacks across the country.

Afghan official: Pakistan spies support Taliban

GE Gets $300M Contract for China Gas Pipeline

India to buy Israeli air defence system at $1.4 billion In its biggest defence deal with India, Israel will provide its largest arms buyer an air defence system at a whopping sum of $1.4 billion.

Protesters surround Thai PM's office Supporters of former leader Thaksin Shinawatra surrounded the government's main office Thursday to demand its dissolution, drawing tens of thousands to a boisterous rally.

China Daily Assails Prisoner Abuses The state-run English-language newspaper reported bullying and torture at the hands of fellow prisoners and police officers in China’s 2,700 pretrial detention centers