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WASHINGTON — As the United States and other nations build ties with Libyan rebels and leaders of the political opposition trying to oust Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi, intelligence suggests al-Qaida and other terrorists have a small presence within the opposition group, a top military commander said Tuesday. Adm. James Stavridis, the NATO Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, told Congress that officials have seen "flickers" of possible al-Qaida and Hezbollah among the rebel forces, but at this point no evidence there are significant numbers within the group's leadership.

A U.S. NATO commander does not rule out an Al Qaeda presence in the Libya opposition against Muammar al-Qaddafi. Adm. James Stavridis says that intelligence has shown "flickers" of potential Al Qaeda in opposition groups but that there is still no detailed picture of rebel groups. "At this point, I don't have detail sufficient to say there is a significant Al Qaeda presence," Stavridis, who is NATO's Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, and also the commander of U.S. European Command, said during Senate testimony Tuesday.

Admiral James Stavridis, commander of NATO and overall chief of U.S. and coalition forces in the Libyan war, says American intelligence agents are "examining very closely" the rebel forces for whom U.S. forces have gone to war. So far, Stavridis says, the U.S. has discovered "flickers" of the presence of al Qaeda and other terrorist groups, although Stavridis calls the opposition leadership "responsible."

WASHINGTON – As the United States and other nations build ties with Libyan rebels and leaders of the political opposition trying to oust Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi, intelligence suggests al-Qaida and other terrorists have a small presence within the opposition group, a top military commander said Tuesday. Adm. James Stavridis, the NATO Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, told Congress that officials have seen "flickers" of possible al-Qaida and Hezbollah among the rebel forces, but at this point no evidence there are significant numbers within the group's leadership.

WASHINGTON (AFP) – President Barack Obama said there were "flickers of hope" for the recession-hit US economy as his administration readied a big-spending plan to clear toxic assets off banks' books. In a television interview, Obama cautioned Congress against over-reacting to lavish bonuses awarded by bailed-out insurer AIG, for fear of hurting an economic recovery and running afoul of the US constitution. "Well, we're already starting to see flickers of hope out there," he told the CBS program "60 Minutes," noting that mortgage refinancings have significantly increased and interest rates have never been lower. "That promises the possibility at least...

Some people who feed birds sometimes wish they'd never see another woodpecker, particularly the downy and hairy species. The little critters often are the ones who find wood house siding as appealing as a dead elm tree. Cedar siding is particularly interesting to them and other species - even the crow-sized pileated woodpeckers. Seven types of woodpeckers are common in Wisconsin: sapsuckers, flickers, pileated, downy, hairy, redheaded and red-breasted. "I live in a cedar-sided house and have an issue with woodpeckers," wrote a Poynette man. "They seem to think my house is a great place to hang out and pound...