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Under the Senate Finance Committee bill, HHS Secretary Kathleen will determine the meaning of terms such as "physician services," "premium," "prescription drug coverage," "deductible," and "emergency room care.

The pranksters who impersonated U.S. Chamber of Commerce officials in a bogus news conference last week are getting smacked with a federal lawsuit in reply. Far from finding the stunt funny, the chamber is suing the group, called the Yes Men, for trademark infringement, unfair competition and false advertising. In a suit filed late Monday in U.S. District Court, the Chamber charges that four principal members of the group engaged in conduct that “is destructive of public discourse, and cannot be tolerated under the law.”

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A lawyer for the Obama administration said on Friday it had no position on the legality of the former Bush administration's program to intercept Americans' e-mails and phone calls without a warrant. The lawyer spoke at a 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals hearing on a lawsuit in which 16 lawyers representing Guantanamo Bay detainees demanded the government release records of electronic surveillance they believe was conducted without a warrant concerning their clients' cases.

ngrid Betancourt, the French-Colombian politician held hostage for more than six years by guerrillas in the Colombian jungle, told CBC News in an exclusive interview that her captors despised her. "I was a politician. They hated politicians. I was a person with some education. They had none, so they thought I [had] a privileged social background and they hated me for that," Betancourt told the CBC's Mellissa Fung in an excerpt from an interview that will air on The National on Monday at 9 p.m. ET.

WASHINGTON -- In a strongly worded message to Congress outlining its priorities for a military spending bill, the Obama administration today said it disapproved of including money for pensions for 26 elderly members of the World War II-era Alaska Territorial Guard. The Guardsmen are among those assigned to protect Alaska from the Japanese during World War II.

VENICE (Reuters) - Capitalism is evil. That is the conclusion of U.S. documentary maker Michael Moore's latest movie "Capitalism: A Love Story," which premieres at the Venice film festival on Sunday. Blending his trademark humour with tragic individual stories, archive footage and publicity stunts, the 55-year-old launches an attack on the capitalist system, arguing that it benefits the rich and condemns millions to poverty.

Facing a barrage of questions Wednesday over the friendliness of the audience at President Obama's New Hampshire town hall meeting, the White House insisted that all questions were selected at random -- including one from an 11-year-old girl whose mother worked as an Obama organizer. Julia Hall of Malden, Mass., grabbed the microphone Tuesday during Obama's town hall meeting in Portsmouth, N.H., and told the president she saw signs "outside saying mean things about reforming health care" as she walked into the building.

A poll released Sunday revealed that despite the massive amounts of aid directed toward Pakistan in this administration, Pakistanis peg the U.S. as a far greater threat than the Taliban and even archenemy India. The poll of more than 2,500 Pakistanis, conducted across rural and urban areas at the end of July by Gallup Pakistan for Al-Jazeera, found that 41 percent favored their government's military operation against the Taliban, while 22 percent claimed neutrality and 24 percent opposed.

The Senate can pass legislation overhauling the U.S. health-care system by August with some Republican support even with the “wacky” cost estimates by the Congressional Budget Office, Senator Charles Schumer said.

The Obama administration announced this week that some detainees captured and held abroad have been read Miranda rights to preserve evidence for a potential prosecution. Administration officials say the Bush administration did this as well in some instances relating to certain criminal cases. They would not offer specifics in any of the cases, whether under President Obama or President Bush

Paper Says It Has Unseen Video by Atta Sunday October 1, 2006 2:16 AM LONDON (AP) - A previously unseen video made by Mohamed Atta, ringleader of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, has been obtained by Britain's The Sunday Times, the newspaper reported Saturday. In editions available late Saturday, the paper said it had been handed the so-called martyrdom video, but did not reveal the source of the tape. It reported that Atta was filmed reading a document marked in Arabic as a will as he sat beside fellow hijacker Ziad Jarrah - who seized control...

EU should run asylum policy, says Sarkozy By David Rennie in Brussels (Filed: 29/09/2006) National governments should surrender their powers to judge whether asylum seekers are genuine to a new "single European asylum office", Nicolas Sarkozy is expected to say today. The office would be staffed by officials on secondment from their countries, but would judge asylum applications according to EU rules. Mr Sarkozy, the French interior minister, is in Madrid for a summit of eight EU countries facing large flows of illegal migrants and asylum seekers. A copy of his speech to the summit was leaked to AFP, the...

CINCINNATI - Ohio's rules for primary elections make it too hard for minor parties to get on the ballot, a federal appeals court ruled. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel said the primary requirements allow the Republican and Democratic parties to monopolize general elections. Ohio "is among the most restrictive, if not the most restrictive, state in granting minor parties access to the ballot," the ruling said. Parties automatically qualify for the primary ballot if their candidate for governor or president received at least 5 percent of the vote in the previous Ohio election. Any other party must...

Migrants changing Britain, says race chief By Philip Johnston, Home Affairs Editor (Filed: 30/08/2006) Immigration to Britain today is fundamentally different from previous settlements because it is changing the composition of the nation, the head of the Commission for Racial Equality said last night. Trevor Phillips, who provoked controversy last year by challenging the concept of multiculturalism and saying that Britain was "sleepwalking to segregation", said the social significance of the current wave of immigration was being overlooked. More young people were arriving to compete for jobs with settled workers and a growing number of incomers were setting up their...

ANKARA, Turkey - The Turkish Foreign Ministry said Friday that it had forced two Syria-bound Iranian planes to land and be searched for rockets and other military equipment during the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. The newspaper Hurriyet reported Wednesday that Iranian planes were forced to land at Diyarbakir airport on July 27 and on Aug. 8 — but that no military equipment was found. Foreign Ministry deputy spokesman Murat Ozcelik said those were not the only planes that were forced to land. "We inspect Iranian planes upon any suspicion that they may be carrying any weapons," Ozcelik said. He...

Israel Says It Has Captured Guerrillas Wednesday August 2, 2006 4:01 AM By HUSSEIN DAKROUB Associated Press Writer BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) - Israel poured up to 10,000 armored troops into south Lebanon Tuesday, and separately dropped helicopter-borne commandos deep into the eastern Bekaa Valley where they raided a Hezbollah-run hospital and fought pitched battles with guerrillas, in a major escalation of the three-week-old war. After the raid on the ancient city of Baalbek ended, the Israeli military said it had captured some guerrillas and hit others. The military statement said all its soldiers returned unharmed to their base, but gave...

No need for witch doctors - I'm staying, says Mugabe By Peta Thornycroft in Harare (Filed: 17/07/2006) President Robert Mugabe has ridiculed followers for consulting witch doctors to choose his successor, dismissing the suggestion that he is going to step down. Robert Mugabe:cheers and laughter from the crowd Shaking his fist, Mr Mugabe, 82, told Zanu PF leaders and party elders at a weekend "consultative" rally in the country's capital, Harare, that they should not rely on witchcraft to choose Zimbabwe's next president. Mr Mugabe, who drew cheers and laughter from the crowd, told them: "The things we hear about...

WASHINGTON, July 14, 2006 – Anti-insurgent efforts in the Iraqi city of Ramadi are beginning to bear fruit, a senior U.S. military officer said today. "We're in a transition point in the fight for Ramadi. There's still a lot to do, but we're on the right track," Army Col. Sean B. MacFarland said from his headquarters in Ramadi during a satellite teleconference with Pentagon reporters. MacFarland is the commander of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division. The 1st Brigade assists Iraqi soldiers and police in defeating insurgents within the unit's area of operations, he said. Ramadi is the...

Invest in the poor, says world's third wealthiest man By James Hider in Mexico City (Filed: 11/06/2006) The third richest man in the world has stunned his Mexican countrymen by backing the wave of Left-wing sentiment that is sweeping Latin America. The portly and bearded Carlos Slim Helu, 66, is a widower. His wife, Soumaya, died in 2000. He has a personal fortune of more than $30 billion (£16 billion), is forging ties with the Left-leaning governments which have used the gulf between rich and poor to ride to power. Drawing on the resources of his telecom, retail and finance...

Asia-Pacific passes bird flu pandemic test, Australia says Fri Jun 9, 4:02 PM ET SYDNEY (AFP) - Australian officials praised as creative the responses of Asian and Pacific countries to a hypothetical bird flu pandemic which included discouraging kissing and building a factory to make protective masks. The scenario tested involved a new strain of bird flu, dubbed the 'Malacca Straits Flu', reaching pandemic proportions within the region after several infected fishermen were rescued by a passing cruise ship. "The scenario successfully achieved the goal of testing communication responses during the exercise, which lasted 26 hours across eight time zones,"...

Ag secretary says bird flu easily found By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical WriterAP Photo: Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns, left, accompanied by Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt, during... WASHINGTON - Scientists have a new test that can tell within four hours if a bird is possibly infected with bird flu — but it still will take about a week to know if that suspect case is really sick with the deadly Asian strain, Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said Tuesday. Bird flu hasn't yet reached North America, but testing of migrating wild birds has begun in an attempt to catch...

Feds Are Intruding, Says Angry La. Lawmaker Tied to BribesBy Renee D. Turner, BET.com Staff Writer Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) Posted May 23, 2006 – Democratic Louisiana Congressman William Jefferson, rebutting claims by the FBI that he is on tape accepting a bribe, said Tuesday that he would not step down. "I expect to continue to represent the people who have sent me here," Jefferson told reporters, emphasizing that he will seek re-election in November. The Saturday- through-Sunday search into Jefferson’s D.C. congressional offices was an “outrageous intrusion,” the New Orleans representative said at a news conference. “…There are two...

President Bush says he’ll send the National Guard to the southern border, 24 hours after the announcement the Border Patrol has yet to comment, but News 4 tracked down a former Tucson Sector chief for his opinion of the President’s plan. In a move to reform America ’s current immigration system, President Bush announced the deployment of up to 6,000 National Guard Troops to the U.S. Mexico Border. Bush stated, “The United States is not going to militarize the southern border.” Bush said that the Border Patrol will remain in the lead using support from the troops in roles like...

Security Issue Kills Domestic Spying ProbeBy DEVLIN BARRETT, Associated Press Writer 12 minutes ago WASHINGTON - The government has abruptly ended an inquiry into the warrantless eavesdropping program because the National Security Agency refused to grant Justice Department lawyers the necessary security clearance to probe the matter. The Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility, or OPR, sent a fax to Rep. Maurice Hinchey (news, bio, voting record), D-N.Y., on Wednesday saying they were closing their inquiry because without clearance their lawyers cannot examine Justice lawyers' role in the program. "We have been unable to make any meaningful progress in our...

Strikes on Iran too risky, says US general By Alec Russell in Washington (Filed: 02/05/2006) Military action against Iran would be fraught with risk and would have repercussions across the region, a leading American general conceded. "Any action militarily is very complicated," Lt Gen Victor Renuart, the director of planning for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told The Daily Telegraph. Donald Rumsfeld, President Bush and Condoleezza Rice in Washington yesterday "And any action by any country will have second-order effects, and that is a strong case to continue the diplomatic process and make it work." His comments are a rare...

UN is like the Twilight Zone, says Bolton (Filed: 01/05/2006) In his first interview with a British newspaper, America's ambassador to the United Nations tells Alec Russell why it is in dire need of reform John Bolton was in his element. America's famously blunt UN ambassador and hundreds of other senior diplomats had just spent almost two hours twiddling their thumbs in a deadlocked meeting awaiting a letter from the secretary general. John Bolton says he is not combative. ‘I am assertive’ Then moments after the document arrived, the session was adjourned as the representatives of the developing world retired...

FDA Statement FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Statement April 20, 2006 Media Inquiries: FDA Press Office, 301-827-6242 Consumer Inquiries: 888-INFO-FDA Inter-Agency Advisory Regarding Claims That Smoked Marijuana Is a Medicine Claims have been advanced asserting smoked marijuana has a value in treating various medical conditions. Some have argued that herbal marijuana is a safe and effective medication and that it should be made available to people who suffer from a number of ailments upon a doctor's recommendation, even though it is not an approved drug. Marijuana is listed in schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), the most restrictive schedule. The...

Bird flu threat not so grave, CDC chief says M. ALEXANDER OTTO; The News Tribune Published: April 15th, 2006 01:00 AM Federal health officials at a meeting Friday in Tacoma downplayed the risk bird flu poses to humans, contrasting earlier warnings from the federal government. “There is no evidence it will be the next pandemic,” Dr. Julie Gerberding, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, said of avian flu. There is “no evidence it is evolving in a direction that is becoming more transmissible to people.” Gerberding spoke at the Greater Tacoma Convention & Trade Center...

Iran's spies watching us, says Israel By Con Coughlin Defence and Security Editor, on Israel's northern border (Filed: 04/04/2006) Iran has set up a sophisticated intelligence gathering operation in southern Lebanon to identify targets in northern Israel in the event of a military confrontation over its controversial nuclear programme. Senior Israeli military commanders say Iran has spent tens of millions of pounds helping its close ally, Hizbollah, the Shia Muslim militant group that controls southern Lebanon, to set up a network of control towers and monitoring stations along the entire length of Israel's border with south Lebanon. Some of the...

New analysis says global warming boosts hurricanes 19:00 16 March 2006 NewScientist.com news service Fred Pearce Renewed claims that global warming is driving the increased number of high-intensity hurricanes across the world were published on Thursday. The new study comes from researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, US. In September 2005 – days after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans – Peter Webster and Judy Curry claimed that the number of intense hurricanes across the world had almost doubled over the past 35 years, and that this was due to rising sea temperatures. The study was attacked for...

Drug test subject 'looks like elephant man' says girlfriend (Filed: 15/03/2006) The girlfriend of a man fighting for life after taking part in a pharmaceuticals trial has said the drugs he was given have left him looking "like the Elephant Man". Myfanwy Marshall Myfanwy Marshall, 35, said her boyfriend, a 28-year-old British man who had taken part in drug trials before without adverse side effects, felt ill 80 or 90 minutes after being given the drug on Monday. He is now in the intensive care unit at at Northwick Park hospital in north-west London. Five other men were also admitted...

FORT PIERCE, Fla. - Paul Kuschel would have been better off naked _ like many of the folks at Sunnier Palms Nudist Park. Instead, he was wearing a pair of nylon shorts Sunday when a generator he was working on backfired and sprayed him with starter fluid, setting him ablaze. "I would have been better off wearing nothing on at all," Kuschel told Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers. The fire seared his shorts to his backside. "It's a good thing I wasn't wearing a shirt," he said. Kuschel, 43, suffered second-degree and third-degree burns. He was taken to a hospital with...

NORWALK, Ohio - Some of the special-needs children who slept in cage-like beds fitted with alarms had asked for the structures to be built, their adoptive mother testified at a custody hearing. Sharen Gravelle testified Wednesday that she and her husband Michael built bunk beds and attached a wooden playhouse the family called a club house for some of the children's toys. The other children then requested them and the couple felt the brightly painted beds enclosed with wood and wire helped keep them from getting into trouble at night, she said. The couple have pleaded not guilty to several...

Ancient People Followed 'Kelp Highway' to America, Researcher Says Bjorn Carey LiveScience Staff Writer Sun Feb 19, 9:00 PM ET ST. LOUIS—Ancient humans from Asia may have entered the Americas following an ocean highway made of dense kelp. The new finding lends strength to the "coastal migration theory," whereby early maritime populations boated from one island to another, hunting the bountiful amounts of sea creatures that live in kelp forests. This research was presented here Sunday at the annual American Association for the Advancement of Science by anthropologist Jon Erlandson of the University of Oregon. Today, a nearly continuous "kelp...

Rumsfeld Says Extremists Winning Media WarBy AMY WESTFELDT, Associated Press Writer 20 minutes ago U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld gestures while speaking Friday Feb. 17, 2006 at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. Al-Qaida and other Islamic extremist groups have poisoned the Muslim public's view of the United States through deft use of the Internet and other modern communications methods that the American government has failed to master, Rumsfeld said Friday. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) NEW YORK - Al-Qaida and other Islamic extremist groups have poisoned the Muslim public's view of the United States through deft...

Iran says UK must withdraw troops from Basra Staff and agencies Friday February 17, 2006 The Iranian foreign minister today demanded that Britain pull its troops out of the southern Iraqi city of Basra. Speaking during a visit to Lebanon, Manouchehr Mottaki said: "The Islamic Republic of Iran demands the immediate withdrawal of British forces from Basra." He said UK troops were destabilising the city. The prime minister, Tony Blair, dismissed the comments as an attempt to "divert attention" from international concerns over Iran's stability. Mr Blair today held talks with the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, in Berlin, at which...

European Faces Reflect Stone Age Ancestry, Study Says James Owen for National Geographic News December 20, 2005Europeans inherit their looks from Stone Age hunters, new research suggests. Scientists studied ancient skeletons from Scandinavia to North Africa and Greece, comparing ancient and modern facial features. Their analysis suggests modern Europeans are closely related and descended from prehistoric indigenous peoples. Later Neolithic settlers—notably immigrants who introduced farming from the Near East some 7,500 years ago—contributed little to how Europeans look today, the researchers add. The scientists described their findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Online Early Edition. The...

BEAVER FALLS, Pa. - A 17-year-old high school student said he was humiliated when a teacher made him sit on the floor during a midterm exam in his ethnicity class _ for wearing a Denver Broncos jersey. The teacher, John Kelly, forced Joshua Vannoy to sit on the floor and take the test Friday _ two days before the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Broncos 34-17 in the AFC championship game. Kelly also made other students throw crumpled up paper at Vannoy, whom he called a "stinking Denver fan," Vannoy told The Associated Press on Monday. Kelly said Vannoy, a junior...

Ukraine stealing gas, says Italy Italy, like Russia, is in the throes of a cold snap Italy has joined Russia in condemning Ukraine for allegedly stealing Russian gas intended for European consumers. Italy receives Russian gas through pipelines across Ukraine, but is reporting continuing shortfalls in supplies as it endures a cold snap. Industry minister Claudio Scajola said it was "inadmissible" for Ukraine to take gas meant for his country. Ukraine has strongly denied that it is siphoning off Russian gas in transit for Europe. "Everyone should follow the rules and therefore it is inadmissible that Ukraine takes from the...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 25, 2006 – American troops are an "essential stabilizing tool" in Iraq and their presence is needed for "Iraq to emerge as a responsible nation in a tough neighborhood and to keep the terrorists out," the commander of U.S. troops in the Middle East said today. Army Gen. John Abizaid, head of U.S. Central Command, discussed stabilization efforts and U.S. troop levels in Iraq during an interview with radio host Laura Ingraham via telephone from Qatar. Abizaid spoke on how Sunni Muslims are helping rebuild Iraq. "It's not just that we're fighting a Sunni insurgency, we're also having...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 25, 2006 – The Army is making revolutionary changes in its transformation process and is becoming a more capable and effective force, not a strained institution in danger of breaking, as recent criticism has suggested, Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld said here today. Two reports released today that characterize the Army as extremely strained and in danger of facing recruiting crises misunderstand the situation and do not take into account the accomplishments of the past five years, Rumsfeld said. "The world saw the United States military go halfway around the world and in a matter of weeks...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 19, 2006 – The past year showed a significant increase in the number of trained and equipped Iraqi security forces and in the capability of these forces to conduct independent operations, a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad said today. A year ago, there were 127,000 trained and equipped members of the Iraqi security forces. Today there are more than 227,000, which reflects a 78 percent increase, Army Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, Multinational Force Iraq spokesman, said at a news conference. These Iraqi forces are becoming more capable and are taking the lead in operations, Lynch said. One Iraqi...

BAGHDAD, Jan. 19, 2006 – Army Lt. Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli accepted authority as the commander of Multinational Corps Iraq from Army Lt. Gen. John R. Vines in a transfer-of-authority ceremony at Camp Victory here today. Vines served as the commanding general of the 18th Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg, N.C., before replacing Lt. Gen. Thomas Metz as the MNCI commander in 2005. From Iraq, Vines will return to his previous position as commander of the 18th Airborne Corps, at Fort Bragg. Chiarelli comes to MNCI from his position as the commander of Task Force Victory, from Heidelberg, Germany. During...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 18, 2006 – The American people must remind themselves every day that the United States is at war, a top Army general said today. Army Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, speaking at the American Enterprise Institute here, said that 21st century warfare is more about "will and perception, than taking territory or enemies killed." The will of the American people and people around the world to confront the terrorists and defeat them is the center of gravity in what Pentagon officials are calling "the long war," Odierno, assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said. The...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 18, 2006 – Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice today highlighted the importance of promoting a more cooperative working relationship between American diplomats and the U.S. military in order to achieve global objectives. "Over the past 15 years, as violent state failure has become a greater global threat, our military has borne a disproportionate share of post-conflict responsibilities because we have not had the standing civilian capability to play our part fully," she said in a speech at Georgetown University here. "This was true in Somalia, in Haiti, in Bosnia, in Kosovo and it is still partially true in...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 18, 2006 – Rebalancing the types of brigades being added to the National Guard will make that component more effective in its two-fold mission and will contribute to the overall capability of the Army, the secretary of the Army said here today. In a Pentagon press briefing, Francis J. Harvey stressed that the National Guard will not be reduced in size, but will simply have different kinds of units added to it. The initial plan for the transformation of the Guard called for the number of brigade combat teams to be increased from 15 to 34, Harvey said....

WASHINGTON, Jan. 13, 2006 – Al Qaeda's influence in Iraq is unraveling, a senior U.S. general based in Baghdad told reporters today during a satellite news conference at the Pentagon. "Al Qaeda is increasingly in disarray and we have pursued, captured and killed a large number of them," Army Lt. Gen. John R. Vines, commanding general of Multinational Corps Iraq and the 18th Airborne Corps, said. That news, Vines said, accompanies escalating participation of capable Iraqi security forces in the fight against both foreign jihadists and home-grown terrorists. "Iraqis are increasingly in the lead," Vines said. "The capacity of the...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 12, 2006 – Building military capabilities is the heart of countering threats, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said during a Pentagon news conference today. Rumsfeld and Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, reported on the senior defense leaders meeting held here this week in which senior Pentagon civilian and military leaders met with unified and combatant commanders. The leaders discussed the upcoming Quadrennial Defense Review. Rumsfeld used the example of the Higgins boat as an example of why capabilities are so important. The Navy and Marine Corps began looking at the problems of...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 12, 2006 – Continued acts of brutal violence performed by terrorist groups operating in Iraq depict a desperate and frustrated enemy, President Bush said yesterday in Louisville, Ky. "It's hard for me to believe that we've got soldiers passing out candy to young kids, and a killer comes and kills the kids and the soldiers," Bush said in remarks given at the Kentucky International Convention Center. Bush said this shows that terrorists in Iraq will do anything to try to force America to withdraw its military forces from the country. "They will go to no ends to defeat...

Bird flu heading towards West, says Turkey By Kate Connolly in Ankara (Filed: 11/01/2006) Officials in Turkey admitted yesterday that the deadly strain of the H5N1 bird flu virus was marching across the country and had infected poultry in 25 cities. The virus appeared to be spreading westwards. Four people were hospitalised in the town of Aydin, near the Aegean coast in the south-west of the country. The area is one of Turkey's biggest tourist magnets and popular with British holidaymakers. A health official struggles to catch a chickens that may be infected Bird flu was detected in fowl in...