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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee on Thursday said Congress should examine Countrywide Financial Corp's mortgage loans to Democratic Sens. Christopher Dodd and Kent Conrad. "My view is that these allegations should be considered by the appropriate bodies, and I understand that the Senate Ethics Committee has already begun to look into the matter," Rep. Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, said in a statement.

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The U.S. military flew in two forensic specialists Saturday to examine the remains of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi "to see how he actually died" and to reconstruct the last minutes of his life, a spokesman said. The examination comes after U.S. authorities altered their initial account of the al-Qaida leader's death, first saying he died outright in a U.S. airstrike, then saying he survived but died soon after. Also, an Iraqi man raised fresh questions, telling Associated Press Television News that he saw U.S. soldiers beating an injured man resembling al-Zarqawi until blood flowed from his nose. Maj....

WASHINGTON, March 6, 2006 – A congressionally appointed commission will commence the most comprehensive review of the National Guard and reserves in history. Retired Marine Maj. Gen. Arnold Punaro chairs the 13-member commission. The reserve components have played an increasingly important part in the global war on terror, Punaro said during an interview. Congress formed the commission on the National Guard and Reserves as part of the 2005 National Defense Authorization Act. Punaro said Congress felt an independent group needed "to take a more fundamental look at how the reserves are organized, trained and equipped." In addition, the commission will...

Ophthalmologist to Examine Ancient Chilean Mummy Eyes Over the next week, UC Davis ophthalmologist William Lloyd will dissect and examine the eyes of two North Chilean mummies for evidence of various diseases and medical conditions. Newswise — Over the next week, UC Davis ophthalmologist William Lloyd will dissect and examine the eyes of two North Chilean mummies for evidence of various diseases and medical conditions. One of the eyes belonged to a boy who was 2 years old when he died 1,000 years ago, and the other is from a female, who was approximately 23 years old when she died...

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - Lee Wilkins remembers well the reaction she'd often get when identifying herself as a reporter. "I had a standard line," said Wilkins, now a journalism professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia. "I would always say back, 'I won't accuse you of all the ills of your profession if you won't accuse me of all the ills of mine.'" Recent research by Wilkins and Renita Coleman of Louisiana State University may provide some vindication for members of a profession that's taken a beating in recent years with high-profile blunders. Wilkins and Coleman surveyed journalists for the first...

OAKLAND - The Schwarzenegger administration has decided to assess studies of restoring the submerged Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park, an idea that has been fiercely criticized by San Francisco business and government interests. The governor's intentions came to light Thursday in a letter sent on his behalf by Resources Agency Secretary Mike Chrisman to two Assembly Democrats who have pushed for a state examination of re-establishing the valley. Chrisman wrote that the Department of Parks and Recreation would "review the growing body" of studies on Hetch Hetchy, including analyses by Environmental Defense, a conservation group, and the University...

Scientists wait to examine Kennewick Man August 08 2004 at 04:58PM By Tomas Alex Tizon For a few days last week, the top forensic anthropologists in the United States thought they were finally going to get their chance to study Kennewick Man. The eight-year legal battle over the 9 300-year-old bones, one of the oldest skeletons found in North America, appeared finished after five northwest Indian tribes decided not to pursue their case to the US supreme court. The tribes claimed that Kennewick Man was an ancestor and should not be desecrated by scientific study. Two courts ruled in favour...

Scientists examine first images from Mars Express 18:26 15 January 04 NewScientist.com news service Mission scientists for the European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft saw the first images and data from the orbiter on Thursday. Mike McKay, flight operations director at mission control in Darmstadt, Germany, told New Scientist: "They blew me away." The images will be released to the public on 20 January, with the first scientific results and 3-D videos expected to follow three days later. Mars Express is now easing towards its intended orbit, and six of its seven instruments have been switched on and are working....