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Inspector recalls would-be hijackerSaudi denied US entry at Fla. airport in 2001 was Al Qaeda fighter By Charlie Savage, Globe Staff, 1/27/2004 WASHINGTON -- Something gave immigration inspector Jose Melendez-Perez "the creeps" when he started to interview the Saudi who had flown from Dubai to Orlando, Fla., via London, on Aug. 4, 2001, the agent testified yesterday before the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. Mohamed al Kahtani's documents appeared to be genuine. A check of his name, birth date, and passport number turned up nothing suspicious. And immigration agents knew from experience to give "deference" to...

CHINA may be planning to genetically-modify its soldiers for an army of Terminator-style super troops, a defence think tank has warned. Experts at Rusi say GM soldiers could be faster, stronger and cleverer than their battlefield opponents and even feel no pain. Their DNA could also be adapted to help them recover more quickly from injuries or give them superior hearing and night vision. Rusi’s Professor John Louth said: “The threat is obvious and real. Chinese money could be stealing a march on western armed forces and that is deeply concerning.” The warning comes after Chinese scientist He Jiankui said...

WASHINGTON - A U.S. customs inspector praised for keeping the 20th hijacker in the 9/11 plot from getting into the country told Congress yesterday that the "hostile" Saudi gave him the creeps and vowed, "I'll be back." Jose Melendez-Perez told the 9/11 Commission, the panel probing the attacks on America, that he was spooked enough by the man identified only as "Al-Qahtani" to put him on a plane out of Orlando after he arrived in the U.S. from London and Dubai, United Arab Emirates, with a one-way ticket and $2,800 in cash. Al-Qahtani was dressed head-to-toe in black when he...

Talk about complete concept rejection. Skydance, Fox and Paramount's Terminator: Dark Fate reboot — hoping to revive the franchise after three failed attempts — bombed in its domestic box office debut with $29 million from 4,086 theaters, well behind expectations. Not even the return of James Cameron in the producer's chair and original series stars Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger could spark interest among many fans and the general moviegoing public. Nor is the movie likely to be rescued by the foreign box office, where it finished Sunday with a foreign tally of $94.6 million, including a lackluster China debut...

McCain tells his closest friend in the Senate that he won't give up as politics prays for war hero after devastating diagnosis John McCain announced he'd been diagnosed with cancer on Wednesday night The 80-year-old Arizona Senator is recovering in Arizona with his family He had gone in to hospital to have a blood clot removed from his eye last week The procedure set back the Senate vote on the Republicans' now scrapped healthcare bill Doctors realized his condition was more serious after the procedure last week President Trump shared his well wishes for the 80-year-old after news of his...

LOS ANGELES (AP) - After seven years in the California governor's mansion, Arnold Schwarzenegger is returning to his old day job: acting. Schwarzenegger wrote on Twitter that he's ready to start considering film roles again. The former governor tweeted Thursday night: "Exciting news. My friends at CAA have been asking me for 7 years when they can take offers seriously. Gave them the green light today."

Finally, all the talk about Tiger Woods was mostly about his golf. In a shocking meltdown yesterday at the Quail Hollow Championship in Charlotte, N.C., Woods missed the cut for only the sixth time in his career with a performance that was incomparable for all the wrong reasons.

Conservative Fox News commentator Sean Hannity will be the "special guest" Oct. 26 at a fund-raiser for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Don't tell Democrats who have embraced Schwarzenegger this year after he raised the minimum wage, signed legislation curbing global warming, and actively courted the Democratic Legislature. The event at the Sheraton Grand in Sacramento costs $1,000 per person, but "platinum" sponsors can pay $100,000. Platinum sponsors listed on the invitation (at left and below) are Chevron executive Jack Coffey; developer Gerry Kamilos and his wife, Karen; and McDonald's franchise owner C.C. Yin and his wife, Regina. Hannity has been a...

Given that many moderate and conservative Californians see Arnold Schwarzenegger's veto pen as all that protects them from the most far-left Legislature north of Caracas, it may be a surprise to learn that so far the governor's sign-to-veto ratio on bills sent his way is a stunning 19 to 1. As of Thursday afternoon, Schwarzenegger had given his official blessings to 379 measures while only rejecting 20. The governor seems to think California doesn't have enough laws already. We disagree. Here is our second list of bills now on Schwarzenegger's desk whose next stop should be the trash can, not...

Dear Governor: November 9, 2005 06:19 AM EST There is no such thing as a fusion candidate, no such thing as a bipartisan campaign or a non-partisan issue, and come election night, there are just two parties, one at the GOP HQ and one at the Dem HQ. There's a winners' party and a losers' party. Last night you were speaking to the losers' party. I didn't go. Why bother? The polls had shown for a few days that only Prop 75 had a chance (the measure to stop public employee unions from deducting political dues from their members' paychecks...

TODAY, Californians are heading to the polls to vote on several major propositions that shall dramatically affect both the political and economic future of our state. We are following the activity and will report the results. California Propositions 2.8% of precincts reporting as of Nov 08 08:13 PM PST Results: http://www.sfgate.com/election/

Here Are The Results of SurveyUSA Election Poll #7043 Geography Surveyed: California Data Collected: 09/30/2005 - 10/02/2005 Release Date: 10/03/2005 12:25 PM ET Sponsoring News Organizations: KABC-TV Los Angeles, KGTV-TV San Diego, KPIX-TV San Francisco, KXTV-TV Sacramento Analysis: In an election today, 10/3/05, 36 days to the 11/8/05 vote, California voters approve Proposition 73, Proposition 74, Proposition 75, Proposition 76 and Proposition 77, according to an exclusive SurveyUSA poll of 532 likely voters. Proposition 74, on teacher tenure, passes today by 11 points, 55% to 44%. Propositions 73, 75, 76, and 77 all pass by at least 20 points. Republicans...

<p>First, the recall of Gov. Gray Davis and the election of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger carried a message from voters: Fix the budget mess without tax increases.</p> <p>Second, the structural spending level of the state remains too high by about $10 billion annually. It's that structural deficit that has brought about the budget crisis, and it must be confronted before the crisis can end.</p>

His name has never appeared on a ballot — only a movie marquee — but already, people are whispering about President Arnold Schwarzenegger. Oh, no, you're saying — that can't be. For starters, he hasn't even run for California governor yet. First things first. And then there's the little matter of the Constitution, which prohibits any but native-born Americans from being president or vice president. Not to worry — or do worry, depending on your politics. Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch has introduced a constitutional amendment to allow the foreign-born who have been naturalized citizens for at least 20 years to...

California's beleaguered Governor Gray Davis, could be facing a new threat to his job, as Hollywood action star Arnold Schwarzenegger looks poised to muscle in on a bid to end his leadership. As a drive to force early elections to end Davis' mandate just five months after he began his second term gathers momentum, the "Terminator" actor is emerging as a serious candidate to replace him, analysts said. "The effort to recall the governor has suddenly got very serious and Davis and the Democrats are now treating it as such," said University of Southern California political expert Sherry Bebitch Jeffe....

Miss World will return to Nigeria Dan McDougall AS RELIGIOUS leaders in Nigeria called on Christians across the country to rise up against Islamic militants, the organisers of the Miss World contest stirred up new controversy last night by insisting that the winner of the competition will return to West Africa. Last week Julia Morley, the Miss World president, was forced to move the beauty pageant from Nigeria to London after the arrival of the contestants in the African state provoked violent clashes between Christians and Muslims. The riots, last Thursday, left 220 people dead after a Nigerian newspaper published...