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WASHINGTON -- Al Qaeda has strongholds throughout Pakistan, not just in the areas bordering Afghanistan that were emphasized in a terrorism assessment this week, according to U.S. intelligence officials and counter-terrorism experts who say Osama bin Laden's network is more deeply entrenched than described. The National Intelligence Estimate on the Terrorist Threat to the U.S. Homeland, which reflects the consensus of all 16 U.S. intelligence agencies, described Al Qaeda as having "regenerated key elements" and freely operating from bases in northwestern Pakistan. But several officials and outside experts interviewed since the document's release this week say the situation is more...

MANAMA, Bahrain, April 25, 2006 – Making a coalition work is not an easy job. But the Friendly Forces Coordination Cell at U.S. Naval Forces Central Command here builds on more than 60 years of working with allies. The cell has 15 liaison officers from coalition partners whose job it is to coordinate and integrate their countries' naval forces contributions to the maritime element of the war on terror, U.S. Navy Capt. Steve Gabriele, the director of the office, said. Based here, the office serves as a focal point for queries, answers and coordination among many different aspects of the...

MEXICO CITY - Sidling up to migrants who arrive at the Tijuana airport and cruising the streets in border towns, "coyotes" in gold chains and dark sunglasses openly find customers for nightly scrambles across the U.S. border. Mexico's president offered to crack down on smuggling at a recent summit with President Bush. But close to 100 smuggling gangs are still operating, government officials say, in plain sight of Mexican law enforcement. "While drug smugglers are invisible for the most part, people smugglers are visible, working right in front of authorities," said Tijuana border expert Victor Clark, who has studied the...

LOS ANGELES (AP) - An Arab company's potential takeover of some marine terminals at six major ports on the East Coast has raised questions about foreign operations at seaport facilities. Such arrangements have been commonplace at West Coast ports for years. Most of the cargo that enters the country comes through huge ports in Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland and the Seattle-Tacoma area of Washington. Each has marine terminals operated by foreign shipping lines - many from Europe and Asia. "On the West Coast, almost all the ports have their terminals operated by foreign companies," said Ivan Eland, senior fellow...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - The State of California may be going into the business of building and operating stadiums, arenas, theaters, concert halls and other public performance facilities A bill quietly moving through the Legislature would create a nine-member California Public Performance Facilities Authority that would have the power to buy, build and operate facilities for sports, concerts, plays, conventions and other events. The measure, by Sen. Kevin Murray, D-Culver City, passed the Senate earlier this month and it's scheduled to be considered Tuesday by the Assembly Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism and Internet Media Committee. Murray says the authority would fill...

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Doctors Must Double-Check Before Surgery By LAURAN NEERGAARD AP Medical Writer June 22, 2004, 9:52 PM EDT WASHINGTON -- Starting July 1, operating rooms are supposed to be a little safer: Surgical teams must take new steps to prevent operating on the wrong body part or wrong patient. Among the requirements: Much as airline pilots go through a safety checklist before takeoff, surgeons and nurses must take what's being dubbed a "time-out" before cutting. It's to double-check that the right patient is on the table, if he's really to lose a kidney and not a gallbladder -- and if so,...