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UNITED NATIONS - Israel's air raid on in the Lebanese town of Qana, which killed 28 people, may be part of a larger pattern of violations of international law in the war between Israel and Hezbollah, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a report Monday. In that light, Annan said that the July 30 attack was sufficiently serious to merit a more comprehensive investigation. The attack should be seen "in the broader context of what could be, based on preliminary information available to the United Nations ... a pattern of violations of international law, including international humanitarian law and international...

Investigation 'not over yet,' officials say WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A U.S. official told CNN on Monday that the CIA officer fired for leaking classified information was accused of a "pattern of behavior," including multiple contacts with more than one reporter. Sources also confirmed to CNN that the officer fired last Thursday is Mary O. McCarthy, who last worked in the CIA inspector general's office. "It's not just about one story, it's a pattern of activity," the official said. Officials said the investigation into leaking to Dana Priest of The Washington Post, and other journalists, is ongoing. "It is not over...

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton thinks White House delays in disclosing Dick Cheney's shotgun mishap are evidence of a vast West Wing conspiracy to stonewall journalists and voters. Clinton told reporters Tuesday that the nearly 24-hour lag proved the White House has a "disturbing" tendency to "withhold information" no matter what the issue. "I don't think that one incident alone tells a story, but put it all together, going back years, there's a pattern and it's a pattern that should be troubling," Clinton said during a Capitol Hill news conference criticizing the administration's handling of Hurricane Katrina. "I don't...

Incident might be tied to eight snipings.ST. LOUIS (AP) - Authorities are investigating whether the shooting of an Indiana truck on Interstate 44 might be linked to eight other possible snipings at motorists in recent months along the stretch of freeway. The truck driver - wounded Thursday on her 34th birthday - was the first person who was injured in nine cases of vehicle windows inexplicably shattering in daylight since Feb. 26 along a 10-mile stretch of I-44 in and near Bourbon, about 70 miles southwest of St. Louis, an investigator said. "There’s no question we had a highway shooting...

The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD)[1] has sponsored all general election presidential debates since 1988. We always question the way these debates are set up, but never mind that for the moment; there are more important things to talk about this year. For instance, as usual, there is no "balance" to the debates this year. The first presidential debate is scheduled for Sept. 30 at the University of Miami and is to deal with domestic policy. The third debate is scheduled for Oct. 13 at Arizona State University and the topic is foreign affairs. The second debate is more interesting,...

<p>At the dawn of the U.S. shuttle program, NASA engineers weighed the risks posed by nagging failures in the twin rocket boosters that propel the spacecraft into orbit.</p> <p>They quickly discovered severe heat damage in the O-rings designed to stop searing gas from spewing from joints in the rockets. NASA weighed the risks and decided the flaw was "tolerable," an analysis that held for 24 flights.</p>

Date: Posted 6/7/2002 100,000-Year Climate Pattern Linked To Sun's Magnetic Cycles HANOVER, N.H. – Thanks to new calculations by a Dartmouth geochemist, scientists are now looking at the earth's climate history in a new light. Mukul Sharma, Assistant Professor of Earth Sciences at Dartmouth, examined existing sets of geophysical data and noticed something remarkable: the sun's magnetic activity is varying in 100,000-year cycles, a much longer time span than previously thought, and this solar activity, in turn, may likely cause the 100,000-year climate cycles on earth. This research helps scientists understand past climate trends and prepare for future ones. Published...