HAMBURG, Germany – A New York prosecutor who helped draft an exhaustive report on the Sept. 11 attacks (search) testified Monday at the retrial of a Moroccan accused of aiding the Hamburg-based suicide hijackers, including Mohamed Atta (search). The Hamburg court hoped that Dietrich Snell, a U.S. deputy attorney general, …

MOSCOW – President Vladimir Putin (search) signed off Wednesday on legislation retaining Russians’ cherished right to drink beer in public. The original bill, which Putin sent back to parliament in January for amendments, had proposed draconian measures that would have banned beer consumption in parks, stadiums and public transport. The …

ROSEMONT, Ill. – Keep the bus running and point it toward St. Louis. Thanks to a jaw-dropping comeback, Illinois’ journey has another leg left: the Final Four. Trailing 75-60 with four minutes left, Illinois showed why it was No. 1 most of the season. With Deron Williams leading the way, …

TORONTO – Seal hunters return to the ice floes off Canada’s (search) East Coast this Tuesday, with animal welfare activists vowing to vigorously protest the annual event that helps support the fishermen and some of the country’s poorest communities along its coastlines. The contentious harp seal hunt, the target of …

BEIJING – The state-controlled body for China’s noncommunist groups on Saturday endorsed a proposed law authorizing military action to block Taiwan from pursuing formal independence, saying it would help to ensure regional peace. “Protecting state sovereignty and territorial integrity is in China’s vital interest,” said a resolution passed by the …

Several of you Tuesday set me straight: Michael Schiavo (search) may have “agreed” to an autopsy on Terri when she dies, but it’s not as if he had many options. In cases where a body is to be cremated, Florida law requires an autopsy. Thanks to all of you who …

WASHINGTON – The laboratory that initially reported that anthrax (search) was present in a Pentagon (search) mailroom said Wednesday that an extensive review produced no evidence the lab was to blame for what authorities later concluded was a false alarm. “Unfortunately, the source of the positive sample may never be …

ROME – An Italian journalist held captive in Iraq for a month was released Friday, a top government official said. Giuliana Sgrena (search), who works for the left-wing Il Manifesto newspaper, might be back in Rome later Friday, Italy’s Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs Margherita Boniver said. The release “is confirmed …

WASHINGTON – President Bush’s tax reform panel listened Wednesday to the pros and cons of taxing money earned or money spent, leading one member to say that a hybrid should be considered. “It has merit,” said John Breaux, a former senator from Louisiana and the panel’s Democratic vice chairman. The …

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Two years after Columbia’s (search) demise, excitement over the space shuttle fleet’s return to the skies in just a few short months is finally overtaking the agony of the accident. In the past few weeks, two special deliveries have boosted morale among shuttle workers and provided …