Dawn Patrol

• Reports Reveal Zarqawi Nuclear Threat

  Recurrent intelligence reports say al Qaeda terrorist Abu Musab Zarqawi has obtained a nuclear device or is preparing a radiological explosive -- or dirty bomb -- for an attack, according to U.S. officials, who also say analysts are unable to gauge the reliability of the information's sources.

• Welcome Stop For Warriors

  Locals in Bangor, Maine, are on a mission to greet every military plane, at any time, in any weather. Their tally so far: 200,000 troops.

• Donaldson: Network News Dead

  Former ABC News reporter/anchor Sam Donaldson is ready to say the last rites for network news because it will soon lose its dominant position as Americans' primary source of news. "I think it's dead. Sorry," he said during a breakfast panel Tuesday at the National Association of Broadcasters' convention in Las Vegas. "The monster anchors are through."

  • Fox's Sandstorm

    The in-your-face right-wing partisanship that marks Fox News Channel's news broadcasts is having two dangerous effects.

• Senate Clears Way For Vote On Spending For Military

  The Senate broke through a logjam of conflicting immigration proposals that had bogged down passage of an $80 billion emergency supplemental military spending bill, clearing the way on Tuesday for a vote on the measure within the next two weeks.

• Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

  In the second week of December 2003, U.S. Special Forces captured an Iraqi man named Fawzi Rashid, a top insurgent leader in Baghdad. Rashid was carrying a letter from Saddam Hussein, U.S. News has learned, that was less than a week old. It would prove to be the key break in the 10-month manhunt for the Iraqi dictator.

• US opposes amnesty for Iraqis who kill US soldiers

  The United States opposed an idea floated by Iraq's new president that could end up extending a proposed amnesty to insurgents who killed US troops.

• US attacks key UN anti-poverty goal

  The United States issued its strongest attack to date on Monday on a U.N. plea that rich countries likeAmerica meet a fixed global target every year for the development aid they give poor countries.

• Australia Deploys More Troops to Iraq

  Coalition forces in Iraq are welcoming the deployment of 450 more Australian military personnel. ?These are great soldiers,? said a U.S. official in Baghdad, Iraq. The new Australian contingent will bring the number of ?Aussies? in country up to 1,370, officials at the Australian embassy here said.

• New Pope Vows to Continue Church Reforms

  Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday pledged to work to unify all Christians, reach out to other religions and continue implementing reforms from the Second Vatican Council as he outlined his goals and made clear his pontificate would closely follow the trajectory of his predecessor, Pope John Paul II.

  • Pope choice fulfills ancient prophecy?

    A prophecy by a 12th-century Catholic saint that predicted characteristics of the last 112 popes appears to have been strengthened by the election of the new pontiff today.

  • Homosexual Advocacy Group Criticizes New Pope

    A homosexual advocacy group expressed "concern" that Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, "does not present a hopeful vision of the future or inspire optimism for affirming language, policies or outreach."

• 'Grandma' gets better day to day

  Ora Mae Magouirk, the 81-year-old Georgia widow at the center of an intense family dispute over her medical treatment and right to live, is growing stronger every day, despite having been denied food and water for nearly two weeks before being airlifted to the University of Alabama-Birmingham Medical Center in Birmingham for treatment of an aortic dissection.

• George Washington wasn't 1st president?
  Historian seeks presidential library for forgotten leaders

  Local historian Bill Stanley believes Samuel Huntington was the first president of the United States and he is seeking money to create a presidential library in Norwich.