AP - An Australian accused of helping the Taliban fight the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan pleaded guilty Monday to providing material support for terrorism, a step lawyers said would assure his transfer from Guantanamo to a prison in Australia.

AP - A top European envoy on Monday renewed an offer from six world powers to talk with Tehran over its nuclear ambitions, and a senior Iranian negotiator agreed to stay in contact in an effort to find common ground.

AP - Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton on Monday blamed the Bush administration's fear of scandal for the firing of eight U.S. attorneys, dismissals she said were virtually unprecedented.

AP - An environmental group said Tuesday it had captured a 'monster' toad the size of a small dog.

AFP - Australia welcomed Tuesday's guilty plea by Guantanamo Bay inmate David Hicks as a chance to bring the long row over his incarceration to an end, but critics of US justice slammed it as desperation.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli and Palestinian leaders have agreed to meet every two weeks and will discuss initial steps that could eventually lead toward a Palestinian state, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Tuesday.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. forces captured two leaders of a major car bomb cell responsible for attacks that killed around 900 Iraqis, mostly in the Shi'ite district of Sadr City in Baghdad, the U.S. military said on Tuesday.

AP - The Israeli and Palestinian leaders have agreed to meet every two weeks to discuss day-to-day issues, but also a 'political horizon,' Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced Tuesday, after shuttling between the two sides for three days.

AP - An upcoming Senate vote on the Iraq war could come down to just one or two votes, testing Democratic unity on a proposal to begin bringing combat troops home.

AP - A senior aide to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has decided against testifying before lawmakers about her role in the ousters of eight federal prosecutors, the latest flare-up in the controversy surrounding the Justice Department.

AP - Colorado's largest Episcopal church was left in chaos after leaders voted to leave the denomination and the bishop responded by dismissing the parish's leadership.

AP - A millionaire thanks to his work as a venture capitalist, Mitt Romney is acutely aware of the motivating power of money. His presidential campaign hopes it will have a similar effect on college students, which is why it's offering them a cut of their fundraising.

Reuters - Israeli and Palestinian leaders have agreed to meet every two weeks and will discuss initial steps that could eventually lead toward a Palestinian state, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Tuesday.

Reuters - U.S. forces captured two leaders of a major car bomb cell responsible for attacks that killed around 900 Iraqis, mostly in the Shi'ite district of Sadr City in Baghdad, the U.S. military said on Tuesday.

AFP - Australian David Hicks has pleaded guilty to a charge of supporting terrorism before a US military tribunal in Guantanamo Bay, more than five years after he was detained in Afghanistan.

AFP - US forces in Iraq said on Tuesday they had arrested two leaders of a network suspected of killing about 900 civilians and wounding nearly 2,000 others in a series of high-profile car bomb attacks.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli and Palestinian leaders have agreed to hold confidence-building talks every two weeks that could eventually lead to discussions on a Palestinian state, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Global warming could re-make the world's climate zones by 2100, with some polar and mountain climates disappearing altogether and formerly unknown ones emerging in the tropics, scientists said on Monday.

AP - An Australian detainee who pleaded guilty to helping al-Qaida fight the United States could be sentenced this week and will likely be returned to his native country to serve his sentence by the end of the year, the U.S. military said.

AP - Israeli and Palestinian leaders have agreed to meet every two weeks to discuss day-to-day issues, but also a 'political horizon,' Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced Tuesday after shuttling between the two sides for three days.

AP - Iran said Tuesday the 15 British sailors and marines it detained last week are healthy, have been treated in a humane manner and that the only female sailor among them had been given privacy.

AP - Pat Tillman's family firmly rejected the Defense Department's findings into the former NFL star's friendly-fire death in Afghanistan, calling for congressional investigations into what they see as broad malfeasance and a coverup.

AP - An environmental group said Tuesday it had captured a 'monster' toad the size of a small dog.

AP - Snoop Dogg and P Diddy have been forced to scrap a tour of Britain after authorities denied Snoop Dogg a visa, according to a statement Tuesday.

AP - Michael Phelps broke Ian Thorpe's six-year-old world record in the 200-meter freestyle, leading all the way to beat Pieter Van Den Hoogenband at the world championships Tuesday night.

Reuters - Israeli and Palestinian leaders have agreed to hold confidence-building talks every two weeks that could eventually lead to discussions on a Palestinian state, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Tuesday.

Reuters - Global warming could re-make the world's climate zones by 2100, with some polar and mountain climates disappearing altogether and formerly unknown ones emerging in the tropics, scientists said on Monday.

AFP - US forces in Iraq said on Tuesday they had arrested two leaders of a network suspected of killing about 900 civilians and wounding nearly 2,000 others in a series of high-profile car bomb attacks.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair warned Tehran on Tuesday of a 'different phase' if it did not free 15 British sailors captured four days ago.

AP - Britain hopes that diplomacy will win the release of 15 sailors and marines detained by Iran but is prepared to move to a 'different phase' if not, Prime Minister Tony Blair said Tuesday.

AP - Snoop Dogg and P. Diddy have been forced to scrap a tour of Britain after authorities denied Snoop Dogg a visa, according to a statement Tuesday.

Reuters - Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair warned Tehran on Tuesday of a "different phase" if it did not free 15 British sailors captured four days ago.

AFP - Australian David Hicks has pleaded guilty to a charge of supporting terrorism before a US military tribunal in Guantanamo Bay, more than five years after he was detained in Afghanistan.

AFP - Tamil Tiger rebels killed at least eight people on Tuesday, after driving a tractor and trailer loaded with explosives on a suicide mission into an army camp in eastern Sri Lanka.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A growth removed from White House spokesman Tony Snow's abdomen was found to be cancerous and it appears to have spread to his liver, the White House said on Tuesday.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's British Prime Minister Tony Blair warned Tehran on Tuesday of a 'different phase' if it did not free 15 British military personnel captured in the Gulf four days ago.

AP - Presidential spokesman Tony Snow's surgery to remove a small growth showed that his cancer has returned, the White House said Tuesday.

AP - The unexpected guilty plea of an Australian who was the first Guantanamo detainee to stand trial before a military tribunal was likely linked to a deal with prosecutors, the man's father said Tuesday.

AP - A suicide car bomber killed at least 10 in a market near Ramadi on Tuesday and a mortar attack on a Shiite district area in southern Baghdad killed at least four people, officials said.

AP - Consumer confidence dropped more than expected in March, sending the widely watched index to its lowest level since November, as shoppers became anxious about a run-up in gasoline prices and stock market turbulence.

Reuters - A growth removed from White House spokesman Tony Snow's abdomen was found to be cancerous and it appears to have spread to his liver, the White House said on Tuesday.

Reuters - Britain's British Prime Minister Tony Blair warned Tehran on Tuesday of a "different phase" if it did not free 15 British military personnel captured in the Gulf four days ago.

AFP - British Prime Minister Tony Blair warned Iran Tuesday that efforts to secure the release of 15 sailors would enter a "different phase" if diplomatic efforts failed.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - White House spokesman Tony Snow, who survived colon cancer two years ago, reported on Tuesday that a growth surgically removed from his abdomen was cancerous and that the disease has spread to his liver.

FORT RILEY, Kansas (Reuters) - Inside a green tent that billows in the wind, a U.S. Army major leans over a table, studying an Iraqi military unit's plan for a raid.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - The British embassy will be able to make contact with British naval personnel seized by Iran last week once the preliminary investigation has been completed, an Iranian official was quoted as saying on Tuesday.

ROME (Reuters) - A mysterious French nun who was cured of Parkinson's disease after praying to the late Pope John Paul will be the main guest next week at ceremonies marking the end of the first phase of the process to make him a saint.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States added Zulkifli bin Hir, a Malaysian suspected of bomb attacks in the Philippines, to its most-wanted list on Tuesday and offered a $5 million reward for information leading to his arrest.

AP - FBI Director Robert Mueller labored Tuesday to persuade skeptical senators that the FBI can properly use its Patriot Act authority to gather telephone, e-mail and financial records of Americans and foreigners while pursuing terrorists.

AP - Two truck bombs simultaneously struck markets in Tal Afar and a suicide car bomber exploded his payload near Ramadi on Tuesday — the latest attacks in a surge of violence outside the Iraqi capital. The three bombings killed at least 40 people, including 30 in Tal Afar.

AP - Israeli and Palestinian leaders have agreed to meet every two weeks to discuss day-to-day issues, a small step in a quickening diplomatic pace that could lead to talks on a final peace settlement, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced Tuesday.

AP - Jurors in the Midwest's first trial over the once-blockbuster painkiller Vioxx on Tuesday cleared the drug's maker in the 2003 deadly heart attack of a 52-year-old woman.

AP - AT&T Inc.'s Cingular Wireless plans to introduce mobile banking capabilities with four prominent banks, the biggest such initiative in the U.S. but still shy of the industry's long-discussed goal of turning cell phones into credit cards.

AP - The Philadelphia Flyers have settled on their No. 1 goalie, signing Martin Biron to a two-year contract on Tuesday.

Reuters - White House spokesman Tony Snow, who survived colon cancer two years ago, reported on Tuesday that a growth surgically removed from his abdomen was cancerous and that the disease has spread to his liver.

Reuters - Inside a green tent that billows in the wind, a U.S. Army major leans over a table, studying an Iraqi military unit's plan for a raid.

Reuters - The British embassy will be able to make contact with British naval personnel seized by Iran last week once the preliminary investigation has been completed, an Iranian official was quoted as saying on Tuesday.

Reuters - A mysterious French nun who was cured of Parkinson's disease after praying to the late Pope John Paul will be the main guest next week at ceremonies marking the end of the first phase of the process to make him a saint.

Reuters - The United States added Zulkifli bin Hir, a Malaysian suspected of bomb attacks in the Philippines, to its most-wanted list on Tuesday and offered a $5 million reward for information leading to his arrest.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Gulf Coast is facing a renewed threat of powerful storms during the 2007 hurricane season, private weather forecaster AccuWeather said on Tuesday.

RIYADH (Reuters) - Arab leaders arrived in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday ahead of a summit set to revive a five-year-old plan to end decades of Israeli-Arab conflict at the heart of the region's problems.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A bomb threat made against the United Nations headquarters on Tuesday is being investigated as a potential hoax, New York police said.

By Mussab Al-Khairalla.

AP - Senate Democrats said Tuesday the White House's latest veto threat would not dissuade them from pushing ahead on legislation calling for combat troops to come home from Iraq within one year.

AP - Two nearly simultaneous truck bombs — including one detonated by remote control — ripped through markets in Tal Afar on Tuesday, killing at least 48 people and wounding dozens, police said, as violence surged outside the Iraqi capital.

Reuters - The U.S. Gulf Coast, which is still rebuilding almost two years after Hurricane Katrina, faces a renewed threat of powerful storms this year, private forecaster AccuWeather said on Tuesday.

Reuters - Arab leaders arrived in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday ahead of a summit set to revive a five-year-old plan to end decades of Israeli-Arab conflict at the heart of the region's problems.

Reuters - A bomb threat made against the United Nations headquarters on Tuesday is being investigated as a potential hoax, New York police said.

AFP - British Prime Minister Tony Blair warned Iran on Tuesday that a dispute over 15 detained sailors could enter a "different phase" if they were not freed soon as the foreign minister rushed back to London to deal with the crisis.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Tuesday said the United States was open to high-level talks with Tehran, but warned against 'illusions' about Iran's government and its intentions.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - White House spokesman Tony Snow, who survived colon cancer two years ago, reported on Tuesday that a growth surgically removed from his abdomen was cancerous and that the disease had spread to his liver.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A U.S. combat post was attacked by two suicide truck bombs and about 30 gunmen west of Baghdad on Monday, but American soldiers succeeded in repelling them and killed 15, the U.S. military said on Tuesday.

DALLAS (Reuters) - Criminals in Texas beware: if you threaten someone in their car or office, the citizens of this state where guns are ubiquitous have the right to shoot you dead.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Bomb attacks killed 77 people in Iraq on Tuesday, including 50 who died in twin truck bombings in the northwestern town of Tal Afar, police said.

AP - Presidential spokesman Tony Snow's malignant cancer has returned and spread to his liver and elsewhere in his body, shaken White House colleagues announced Tuesday. They said he told them he planned to fight the disease and return to work.

AP - Toby, a 2-year-old golden retriever, saw his owner choking on a piece of fruit and began jumping up and down on the woman's chest. The dog's owner believes the dog was trying to perform the Heimlich maneuver and saved her life.

AP - Replay is here to stay in the NFL. Or at least as permanently as any rule can be in pro football.

Reuters - Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Tuesday said the United States was open to high-level talks with Tehran, but warned against "illusions" about Iran's government and its intentions.

Reuters - White House spokesman Tony Snow, who survived colon cancer two years ago, reported on Tuesday that a growth surgically removed from his abdomen was cancerous and that the disease had spread to his liver.

Reuters - A U.S. combat post was attacked by two suicide truck bombs and about 30 gunmen west of Baghdad on Monday, but American soldiers succeeded in repelling them and killed 15, the U.S. military said on Tuesday.

Reuters - Criminals in Texas beware: if you threaten someone in their car or office, the citizens of this state where guns are ubiquitous have the right to shoot you dead.

AFP - The US military has secured its first guilty plea from a Guantanamo inmate but the agreement is unlikely to win over skeptics of Washington's "war on terror" trials.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Tuesday endorsed a March 31, 2008, target date for withdrawing American combat troops from Iraq, moving Congress a step closer to a showdown with President George W. Bush over the war.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy on Tuesday said it had no information to substantiate a market rumor that Iran had fired at a U.S. naval vessel in the Gulf.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An FBI agent was warned to keep quiet about the dismissal of a U.S. attorney after he told a newspaper her firing would hurt the agency's ongoing investigations and speculated politics was involved, a U.S. Senate panel heard on Tuesday.

GUANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE, Cuba (Reuters) - A guilty plea by Australian David Hicks to terrorism charges should not be seen as legitimizing U.S. military tribunals taking place at Guantanamo Bay, human rights groups said on Tuesday.

AP - The Democratic-controlled Senate narrowly signaled support Tuesday for the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq by next March, triggering an instant veto threat from the White House in a deepening dispute between Congress and commander in chief. Republican attempts to scuttle the non-binding timeline failed, 50-48, largely along party lines.

AP - FBI Director Robert Mueller struggled Tuesday to convince skeptical senators that — despite recent abuses — the FBI should retain Patriot Act authority to gather telephone, e-mail and financial records without a judge's approval.

AP - The Army's new acting surgeon general said Tuesday she is concerned about long-term morale because the military lacks money to hire enough nurses and mental health specialists to treat thousands of troops coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan.

AP - Prime Minister Tony Blair warned Tuesday that his government could make public evidence that a British navy crew was in Iraqi waters when it was captured by Iran, saying he was prepared to take the standoff to a 'different phase' if diplomacy fails to win their release.

AP - A yellow haze of pollen descended on the Southeast in the past week, coating cars and porch furniture and making people miserable in one of the worst allergy seasons in years. Doctors are telling people with stuffed-up noses and itchy, watery eyes to spend more time indoors if they can.

AP - Wynonna Judd said she filed for divorce Tuesday from her estranged husband, Dan R. Roach, after his arrest in Texas on sex charges involving a minor. Roach was arrested Thursday in Abilene and charged with three counts of aggravated sexual battery against a child younger than 13, according to Nashville police.

AP - Stocks stumbled Tuesday as investors grew wary when new data raised the possibility that the nation's weak housing market would seep into the broader economy and crimp consumer spending.

AP - Replay is here to stay in the NFL. Or at least as permanently as any rule can be in pro football.

Reuters - The U.S. Senate on Tuesday endorsed a March 31, 2008, target date for withdrawing American combat troops from Iraq, moving Congress a step closer to a showdown with President George W. Bush over the war.

Reuters - The U.S. Navy on Tuesday said it had no information to substantiate a market rumor that Iran had fired at a U.S. naval vessel in the Gulf.

Reuters - An FBI agent was warned to keep quiet about the dismissal of a U.S. attorney after he told a newspaper her firing would hurt the agency's ongoing investigations and speculated politics was involved, a U.S. Senate panel heard on Tuesday.

Reuters - A guilty plea by Australian David Hicks to terrorism charges should not be seen as legitimizing U.S. military tribunals taking place at Guantanamo Bay, human rights groups said on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate on Tuesday endorsed a March 31, 2008, target date for withdrawing American combat troops from Iraq, prompting the White House to threaten a veto and moving Congress a step closer to a showdown with President George W. Bush over the war.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. federal judge dismissed on Tuesday a lawsuit seeking to hold former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other high-ranking military officers liable for the torture and abuse of Afghan and Iraqi prisoners, including some at Abu Ghraib prison.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A former dean at a California university was sentenced on Tuesday to more than five years in prison for possessing 5,500 images of child pornography he had obtained on the Internet.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House criticized Egypt, a close ally in the Middle East, on Tuesday for a referendum on changes to its constitution, saying a 'vast majority' of Egyptians did not vote.

AP - Republican presidential contender John McCain said Tuesday, 'we are starting to turn things around' in the Iraq war, as he broke off campaigning in Florida to vote against a proposed troop withdrawal timeline.

AP - Smoking poses serious health risks. So does driving in New Delhi. And combining the two is deadly, according to two New Delhi judges who have barred smoking at the wheel, officials said Tuesday, apparently the first such ban in the world.

AP - Donatella Versace's 20-year-old daughter, Allegra, is undergoing treatment for anorexia, the fashion designer said Tuesday. 'Our daughter, Allegra, has been battling anorexia, a very serious disease, for many years,' Versace and Paul Beck said in a statement released by spokesman Robert Zimmerman.

AP - Rematches became repeats Tuesday for Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova. Both lost. Guillermo Canas upset the top-ranked Federer for the second time this month, 7-6 (2), 2-6, 7-6 (5) in a fourth-round epic at the Sony Ericsson Open. Serena Williams beat Sharapova 6-1, 6-1, in a rout reminiscent of their Australian Open final two months ago.

Reuters - The Senate on Tuesday endorsed a March 31, 2008, target date for withdrawing American combat troops from Iraq, prompting the White House to threaten a veto and moving Congress a step closer to a showdown with President George W. Bush over the war.

Reuters - A U.S. federal judge dismissed on Tuesday a lawsuit seeking to hold former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other high-ranking military officers liable for the torture and abuse of Afghan and Iraqi prisoners, including some at Abu Ghraib prison.

Reuters - A former dean at a California university was sentenced on Tuesday to more than five years in prison for possessing 5,500 images of child pornography he had obtained on the Internet.

Reuters - The White House criticized Egypt, a close ally in the Middle East, on Tuesday for a referendum on changes to its constitution, saying a "vast majority" of Egyptians did not vote.

AFP - The US Senate on Tuesday for the first time approved a measure tying funding for the war in Iraq to a timetable for withdrawing US troops.

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea's nuclear test last October was a failure and gives no credence to Pyongyang's claim to being a nuclear weapons state, U.S. CIA Director Michael Hayden was quoted as saying by a South Korean newspaper on Wednesday.

AP - Candace Parker yearns to win a national championship. Now she and Tennessee are just two games away from ending the Lady Vols' nine-year drought. With Parker dominating at both ends and the talented Lady Vols getting contributions from almost everybody else on the roster, they rolled over Mississippi, 98-62, and into their 17th Final Four on Tuesday night.

Reuters - North Korea's nuclear test last October was a failure and gives no credence to Pyongyang's claim to being a nuclear weapons state, U.S. CIA Director Michael Hayden was quoted as saying by a South Korean newspaper on Wednesday.

AP - Gunmen hijacked a busload of day-care students and teachers and drove them to Manila's city hall Wednesday to demand better housing and education for the children.

AP - Up to 1.4 million U.S. women — those with an unusually high risk of developing breast cancer — should get annual MRIs as well as mammograms, the American Cancer Society advises in new guidelines.

AP - Jessica Simpson has donated a new minivan to an orphanage in this border city.

AP - Once again, Ivory Latta was headed to the locker room way too early in a late-round NCAA tournament game, North Carolina's hopes possibly going with her. Only this time, Latta came back. And the Tar Heels never wavered.

AFP - The head of a pre-school centre hijacked a Manila bus and took 32 of his own pupils and two teachers hostage Wednesday in a plea for housing and education, Philippines police and parents said.