Alito faces tough U.S. Senate questions Jan 10, 2006, 16:28 GMT WASHINGTON, DC, United States -- U.S. Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr., preparing to face tough questioning in Senate hearings, says a judge cannot have an agenda in any case. ....more

Colo. family sues in Disneyland accident Jan 10, 2006, 17:25 GMT SANTA ANA, CA, United States -- A Telluride, Colo., family sued Walt Disney World Co. for injuries suffered in a Big Thunder Mountain Railroad collision at Disneyland, a report said. ....more

New Jersey lawmakers first to pass death-penalty moratorium Jan 10, 2006, 17:08 GMT Washington - New Jersey lawmakers have suspended the death penalty, legislating the first state moratorium since the U.S. Supreme Court reintroduced capital punishment in 1976. ....more

Colorado wintertime open-fire ban a first Jan 10, 2006, 17:01 GMT DENVER, CO, United States -- Colorado Gov. Bill Owens issued an unprecedented wintertime ban on open fires to combat a series of wildfires fueled by dry, windy conditions, a report said. ....more

Alito faces tough U.S. Senate questions Jan 10, 2006, 16:28 GMT WASHINGTON, DC, United States -- U.S. Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr., preparing to face tough questioning in Senate hearings, says a judge cannot have an agenda in any case. ....more

N.J. bans smoking except in casinos Jan 10, 2006, 16:26 GMT TRENTON, NJ, United States -- New Jersey is about to become the 11th U.S. state to ban smoking in public places with the exception of a dozen Atlantic City, N.J., casinos, a report said. ....more

Homemade bomb found in Calif. Starbucks Jan 10, 2006, 16:26 GMT SAN FRANCISCO, CA, United States -- Some 100 people were evacuated and two busy streets closed when a homemade bomb was found in a San Francisco Starbucks, a report said. ....more

Our troops` unmet needs Jan 10, 2006, 10:18 GMT WASHINGTON, DC, United States -- Many in Congress and the Pentagon boast American troops have the best equipment in the world. But reports from the battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan say otherwise. The information about the failures is not new; solutions are long overdue. ....more

Gay soldier discharged; attacker stays Jan 7, 2006, 15:17 GMT WASHINGTON, DC, United States -- The U.S. Army Thursday honorably discharged a gay soldier who was punched by another soldier because of his sexual orientation. ....more

DNA could expose justice miscarried in 1992 execution Jan 7, 2006, 10:34 GMT Washington - A state governor's decision to retest DNA evidence linked to a 1992 execution could help expose flaws in the application of the death penalty in the United States. ....more

The falling costs of terror Jan 7, 2006, 3:02 GMT WASHINGTON, DC, United States -- The shocking legacy of the Western response to Sept. 11, 2001 is the declining cost of Islamist terror activity. The invasion of Afghanistan pulverized al-Qaida -- at the time a small, highly integrated armed organization with a very limited international following. However, the war in Iraq made it possible that from its ashes rose al-Qaidism, the new anti-imperialist ideology which has, in turn, fostered a new, cheaper form of terrorism. ....more