WASHINGTON – The Homeland Security Department is focusing on possible terror threats from radical environmental and animal rights activists without also examining risks that might be posed by right-wing extremists, House Democrats said Tuesday. A recent internal Homeland Security document lists the Animal Liberation Front (search) and the Earth Liberation …

WASHINGTON – From the buttoned-down confines of a Senate hearing room to a boisterous outdoor rally nearby, Democrats took on President Bush and his Social Security (search) proposals with gusto on Tuesday and rebuffed pleas for bipartisanship from frustrated Republicans. “If he’s going out to push for privatization, let’s help …

NEW YORK – Demand for books by the new pope, the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (search), has quickly surpassed supply, with many of his works selling out. When fresh copies arrive, expect some changes. “We’ll indicate on the cover that he is now Pope Benedict XVI (search), who once was …

SEATTLE – The sentencing of an Algerian who plotted to blow up part of the Los Angeles (search) airport on the eve of the millennium was postponed Wednesday by a federal judge to give the defendant more time to help the government in its terrorism investigations. After hearing 2 1/2 …

PHILADELPHIA – One of the most popular shows on television is making Melissa Saunders the star at her prom. The senior at St. Hubert Roman Catholic High School wrote to the producers of “Desperate Housewives” last fall, after seeing her dream gown on the show. The lacy, rose-colored dress was …

MONTPELLIER, France – The mother of the only person convicted in the United States for participating in the Sept. 11 attacks urged France on Monday to take a firmer stand in opposing the death penalty for her son. Zacarias Moussaoui (search), a French citizen of Moroccan descent, told a U.S. …

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan – Kyrgyzstan’s parliament on Wednesday delayed consideration of President Askar Akayev‘s (search) resignation one more day, scheduling a special session that lawmakers hope will bring a public end to the political turmoil that has engulfed this ex-Soviet republic. Parliamentary speaker Omurbek Tekebayev agreed with lawmakers who called for …

WASHINGTON – Sen. Saxby Chambliss (search) said Thursday that the United States lacks human spies in North Korea and Iran, providing more detail than last week’s presidential commission did about U.S. intelligence capabilities inside the two countries. Aides to the Georgia Republican, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, insisted …

The uproar over the federal bench: Should judges be held to account? And will either side flinch on Bush’s judicial nominations? We’ll get a fair and balanced debate from Senate Judiciary Committee members Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. And, we’ll get powerful political punditry from Brit Hume, …

CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. – A man who cut in front of a line of motorists waiting for discounted gas Thursday was arrested after police found suspected marijuana and painkillers in his car. Police said the 24-year-old wasn’t even interested in the gas, which was being sold at 50 cents less …