WASHINGTON – With few if any allies, Sen. Russell Feingold dropped his effort late Wednesday to block the USA Patriot Act, clearing a path for Senate debate. But he promised to try to add new protections for civil liberties during proceedings later this month. “I have no desire to inconvenience …

KABUL, Afghanistan – Al Qaeda militants are coming from Iraq to fight in the insurgency in Afghanistan, a provincial governor said Thursday after interrogating an Iraqi caught sneaking into the country illegally. Meanwhile, police said a homicide bomber disguised as a woman blew himself up at an army checkpoint in …

This would be the most phenomenal turnabout in the history of desktop computing. There’s just one fly in the ointment. The idea that Apple would ditch its own OS for Microsoft Windows came to me from Yakov Epstein, a professor of psychology at Rutgers University, who wrote to me convinced …

LOS ANGELES – One of Walt Disney’s (DIS) top theme park designers is stepping down after decades of service, signaling the end of an era for the Magic Kingdom. Marty Sklar is one of the last remaining employees who once worked closely with the company’s co-founder, Walt Disney. The 72-year-old …

WASHINGTON – The United States and Colombia have concluded a trade agreement to eliminate tariffs and other barriers to goods and services flowing between the two countries. The agreement was announced Monday by U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman and Jorge Humberto Botero, Colombia’s minister for trade, industry and tourism. “The …

America Online is taking advantage of a first-of-its-kind anti-“phishing” law in Virginia to sue three international groups that allegedly stole information from unsuspecting AOL users by sending e-mail that appeared to be legitimate messages from the company. AOL’s three lawsuits, filed Monday in federal court in Alexandria, Va., seek $18 …

Hey, at least she used protection. Saying she was tired of men mistreating her, an ex-strip club waitress in Boston mailed condoms filled with a potentially explosive mixture to strip clubs, a TV station and other places, according to The Boston Globe. Kimberly Lynn Dasilva, 40, said she just “couldn’t …

BROCKTON, Mass. – A first grader was suspended for three days after school officials said he sexually harassed a girl in his class by allegedly putting two fingers inside the girl’s waistband while she sat on the floor in front of him. The boy’s mother, Berthena Dorinvil, said she “screamed” …

LOS ANGELES – The promise of an easy million bucks, a stage crowded with sexy models and the smoothly calibrated charm of host Howie Mandel made “Deal or No Deal” an unexpected hit in television’s December dead zone. Now the NBC game show, returning 8 p.m. EST Monday for five …

WASHINGTON – Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid wrote at least four letters helpful to Indian tribes represented by Jack Abramoff, and the senator’s staff regularly had contact with the disgraced lobbyist’s team about legislation affecting other clients. The activities — detailed in billing records and correspondence obtained by The Associated …