Ex-CEO defends self
WASHINGTON -- Enron Corp.'s former chief executive told a skeptical House subcommittee Thursday that he was unaware of financial problems at the company when he left four months before it collapsed, a position contradicted by two senior Enron executives who testified they repeatedly warned him about conflicts of interest that enriched some insiders.

Co-pilot's ax foils cockpit intruder
BUENOS AIRES -- An unarmed passenger on a United Airlines flight from Miami to Buenos Aires tried to force his way into the cockpit Thursday, managing to kick out part of the door before a co-pilot clubbed him with an ax.

Without bin Laden in charge, then what?
WASHINGTON -- The al-Qaida terrorist organization would fragment if Osama bin Laden were killed, with surviving lieutenants taking over sections of the network to pursue their own goals, a top Pentagon intelligence official says.

U.S. troops may cause backlash in Philippines
ZAMBOANGA, Philippines -- One recent morning, as U.S. troops were arriving in this garrison city to help Philippine soldiers fight a band of Islamic rebels known as the Abu Sayyaf, a spokesman for the group called a radio station here with a message for the Americans.

Workers save 500 from avalanche
SALANG, Afghanistan -- Bent under heavy winds and laboring to breathe in the frigid, thin air, international teams on Thursday rescued about 500 people trapped by an avalanche of snow. Four people died.

Fighting terror notebook
WASHINGTON -- Homeland Security director Tom Ridge said Thursday that government and airline officials are at work on a frequent-flier ID card that -- for a fee -- would speed regular travelers through airport security.

An account from inside Flight 855
BUENOS AIRES -- The intercom screeched for flight attendants to help, and I woke up four hours into our flight across South America.