Bush may be above fray, but partisan battles go on
WASHINGTON -- Ever since the terror strikes of Sept. 11, President Bush, like some latter-day George Washington, has tried to position himself as a man above party, the commander in chief, for whom politics itself is slightly declasse.

U.S. Muslim charities studied for terror links
From Boston to Burbank, Calif., federal authorities are intensifying their scrutiny of U.S. Muslim nonprofit organizations as sources of funding for al-Qaida and other terrorist organizations.

Driver's license may be national ID
State motor vehicle authorities are working on a plan to create a national identification system for residents that would link all driver databases and employ high-tech cards with a fingerprint, computer chip or other unique identifier.

Firefighters examined for health problems
NEW YORK -- Firefighters who have worked at the World Trade Center site since the Sept. 11 attacks were examined Saturday for respiratory and other health problems.

Worst charges dropped against firefighters arrested in melee
NEW YORK -- The most serious criminal charges were dropped Saturday against firefighters accused of tangling with police during an angry demonstration against changes in the recovery effort at the World Trade Center site.

CDC trains, vaccinates teams for smallpox
ATLANTA -- The government has begun taking steps to cope with the possibility of a terrorist attack involving smallpox by training doctors to recognize the disease and by vaccinating small teams of experts who would rush to any part of the country to contain and treat an outbreak.

Smallpox too much for health system
No hospital in the country is fully prepared for a serious bioterrorist epidemic, says a hospital group.

One month in: How three different wars were similar
A month into the Afghanistan campaign, Americans are fighting their way into winter. A month into the Kosovo campaign, they were fighting into spring.

Hoaxes lead to serious trouble
WASHINGTON -- For allegedly leaving an envelope of white powder on his boss' desk, an Ohio man faces a possible six months in jail. Kentucky college students accused of mailing confectioners' sugar to a friend could spend up to five years in federal prison. A Connecticut man could get five years, too, for a hoax that shut his office.

Hijackers used brains, muscle and practice
Investigators piece together a plot run like a corporation, with perhaps only the leaders knowing the whole picture.

Concern rises over attacks on reactors, fuel
WASHINGTON -- As they survey the industrial landscape for objects that terrorists could turn into weapons, members of Congress, governors and others are showing growing anxiety about the vulnerability of nuclear reactors, and especially their spent fuel.

White House hopes to focus blurry message
WASHINGTON -- At the end of his roughest week so far in the war at home and abroad, President Bush had some sharp words for those who complain that the Pentagon's best-case scenarios for Afghanistan have evaporated, and that the war at home has descended into muddled, often contradictory messages about anthrax and other new terrors.

Strategy debate: patience vs. speed
WASHINGTON -- Four weeks after the United States began its military campaign to unseat the Taliban in Afghanistan and to destroy Osama bin Laden's terrorist network, there is an increasingly vigorous debate about whether substantial numbers of American combat troops will be needed to seal the victory.

Harrier jets see their first action
ABOARD THE USS PELELIU -- Marines on the USS Peleliu launched their first airstrikes against Afghanistan on Saturday, using Harrier jump jets loaded with bombs to hit Taliban and al-Qaida targets.

Front lines raked, N. Alliance eyes future
DEH MESKIN, Afghanistan -- U.S. jets blasted Taliban strongholds on Afghanistan's two main battle fronts Saturday, and the opposition Northern Alliance chose its representatives to negotiate with other Afghan factions to create a broad-based government to replace the Taliban.

In Nicaragua, democracy put to the test
MANAGUA, Nicaragua -- I had a real sense of deja vu as I sat under a hot sun waiting for a political rally to begin here last week.