Bush increases airport security [AP photo] WASHINGTON -- Bolstering travel security for the holidays, President Bush announced a big increase in National Guard troops patrolling airports and ordered undercover surveys of checkpoints. To world leaders, he declared that "now is the time for action" against terrorism.

$10 or $10,000? Error shocks telethon donors

Security firm plans overhaul after failures
ATLANTA -- Under fire for a lengthy series of lapses at airport checkpoints, Argenbright Security, the nation's largest airport security company, appointed a new chief executive Friday to replace its founder. It also announced an overhaul of its policies to improve training and weed out employees with criminal records.

FBI: Loner in U.S. sent tainted mail
TA profile of the person who mailed anthrax letters points to a domestic opportunist.

CDC report chronicles anthrax victims' terrible end
The clinical details, published Friday, paint a grim narrative of the disease, which killed four.

U.S. health officials combat spread of smallpox fears
The consensus among experts is that past vaccinations should still protect the public.

U.S. officials secretly visit front lines
SHIRKAT, Afghanistan -- For more than a week, U.S. officials secretly have been touring opposition-held areas of Afghanistan including the front line north of the capital, Kabul, and might have been scouting locations for a military base.

Mazar-e-Sharif capture will be a political success, too
WASHINGTON -- The reported capture Friday of Mazar-e-Sharif, if the rebel gains prove sustainable, would give U.S. and anti-Taliban forces an important strategic foothold in northern Afghanistan and would open the way to a dramatically increased flow of military supplies to the poorly equipped Northern Alliance and food aid to starving Afghans.

Some experts doubt domestic hate groups to blame for anthrax
SPOKANE, Wash. -- American hate groups have talked for years about using anthrax to strike at the U.S. government.

Prosecutors talk to fugitive's attorney
Liban Hussein's brother has already been arrested, though neither is charged with terrorist activities.

U.S. to delay entry of Arabs, Muslims
The visa process for men from some nations will take longer in order to screen for terrorists.

Congress prods EPA to review arsenic risk
A measure sets a Feb. 15 deadline for the agency to tell communities whether arsenic-treated lumber is safe.

Social Security proposals limit investment
WASHINGTON -- President Bush has often said he wants to create private investment accounts as part of the Social Security program because it would give Americans "ownership" of their government retirement funds.