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Victims' relatives visit Congress, ask for tax relief
WASHINGTON -- Relatives of people killed in the terrorist attacks converged on the Capitol Wednesday to appeal for a tax bill to help them recover from financial losses resulting from Sept. 11.

Negatives of JFK years believed lost
NEW YORK -- An estimated 40,000 negatives of images taken by President John F. Kennedy's personal photographer are believed to have been destroyed in a bank vault beneath the World Trade Center.

Arlington plot sought for slain pilot
WASHINGTON -- As a military man, Charles Frank Burlingame III made sure that his parents had a resting place at Arlington National Cemetery. But getting a space for him has been a struggle, even though he died in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Powell: U.S. will open post in Kabul
BRUSSELS -- The United States will take a first step toward diplomatic recognition of the interim government in Afghanistan by soon opening a liaison office in the capital, Secretary of State Colin Powell said Wednesday.

U.S. deportation database planned
WASHINGTON -- The names of more than 300,000 foreigners who disappeared after being ordered deported will be entered in a crime database so police can help track them down, the Immigration and Naturalization Service said Wednesday.

America strikes notebook
Bush repeats threat to veto defense bill

2 women take jobs in Cabinet
KABUL, Afghanistan -- One is a surgeon so skilled the Taliban set aside their restrictions on women so she could treat wounded soldiers. The other worked with Afghan refugees in Pakistan during the militia's rule. Now both will be part of Afghanistan's interim government.

U.S. troops fixing air base near Kabul for aid flights
Soldiers with the 10th Mountain Division are repairing the Bagram base and its runway.

Hoax suspect is caught
He is thought to have sent fake anthrax letters to abortion clinics.

Marines move in around Kandahar
SOUTHERN AFGHANISTAN -- U.S. Marines are moving into position around the Taliban's last stronghold, Kandahar, ready to cut off escape routes and battle enemy troops who might try to flee the city, U.S. officers said Wednesday.

Afghan factions agree on interim post-Taliban regime
KOENIGSWINTER, Germany -- In a first step toward peace, Afghan factions signed an agreement Wednesday to create a temporary post-Taliban administration. The U.N.-brokered plan allows for the deployment of foreign troops to secure the transition, stresses the inclusion women and strives for a democracy.

Pounding continues in the Tora Bora area
TORA BORA, Afghanistan -- Afghan fighters and U.S. warplanes struck Osama bin Laden's forces here Wednesday near their last major stronghold, and local commanders claimed late Wednesday to have captured half of an extensive mountain redoubt from al-Qaida defenders.

Food program finding neediest
The Taliban had forbidden the group to look for Kabul's hungry. Now, women are among the surveyors.

Son of chief, new leader comes from a powerful tribe
KABUL, Afghanistan -- His father was a tribal chief and his clan is linked to the dynasty that ruled Afghanistan for most of the past two centuries. Now Hamid Karzai will get his own chance to govern Afghanistan.

'Friendly fire' kills 3 in fight for Kandahar
A bomb from a B-52 misses its mark, likely the result of wrong coordinates called in or a faulty aiming mechanism.

Force-feeding order sought for detainee
Federal prosecutors in Phoenix are asking a judge to issue an unusual order to force feed a hunger-striking Middle Eastern pilot arrested on charges stemming from the investigation of the Sept. 11 terrorism attacks.