WASHINGTON – Restricting access to scientific information about dangerous germs is more likely to hamper legitimate researchers than to prevent terrorists from using the data for attacks, a leading scientist warned. “If somebody really wants to get the data anyway, they will get it,” Dr. Anthony Fauci said Thursday. His …

LONDON – Holy intruder! A protester dressed in a Batman costume who scaled the front wall of Buckingham Palace (search) Monday and perched precariously on a ledge for more than five hours gave up his charade peacefully, allowing police to lower him to the ground in a cherry-picker. The protester’s …

Rivaling Bush vs. Kerry for bitterness, doctors and trial lawyers are squaring off this fall in an unprecedented four-state struggle over limiting malpractice awards. The volatile issue is in voters’ hands and each side is desperate to win, spending millions of dollars to make their cases and portray the other …

Here’s what is on tap for Friday: ‘FOX & Friends First’ (6 a.m. ET) What impact will new negative ads from both presidential campaigns have on the November elections? We’ll ask Cal Thomas, host of “After Hours with Cal Thomas.” Iraq’s interim prime minister thanks the U.S. for its efforts …

FREEPORT, Bahamas – Hurricane Jeanne (search)lashed the northernBahamas (search)with fierce winds and torrential rains Saturday, shredding roofs and flooding neighborhoods in the country’s second largest city before plowing into Florida. Jeanne’s eye made a direct hit onAbaco island (search). The Category 3 storm then whirled along the north coast of …

CARLSBAD, Calif. – Democratic strength in recent presidential elections has left California Republicans nostalgic for the last actor-turned-governor —Ronald Reagan (search)— and looking toward their new one to improve GOP prospects. Republicans say privately President Bush has little if any chance of capturing the state’s prize of 55 electoral votes. …

WASHINGTON – Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States condemned as “criminal and inhuman” the decapitation in Iraq of AmericanNicholas Berg (search). Speaking in Arabic on Wednesday to the Saudi media in Jiddah, the Saudi summer capital, Prince Bandar said the al-Zarqawi group, which took responsibility for the execution, was …

A national religious group representing 36 Protestant and Orthodox denominations said Tuesday that U.S. foreign policy is “dangerous” and urged President Bush to turn over authority in Iraq to theUnited Nations (search). TheNational Council of Churches (search), which has been highly critical of the war, acknowledged that Christians disagree on …

SAO PAULO, Brazil – A 16-year-old boy has admitted to the murders of 12 people in southern Brazil, according to a police investigator who described a chillingly calm confession. The teenager, whose identity was not revealed because he is a minor, allegedly told police he killed his victims over the …

BAGHDAD – Iraq’s presidential council withdrew its objection to a provincial elections law on Wednesday, giving a major boost to U.S.-backed efforts to promote national reconciliation on the day marking five years of war in Iraq. The move came two days after Vice President Dick Cheney visited Baghdad to press …