Buried in FBI laboratory reports about the anthrax mail attacks that killed five people in 2001 is data suggesting that a chemical may have been added to try to heighten the powder's potency, a move that some experts say exceeded the expertise of the presumed killer.
The lab data, contained in more than 9,000 pages of files that emerged a year after the Justice Department closed its inquiry and condemned the late Army microbiologist Bruce Ivins as the perpetrator, shows unusual levels of silicon and tin in anthrax powder from two of the five letters.
FBI lab reports on anthrax attacks suggest another miscue
For Mideast peace, Israel needs to own up to Palestinian pain
Look what a few hundred demonstrators can do in a day: 1948 is on the agenda. The breach of the fence in the Golan Heights was enough to breach a far older and more complex fence, bringing 1948 to center stage in the political discussion.
We're still screwing things up and babbling ourselves to death about 1967 - will or won't Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu utter the words "1967 borders," as if it makes a difference what he says. We're still babbling that the evil from the north, which may actually be good, is approaching, and the discussion has suddenly changed direction.
Study blames deadly mining disaster on company's safety failings
An independent study concludes that the West Virginia coal mine explosion that killed 29 men last year was the result of safety failings by owner Massey Energy Co.
"The disaster at Upper Big Branch was man-made and could have been prevented had Massey Energy followed basic, well-tested and historically proven safety procedures," investigators wrote in the study, which was released today.
Afghan Guantanamo detainee 'commits suicide'
An Afghan detainee at the US prison facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba has died in an apparent suicide, the US military said. The prisoner, identified as Inayatullah, a 37-year-old accused of being a member of al-Qaeda, was found dead by guards conducting routine checks at the facility on Wednesday.
"An investigation is under way to determine the exact circumstances of what happened," Navy Commander Tamsen Reese, a spokeswoman at the Guantanamo Bay US naval base, said.
Tests for ovarian cancer can backfire
For years, women have been told that early detection of cancer saves lives. Not always. A definitive new study finds that screening healthy women for ovarian cancer — one of the deadliest and most-feared of malignancies — actually does more harm than good.
In an 18-year study of 78,216 women, those randomly assigned to be screened for ovarian cancer died at the same rate as women who weren't, according to research released Wednesday in advance of the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
Release of radioactive water made at request of U.S.: Cabinet adviser
Japanese playwright Oriza Hirata, who serves as a special adviser to the Cabinet, claimed in a recent lecture given in Seoul that the dumping of low-level radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean followed a "strong request" from the United States, a person who attended the lecture said Wednesday.
Hirata's remarks, made Tuesday, that the release was not carried out based on Tokyo's independent judgment but rather on a request from Washington is likely to ignite a debate.
Roman Catholic report blames society for sexually abusive priests
Sexual abuse by Roman Catholic priests in the United States is a "historical problem" that has largely been resolved and that never had any significant correlation with either celibacy or homosexuality, according to an independent report commissioned by Catholic bishops — and subjected to fierce attack even before its release on Wednesday.
Blair's former Iraq envoy lobbied for BP oil contracts
Tony Blair's special envoy to Iraq lobbied the country's Prime Minister on oil contracts for BP just three months after leaving government service, newly released official documents have revealed.
Sir Jeremy Greenstock, who as Britain's ambassador to the United Nations had made the case for invading Iraq, served as UK special representative to Iraq from September 2003 to June 2004. Soon after, he met Iyad Allawi despite having been warned against developing business links with Iraq by the watchdog responsible for ethical oversight on the activities of former civil servants.
United apologizes for reusing 9/11 flight numbers
United Airlines apologized Wednesday for briefly restarting use of flight numbers of two planes that crashed after being hijacked by terrorists on Sept. 11, 2001.
Spokesman Rahsaan Johnson blamed the reuse of flight numbers 93 and 175 on a "technical error." He said the airline has taken steps to have the numbers removed from its computers. "We apologize for the error," Johnson said in an interview. "The numbers were inadvertently reinstated."
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