The nation's chief counterterrorism official says despite a "seriously diminished" threat to the homeland, the U.S. government is still not properly organized to support the "team" effort needed to defeat al Qaeda. Mike Leiter, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, said the government has made vast improvements since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, but budgets, plans, programs and personnel are still set up along individual departments and agencies. "This is a team sport, but the ...

Six gay men were shot dead by members of their tribe in two separate incidents in the past 10 days, an official with Iraq's Interior ministry said.

Novak Djokovic rallied on Friday to stun Roger Federer and reach the finals of the ATP World Masters tournament in Key Biscayne, Florida. The world's No. 3-ranked men's player defeated No. 2 Federer 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 to reach his second final at the Sony Ericsson Open, according to the ATP Web site. Djokovic will face men's fourth-ranked Andy Murray in the finals on Sunday after the Scotsman edged past Juan Martin del Potro 6-1, 5-7, 6-2. Federer, known for ...

A search will continue Thursday in the Black Hills of South Dakota for a Nebraska family that has been missing since March 20. Investigators think Matthew Schade of Creighton, Nebraska; his wife, Rowena; and their two children -- a daughter, 11, and a son, 8 -- might have gone camping on U.S. Forest Service property in the Black Hills. Schade had visited the area in the past, and the family's Ford Taurus was found nearby in Silver City, ...

Workers in France have released four managers they had been holding hostage for more than 24 hours. The workers at a Caterpillar factory in Grenoble, southeastern France, were protesting 700 job cuts and the layoff package offered to them. Caterpillar said the company suffered a 55 percent loss in the past year. The French news agency, AFP, reported factory director Nicolas Polutnik was freed with the head of personnel and two other managers. AFP also reported negotiations resuming Wednesday on ...

Just when shipping companies thought it was safe to go back in the water — off the Horn of Africa in particular — Somali pirates last week nabbed two large chemical tankers within 24 hours, despite the presence of a bevy of Western and other navies prowling in search of the buccaneers. The Greek-owned MV Nipayia was snagged last Wednesday, followed within a day by the capture of the Norwegian-owned MV Bow-Asir. The attacks, which occurred at 380 and ...

A British children's charity has urged Madonna to rethink her planned adoption of a Malawian baby girl as the singer was reportedly due in the east African country to take custody of a four-year-old child. Save the Children spokesman Dominic Nutt said said the child would be better off staying in Malawi than being brought up by the recently-divorced pop star, who has three other children, including an adopted Malawian boy. "The best place for a child is in his ...

The lights dim in the screening room. Suddenly, the doomed Titanic fills the screen--but not the way I remember in the movie. The luxury liner is nearly vertical, starting its slide into the black Atlantic, and Leonardo DiCaprio is hanging on for life, just like always. But this time, I am too. The camera pans to the icy water far below, pulling me into the scene--the sensation reminds me of jerking awake from a dream--and I grip the sides of ...

A college student in Nigeria has been sentenced to 19 years in prison for scamming an Australian woman out of $47,000 online by pretending to be a widowed white businessman desperately in love with her. "It became clear during the discussions that Hamas had hardened its position, reneged on understandings that had been formulated over the past year and raised extreme demands," Olmert's office said in a statement. Israeli Security Agency Director Yuval Diskin and the prime minister's special envoy, ...

Israeli negotiators returned to Jerusalem for a Tuesday afternoon Cabinet meeting with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert after Hamas officials "hardened" their position over the release of an abducted soldier. "It became clear during the discussions that Hamas had hardened its position, reneged on understandings that had been formulated over the past year and raised extreme demands," Olmert's office said in a statement. Israeli Security Agency Director Yuval Diskin and the prime minister's special envoy, Ofer Dekel, had been taking part ...