A 20-inch machete from Costa Rica. New power drills with the tags still hanging. A pile of brass knuckles and nunchucks. Tubs of golf clubs, baseball bats and 10-pound exercise weights. These objects -- collected at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport security checkpoints -- are among millions of items confiscated by the Transportation Security Administration from travelers' carry-on bags each year. After the U.S. government expanded the list of items prohibited on airplanes in response to the attacks of September ...

One year after the collapse of banking stalwart Lehman Brothers, the administrator of its European business says the full impact on creditors may not be known until 2010. Tony Lomas, a partner for PricewaterhouseCoopers, has been sorting through the financial remains of the banking giant's European division since last September, when it became clear the bank would file for bankruptcy. He says administrators are still some months from finalizing the total amount owed to Lehman's creditors. "That will ...

Support for the war in Afghanistan is at an all-time low, according to a new national poll. A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released Tuesday morning indicates that 39 percent of Americans favor the war in Afghanistan, with 58 percent opposed to the mission. Support is down from 53 percent in April, marking the lowest level since the start of the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan soon after the September 11, 2001, attacks. The poll suggests that 23 percent of ...

President-elect Barack Obama's transition team has begun examining what to do with suspected terrorists at the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, which Obama has pledged to close, an aide said Monday. Denis McDonough, a senior adviser to the incoming Democrat, said no decisions have been made about what to do with the 255 inmates there, "and there is no process in place to make that decision until his national security and legal teams are assembled." But officials close ...

The Football Association (FA) have charged Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor with "violent" and "improper" conduct following the Togo captain's performance against English Premier League side and former club, Arsenal. A statement on the governing body's official Web site read: "Under the fast-track disciplinary process, Adebayor has been charged with violent conduct following an incident with [Arsenal player] Robin van Persie, which resulted in the Arsenal player receiving facial injuries. "Referee Mark Clattenburg has advised The FA that ...

An audio message purportedly from al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden emerged on radical Islamist Web sites, just two days after the United States marked the eighth anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks. "To the American people, this is my message to you: a reminder of the reasons behind 9/11 and the wars and the repercussions that followed and the way to resolve it," the message said. "From the beginning, we have stated many times ... that the ...

A 44-year-old former drug addict and alcoholic who now works as a minister was the sole person responsible for the brief hijacking Wednesday of a commercial jetliner, a Mexican official said. The suspect, Josmar Flores Pereira, told authorities he hijacked the jet on Wednesday because the date -- September 9, 2009, or 9/9/9 and 666 reversed -- held some significance for him, said Genaro Garcia Luna, the secretary for public safety. "He said that because of that divine reference, he ...

Nicole Richie and Joel Madden are the proud parents of a baby boy, PEOPLE confirmed. "In the middle of night, the very early hours of September 9, 2009, Sparrow James Midnight Madden was born to Nicole Richie and Joel Madden. He weighs 7 lbs. 14 oz. Nicole, Joel, Harlow and Sparrow are all doing well. Thank you for all of your good wishes," the couple wrote on Richie's Web site. The newborn joins older sister Harlow Winter Kate Madden born ...

Paid for with U.S. dollars, Afghanistan's Highway 1 was supposed to symbolize a path toward a bright future when it was repaved five years ago. The $300 million project smoothed over the highway's rough potholes and cut in half the 12-hour drive time from the capital, Kabul, to the country's political center, Kandahar. But today, roadside bombs have re-scarred the road, and Taliban militants routinely stage brazen attacks on its travelers. The journey between the two cities now takes ...

Torrential rains and flooding have affected 600,000 people in 16 West African nations, the United Nations reported Tuesday. The worst hit have been Burkina Faso, Senegal, Ghana and Niger, said Yvon Edoumou, a spokesman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Senegalese capital, Dakar. So far, 159 people have died, he said. Edoumou said removing water from flooded areas is a top priority, but powerful pumps are in short supply. "Some people refused to leave ...