Influential US lawmakers on Thursday called for levying a new income tax to pay for the war in Afghanistan, warning its costs pose a mortal threat to efforts like a sweeping health care overhaul.

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced a thorough investigation into the Fort Hood shootings to examine if warning signs were missed and to ensure such a rampage never happens again.

Prosecutors: South Carolina men, calling themselves '3 Hebrew Boys' ran Ponzi scheme. Three South Carolina men accused of bilking people out of more than $80 million lied about how they would invest their money, so it doesn't matter if investors knew it was risky, prosecutors said Thursday.

Prosecutors: South Carolina men, calling themselves '3 Hebrew Boys' ran Ponzi scheme. Three South Carolina men accused of bilking people out of more than $80 million lied about how they would invest their money, so it doesn't matter if investors knew it was risky, prosecutors said Thursday.

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said it is too soon to set a timeline for shifting security duties from NATO-led troops to Afghan forces, as proposed by Britain.

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said it is too soon to set a timeline for shifting security duties from NATO-led troops to Afghan forces, as proposed by Britain.

Two days before shipping off to war, Marine Pfc. Jesse Sheets sat inside a trailer in the Mojave Desert, his gaze fixed on a computer that flashed a rhythmic pulse of contrasting images.

EU leaders on Thursday picked little known Belgian prime minister Herman Van Rompuy as Europe's first president with a mission to give the continent a greater world profile.

Increasing numbers of radical Islamic Web sites are spreading al-Qaida's message in English. Increasing numbers of English-language Web sites are spreading al-Qaida's message to Muslims in the West. They translate writings and sermons once largely out of reach of English readers and often feature charismatic clerics like Anwar al-Awlaki, who exchanged dozens of e-mails with the Army psychiatrist accused of the Fort Hood shootings.

BUTLERVILLE, Indiana (Reuters) - They arrive at the meeting by U.S. military helicopter, politely accept a cup of tea and haggle over a U.S.-funded water project gone awry.

EU leaders picked little known Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy as Europe's first president with a mission to give the continent a greater world profile.

Newspapers attacked on Friday the appointment of the European Union's first president and foreign policy chief, some calling them lightweights who could struggle on the world stage.

ROME (Reuters Life!) - Iraq's Zaha Hadid, one of the world's most acclaimed architects, has given this ancient city that normally shuns modern intrusions another controversial building -- a new museum dedicated to contemporary design.

Iran has not yet provided a "final answer" to a "unique" international nuclear fuel offer, Mohamed ElBaradei, the outgoing head of the UN nuclear watchdog, said on Friday.

EU leaders picked little known Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy as Europe's first president with a mission to give the continent a greater world profile.

Pentagon chief says Afghan troop increase could swiftly follow Obama announcement. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said any new U.S. forces President Barack Obama sends to Afghanistan could move into the country swiftly, despite logistical hassles that force almost all major deliveries of troops and supplies to go by air.

Pentagon launches quick hunt for more Hasans, longer look at possible lapses in Fort Hood case. The Pentagon said Thursday it will scour its procedures for identifying volatile soldiers hidden in the ranks following the Fort Hood shooting rampage and lapses that might allow others to slip through bureaucratic cracks.

Iran says it will launch another communications satellite without outside help in 2 years. Iran plans to launch a communications satellite by late 2011 with no outside help, a top Iranian official said Friday, after Italy and Russia declined to put it into orbit.

AP IMPACT: As military academies seek diversity, urban lawmakers often make fewest nominations. As the nation's military academies try to recruit more minorities, they aren't getting much help from members of Congress from big-city districts with large numbers of blacks, Hispanics and Asians.

Representative of Iraqi Shiite spiritual leader urges parties to break election law impasse. A top aide to Iraq's Shiite spiritual leader on Friday urged the country's fractious political blocs to resolve a crisis over a key election law that threatens to delay national polls planned for January.