A psychologist who helps lead the post-traumatic stress disorderprogram at a medical facility for veterans in Texas told staff membersto refrain from diagnosing PTSD because so many veterans were seekinggovernment disability payments for the condition."Given that we are having more
The California Supreme Court ruled Thursday that same-sex couples shouldbe permitted to marry, rejecting state marriage laws as discriminatory. The state high court's 4-3 ruling was unlikely to end the debateover gay matrimony in California. A group has circulated petitions
Oil prices have hit a record high above $127 a barrel on fresh worries about global supplies.US light sweet crude jumped to $127.43 a barrel, ignoring a forecastfrom producers' cartel Opec this week that the world will need less oilin
China warned the death toll from this week's earthquake could soar to50,000, while the government issued a public appeal today for rescueequipment as it struggled to cope with the disaster.More than 72 hours after the quake rattled central China, rescuersappeared
Addressing the Israeli parliament, President Bush set off a politicalfirestorm today with an apparent criticism of Sen. Barack Obama, theDemocratic presidential hopeful, over his position on negotiating withsome dictatorships.Obama, who has pledged to talk to regimes in Iran, Cuba and
President Hugo Chavez was facing serious allegations overVenezuela's links to Colombian guerrillas last night after Interpolbolstered the credibility of intercepted rebel documents. Theinternational police organization announced that a two-month forensicinvestigation of laptops seized in a raid by Colombian security forcesconcluded
The Chinese government made an emergency appeal for cranes andheavylifting equipment Thursday amid warnings that time is running out torescue survivors from Monday's huge earthquake.As the statemedia raised estimates of the final death toll to 50,000, troops,emergency personnel and volunteers
President Bush'sfinancial fortunes appear to have declined over the past seven years,with his family assets dropping as low as $6.5 million, according todisclosure forms released yesterday.Bush and his wife, Laura, were worth at least $9 million and as muchas $24
Aliens from outer space have been visiting Britain for yearsand UFO sightings doubled after the film Close Encounters was releasedin 1977, according to secret files collating reports by members of thepublic.The alien craft come in all shapes, sizes and colors
Burma's military rulers are appealing for international funding toget rice farmers in the cyclone-ravaged Irrawaddy Delta back to theirpaddy fields, amid concerns about future food shortages if cultivatorsmiss the upcoming planting season.The Burmese government's request for help in restoring farms
The Bush administration is on the verge of implementing new airquality rules that would make it easier to build power plants nearnational parks and wilderness areas, according to rank-and-file agencyscientists and park managers who oppose the plan.The newregulations, which are
An unusual coalition of antiwar Democrats and angry Republicansinthe House Thursday torpedoed a $162.5 billion proposal to continuefundingthe wars in Iraq and Afghanistan into next year, eliminating, for now,the one part of the controversial bill that had seemed certain to
Scientists Wednesday reported the discovery of the youngest supernova inthe Milky Way, ending a 50-year search for the exploded stars thatremain mysteriously difficult to spot in our galaxy.Thesupernova, given the obscure name of G1.9+0.3, was detected viaremnants from the powerful,
Global warming is disrupting wildlife and the environment on everycontinent, according to an unprecedented study that reveals the extentto which climate change is already affecting the world's ecosystems.Scientistsexamined published reports dating back to 1970 and found that at least90% of
Ignoring a veto threat from President Bush, who says he wants tosharply limit government subsidies to farmers at a time of near-recordcommodity prices and soaring global demand for grain, the House onWednesday approved a five-year, $307 billion farm bill with
The Republican defeat in a special Congressional contest in Mississippi sent waves of apprehension across an already troubled party Wednesday,with some senior Republicans urging Congressional candidates todistance themselves from President Bush to head off what could be heavylosses in the
Fears for the future of the world's biggest tropical rainforestgrew Wednesday, after the sudden resignation of Brazil's environmentminister, Marina Silva.Environmentalists had seen Silva, 50, whowas born in the Brazilian Amazon, as an important ally in the fightagainst the destruction of
Former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards gave his long-sought endorsement to Sen. Barack Obama Wednesday night, calling on Democrats to unite behind him and turn their attention to the fall campaign."The reason I am here tonight," Edwards declared, "is the
China mobilized 30,000 additional soldiers to the earthquake-shatteredexpanses of the nationâ ™s southwestern regions on Wednesday - not justto help victims, but also to shore up weakened dams and other elementsof the infrastructure whose failure could compound the disaster. Experts
Millions of historic sites, crumbling and collapsing in nationalforests around the country, are in danger of being lost forever,according to a study set to be released today by a prominentpreservation group.The National Trust for Historic Preservation estimates thatonly a small
