Updated February 08, 2010
Rep. Murtha Dead at 77

Pennsylvania Democratic Rep. John Murtha, the first veteran of the Vietnam war and one of the most powerful lawmakers in Congress, died Wednesday morning at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, VA, after complications from gallbladder surgery. Murtha was 77.

The world's largest Internet search company and the world's most powerful electronic surveillance organization are teaming up in the name of cybersecurity.

Under an agreement that is still being finalized, the National Security Agency would help Google analyze a major corporate espionage attack that the firm said originated in China and targeted its computer networks, according to cybersecurity experts familiar with the matter. The objective is to better defend Google — and its users — from future attack.

Google and the NSA declined to comment on the partnership. But sources with knowledge of the arrangement, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the all...

VI Student Under Investigation Following Remarks Made To Clerk

By Michael L. Owens
Bristol Herald Courier

A Virginia Intermont College student – accused of quipping to a Walmart clerk that he planned to blow up his campus with items bought at the store Monday – is now under local and federal investigation.

Before the day was over, a bomb-sniffing police dog scoured the student’s dorm room for explosives, and he was questioned by federal agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

“He said, ‘I’m just buying stuff to blow...

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama's decision not to participate in an annual summit with European Union leaders is feeding doubts about whether Washington views Europe as a strong player on the international stage.

The president's decision was announced days before Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who was to host the summit in Madrid, arrives Wednesday on a two-day visit to Washington. Zapatero, whose nation now holds the EU's rotating presidency, was not scheduled to meet with Obama but may have a chance to speak with him at Thursday's annual National Prayer ...