A tornado in London damaged several homes and injured at least six people Thursday, authorities said. An average of 33 tornadoes are reported annually in Britain, according to the Tornado and Storm Research Organization. One of the worst to hit Britain destroyed the church of St. Mary le Bow and 600 homes in central London in 1091.
Ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko was laid to rest Thursday after a Muslim prayer service in a rain-swept funeral at London's Highgate Cemetery. The funeral was attended by a Russian tycoon, a Chechen rebel leader and other exiled Kremlin critics. In Moscow, Russian prosecutors opened their own investigation into the former KGB agent's poisoning death, and authorities said a key figure was ill with symptoms related to polonium-210, the highly radioactive substance that killed Litvinenko.
Consumer borrowing fell by the largest amount in 14 years in October, reflecting a big drop in auto loans. The Federal Reserve reported Thursday that borrowing declined at an annual rate of 0.6 percent in October following a revised 2 percent increase in September. It was the biggest drop since a 1 percent plunge in October 1992.
Taco Bell has been sued by an 11-year-old boy's family, who claim negligence by the restaurant chain caused the child to fall ill to E. coli amid an outbreak that has sickened nearly four dozen others. The food chain removed scallions from all 5,800 of its restaurants Wednesday after preliminary tests linked them to the bacteria.
The death toll rose to 11 on Thursday in one of the U.S. military's deadliest days in Iraq, and the military said that another soldier had died in fighting west of Baghdad. At least seven Iraqis -- six policemen and a 7-year-old girl -- were killed in a series of bombings and shootings.
Admitting that "it's bad in Iraq," President Bush acknowledged Thursday that the U.S. needs a new approach in the unpopular war and promised to unveil details in an upcoming speech. Bush said he was disappointed in the progress in Iraq but continued to oppose direct U.S. talks with Iran or Syria, and he remained steadfastly committed to spreading democracy across the Middle East.
