A senior al-Qaida suspect was killed in a U.S. airstrike, a Somali official said Wednesday, a report that if confirmed would mean the end of an eight-year hunt for a top target of Washington's war on terrorism. The suspect is wanted for bombing American embassies in East Africa. In Washington, an intelligence official speaking on the condition of anonymity said the U.S. killed five to 10 people in an attack on an al-Qaida target in southern Somalia but did not say who was killed.
Sen. Edward Kennedy says the federal government should enact universal health coverage as his home state of Massachusetts has. Kennedy, a Democrat, is the new chairman of the Senate committee with jurisdiction over numerous health issues. Massachusetts is the first state to require everyone to have health insurance, just as drivers must have automobile coverage.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez echoed Fidel Castro's cry of "socialism or death" as he was sworn in for a new six-year term Wednesday, promising to accelerate Venezuela's transformation into a socialist state. Chavez took the oath of office at the National Assembly after a sweeping re-election victory that has given him free reign to pursue more radical changes, including plans to nationalize telecommunications and power companies.
Stocks fell Wednesday as oil prices extended their decline, stoking concern that prospects for diminished profits would hurt oil producers as well as scare off money from sources like hedge funds that have helped push stocks higher in recent months. Adding to Wall Street's unease, Chevron Corp. warned that its fourth-quarter profit would be hit by falling commodity prices. Wall Street's concern about sliding prices is a marked departure from that of last summer and subsequent months, when rising oil raised the specter of a jump in inflation.
Cisco Systems Inc. said it is suing Apple Inc. over Apple's use of Cisco's registered iPhone trademark for its new handheld device. Cisco has owned the trademark on the name "iPhone" since 2000, when it acquired InfoGear Technology Corp., which originally registered the name. Three weeks ago, Cisco's Linksys division put the trademark to use, releasing an Internet-enabled phone called "iPhone" that uses the increasingly popular Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP.
