Eight Democratic governors have called on President Bush and Congress to investigate reports of gas price gouging following Hurricane Katrina . Citing a study by a University of Wisconsin economist that concluded rising gas prices were not solely attributable to Katrina, the governors said in a letter dated Tuesday that an investigation was needed into [...]

A group of European legislators have accused Italy of violating international human rights laws in its treatment of refugees after visiting a camp for asylum seekers on the island of Lampedusa . The 12 socialist MEPs said conditions at the camp, located off the coast of Sicily, did not meet the standards set down in [...]

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told reporters in Brussels Wednesday that he does not expect a European constitution for another two to three years. While referendum failures in France and the Netherlands led to a June EU "crisis summit" and a "period of reflection", Barroso said "There hasn't been much reflection so far." He [...]

AP is reporting that a federal judge has approved settlements worth over $6 billion in civil litigation related to the WorldCom accounting fraud . 1:49 PM ET – Under the deals approved by District Judge Denise Cote, several corporate defendants involved in the fraud, including Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase, and former WorldCom directors will be [...]

Harvard Law School will open its career services office to military recruiters beginning this fall, despite the Pentagon's refusal to sign the school's nondiscrimination pledge, Dean Elena Kagan said Tuesday in a letter to the law school community. According to Kagan, the Pentagon notified the University it would withhold federal grants, from which Harvard receives [...]

The US House Resources Committee is considering Wednesday possible changes to the Endangered Species Act , which has been in effect for 32 years. Rep. Richard Pombo has introduced the bipartisan Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act of 2005 (TESRA) , and the House committee is expected to vote on the bill Thursday. The act [...]

A commission investigating the murder of journalist Heorhiy Gongadze five years ago reported their findings Wednesday, concluding that the slaying was instigated by former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma and the current speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament . Gongadze, an Internet journalist who reported high-level corruption, was kidnapped and killed in 2000. The commission said that [...]

US Sen. Arlen Specter , chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee , asked President Bush Wednesday to delay nominating a replacement for retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor . Specter's announcement came after leading senators met with President Bush to suggest possible nominations . Specter said he spoke with O'Connor, who is willing to [...]

Attorneys for some Guantanamo Bay detainees asked for access to their clients' medical records Wednesday as they worried that the detainees' eight-week-long hunger strike may be severely harming their clients' health. Lawyers for a group of 17 Yemeni detainees complained that their clients looked ill and many of their conditions were deteriorating. The detainees are [...]

In trial proceedings in Uzbekistan, Muidin Sobirov confessed Wednesday to his role as a key planner of the bloody demonstrations in the Uzbekistan city of Andijan in May . Sobirov is among the 15 men charged with being Muslim extremists and trying to overthrow the Uzbek government. The 15 defendants have pleaded guilty to all [...]