Al-Qaeda tells British cells to carry out wave of beheadings  —  ISLAMIC terror cells in Britain have been instructed to carry out a series of kidnappings and beheadings of the kind allegedly planned by the nine terrorist suspects arrested in Birmingham last week.

The Operator  —  I was standing there having a casual conversation with King Juan Carlos, my occasional hunting partner, when we were joined by Blair and his charming, outspoken wife, Cherie, and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi," Terry McAuliffe, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee …

Scientists: Humans 'very likely' cause global warming … (CNN) — Global warming is here and humans are "very likely" the blame, an international group of scientists meeting in Paris, France, announced Friday.  —  "The evidence for warming having happened on the planet is unequivocal," …

In Washington, Contractors Take on Biggest Role Ever  —  In June, short of people to process cases of incompetence and fraud by federal contractors, officials at the General Services Administration responded with what has become the government's reflexive answer to almost every problem.

Iraq's Shadow Widens Sunni-Shiite Split in U.S.  —  DEARBORN, Mich. — Twice recently, vandals have shattered windows at three mosques and a dozen businesses popular among Shiite Muslims along Warren Avenue, the spine of the Arab community here.  —  Although the police have arrested no one …

Wilkes staves off auction as more ills swirl  —  With the threat of a federal indictment looming, Poway defense contractor Brent Wilkes also is facing mounting personal and financial troubles.  —  In the past two months, Wilkes' wife has filed for divorce, his company, ADCS Inc. …

New McCain Team Made Attack Ads He Once Faulted  —  Senator John McCain, intent on succeeding where his freewheeling presidential campaign of 2000 failed, is assembling a team of political bruisers for 2008.  And it includes advisers who once sought to skewer him and whose work he has criticized as stepping over the line in the past.

Deadly Bird Flu Virus Found in Britain  —  LONDON — Officials confirmed Saturday that the H5N1 strain of bird flu had been found in turkeys on a commercial farm _ Britain's first mass outbreak of the disease that has ravaged Asia's poultry stocks and killed more than 160 people worldwide.

At Least 130 Die as Blast Levels Baghdad Market  —  A mammoth truck bomb obliterated a popular central Baghdad market on Saturday, ripping through scores of shops and flattening apartment buildings, killing at least 130 people and wounding more than 300 in the worst of a series of horrific attacks against Shiites in recent weeks.