Resilient Iraqis ask what civil war?  —  DESPITE sectarian slaughter, ethnic cleansing and suicide bombs, an opinion poll conducted on the eve of the fourth anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq has found a striking resilience and optimism among the inhabitants.

Veterans, Others Denounce Marchers  —  Counter-Demonstrators Number in Thousands  —  As war protesters marched toward Arlington Memorial Bridge en route to the Pentagon yesterday, they were flanked by long lines of military veterans and others who stood in solidarity with U.S. troops and the Bush administration's cause in Iraq.

Tenn. mine enriched Gore, scarred land  —  No major pollution violations, but threat remains  —  CARTHAGE, Tenn. - Al Gore has profited from zinc mining that has released millions of pounds of potentially toxic substances near his farmstead, but there is no evidence the mine has caused serious damage …

Venezuela to Give Currency New Name and Numbers  —  Of all the startling measures announced by President Hugo Chávez this year, from the nationalization of major utilities to threats of imprisonment for violators of price controls, none have baffled economists quite like his venture into monetary reform.

7 U.S. troops die in Iraq violence  —  BAGHDAD - The U.S. military on Sunday announced the deaths of seven more troops in Iraq, including four killed by a roadside bomb while patrolling western Baghdad — the latest American casualties in a monthlong security crackdown in the capital.

Gonzales' plight puts Bush at risk  —  Aides focus on keeping the controversy at Justice from spreading.  —  WASHINGTON — As more Republicans called last week on Alberto R. Gonzales to resign, President Bush's aides began to look beyond the attorney general and focus on preventing …

'Professor Torture' stands by his famous memo  —  Guantanamo Bay has just marked its fifth anniversary.  John Yoo was instrumental in setting up the prison camp that has been widely condemned.  (The normally solidly pro-American Daily Mail newspaper in England, for example, has called it …

Pet owners worry about food recall  —  UNION, N.J. - Silviene Grzybowski became worried when her local pet store pulled the food she normally feeds her cat and posted an announcement saying it, and many other popular pet foods, had been recalled.  Her cat, Smokey, hadn't been eating for days.

Lawyer Who Wiped Out D.C. Ban Says It's About Liberties, Not Guns  —  Meet the lawyer who conceived the lawsuit that gutted the District's tough gun-control statute this month.  Meet the lawyer who recruited a group of strangers to sue the city and bankrolled their successful litigation out of his own pocket.

EXCLUSIVE: Major New Problems At Walter Reed  —  Washington, DC (WUSA) — A major 9NEWS NOW EXCLUSIVE — allegations from a former inspector at Walter Reed of widespread and dangerous problems in nearly all the buildings at the Army's premier hospital.  —  Burst steam pipes near electrical cables …