WASHINGTON – The leaders of the 9/11 commission late Friday disputed a congressman’s criticism that the panel did not adequately investigate a claim that four hijackers were identified as Al Qaeda (search) members more than a year before the attacks. In a joint statement, former commission chairman Thomas Kean and …

NEW YORK – Two episodes have been added to Bravo’s summer reality series “Being Bobby Brown,” (search) which follows the lives of the R&B singer, his wife, Whitney Houston (search), and three of his children. “The first eight episodes of ‘Being Bobby Brown’ have kept Bravo viewers buzzing,” Bravo President …

This is a partial transcript of “The Big Story With John Gibson,” August 17, 2005, that has been edited for clarity. JOHN GIBSON, HOST: Many of us are outraged over these child molesters and killers who get out of prison only to strike again. Now, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (search) …

LOS ANGELES – Media conglomerate News Corp. (NWS) on Wednesday posted a 67-percent increase in fourth-quarter profit, beating analysts’ forecasts, as subscriber gains at Sky Italia and newspapers helped offset weaker television operations. The owner of the 20th Century Fox (search) film studio and the New York Post posted a …

VIENNA, Austria – The U.N. nuclear watchdog agency held an emergency meeting Tuesday to assess Iran’s resumption of uranium conversion, while an Iranian dissident said Tehran has manufactured about 4,000 centrifuges capable of enriching uranium to weapons grade. The meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (search) 35-nation board of …

RICHMOND, Va. – An appeals court on Wednesday upheld a Virginia law that requires public schools to lead a daily recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance (search), rejecting a claim that its reference to God was an unconstitutional promotion of religion. A suit filed by Edward Myers (search) of Sterling, …

BOISE, Idaho – A wildfire burning in northern Idaho (search) prompted the evacuation of about 100 homes, while power was severed to two communities, authorities said. Additional residents have been warned to be prepared to evacuate but so far no structures have been lost to the fire burning southeast of …

CHICAGO – An aging Chicago (search) carpenter should be stripped of his U.S. citizenship because he was a member of a police unit that helped the Nazis (search) round up Ukrainian Jews for forced labor and death camps during World War II (search), federal attorneys argue. “He acquiesced in conduct …

There are three basic things to remember when getting started with estate planning: The Estate-Tax Exemption For 2004 and 2005 you can leave bequests (gifts to other individuals upon your death) worth up to $1.5 million free of any federal estate tax. This is the so-called estate-tax exemption. If you’re …

LONDON – Oil climbed more than 3 percent Friday as rocket attacks in the Middle East and protests in Ecuador reminded the market how vulnerable supply lines are. Oil tumbled earlier this week on signs record crude prices were firing inflation and dampening company earnings. But news Friday that at …