FBI investigating lab specialist's conduct
AP also reported that lawyers for some FBI lab employees sent a letter to Attorney General John Ashcroft in 2001, just days before McVeigh was executed for the April 1995 bombing, alleging Burmeister may have been pressured to give false testimony in the case. No action was taken and the allegation was never divulged to McVeigh's lawyers.

Another Official Pre-9/11 Image of the WTC Being Targeted
The image is from the cover of the manual "Managing Weapons of Mass Destruction Incidents: An Executive Level Program for Sheriffs." The manual was given to people who participated in the training program of the same name, which taught local law enforcement how to deal with terrorist attacks. Notice that the cover is imprinted with the seal of the US Justice Department (and the seal of the National Sheriffs' Association). In the bottom right corner, the date is a little hard to read; it says: "Version: June 2000."

US energy policy 'decided in secret with firms'
The report said Mr Cheney's task force had extensive consultations with "petroleum, coal, nuclear, natural gas, electricity industry representatives and lobbyists" but only limited contact with environmental groups and academic experts.

Halliburton's Deals Greater Than Thought
Halliburton, the company formerly headed by Vice President Cheney, has won contracts worth more than $1.7 billion under Operation Iraqi Freedom and stands to make hundreds of millions more dollars under a no-bid contract awarded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, according to newly available documents. The size and scope of the government contracts awarded to Halliburton in connection with the war in Iraq are significantly greater than was previously disclosed and demonstrate the U.S. military's increasing reliance on for-profit corporations to run its logistical operations. Independent experts estimate that as much as one-third of the monthly $3.9 billion cost of keeping U.S. troops in Iraq is going to independent contractors.

Port Authority to release 9/11 transcripts
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is set to release transcripts Thursday afternoon of 260 hours of radio and telephone transmissions as well as handwritten notes chronicling frantic rescue efforts at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

Ashcroft Speech Interrupted by Protester
"Mr. Ashcroft, I'm with Lyndon LaRouche. We would like to know which of your terrorists are going to be used for a new 9/11, you and (Vice President) Dick Cheney, Tell them how you lie to the American people"

Fire, Not Extra Explosives, Doomed Buildings, Expert Says
The day of the attack, Romero told the Journal the towers' collapse, as seen in news videotapes, looked as though it had been triggered by carefully placed explosives.

Steel Not Seen As Factor in WTC Collapse
Early tests on steel beams from the World Trade Center show they generally met or were stronger than design requirements, ruling them out as a contributing cause of the collapse of the towers, federal investigators said Wednesday. Engineers with the National Institute of Standards and Technology have conducted preliminary tests on some of the 236 pieces of steel from the wreckage, said Frank Gayle, who is leading NIST's review of the steel.

IAEA conference to discuss Israeli nukes for first time
The International Atomic Energy Agency has decided to discuss Israeli nuclear capabilities in its next major conference. Diplomatic sources said the IAEA has placed on the agenda of its General Conference and Regular Session the subject of "Israeli Nuclear Capabilities and Threats." The subject will be discussed at the conference in Vienna in September. The sources said this is the first time in decades that the IAEA has placed Israel's nuclear programs on the agenda of its general conference.