The technology -- which already is being used in a few other states besides CA -- eventually could give the utilities some remote control over home appliances such as air conditioners, which raises privacy questions.–Wall Street Journal

The U.S. Capitol and White House were evacuated Wednesday after a small plane entered restricted airspace and came within three miles of the executive mansion. Military jets scrambled to intercept the aircraft and fired warning flares.

"As you know, we have just completed a meeting of the Middle East Quartet, in which we covered a lot of important ground, as you will see later from the statement, or the communiqué, we will be issuing.We emphasized that this is a hopeful and promising moment for both Palestinians and Israelis." -Kofi Annan/UN

Stocks plummeted to end lower Tuesday after investors withdrew amid rumors that several hedge funds building up stakes in GM's debt are at risk.-FOX News

China's stocks closed at a new six-year low after the week-long holiday ended on May 9.-Asia Times

King Abdullah of Jordan has agreed to pardon Ahmed Chalabi, the controversial Iraqi political leader, who was sentenced to 22 years in prison for fraud after his bank collapsed with $300m (£160m) in missing deposits in 1989. Jalal Talabani, the Iraqi President, asked the king to resolve the differences between Jordan and Chalabi, now Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq, during a visit to Ammanthis week.-Independent

North Korea said Wednesday it has completed removing spent fuel rods from an atomic reactor, enabling it to harvest more weapons-grade plutonium. It was the communist state's latest provocation amid deadlocked talks over Pyongyang's nuclear program.

Three successive waves of political Islam have swept over Central Asia during the 15-year period since the disintegration of the Soviet Union. They might seem dissimilar.But they have common elements - the most important being that they all had extra-regional profiles, even as they sought a habitation and name in the region -M K Bhadrakumar/Asia Times

Courtesy of www.fosar-bludorf.com/bilderberger/Liste.htm and www.prisonplanet.com.

Exposure can lead to health problems known as "Vibroacoustic Disease," claims biomedical engineer Mariana Alves-Pereira.

Scan of document from US Department of Defense.

The U.S. Army said on Tuesday it had awarded $72 million in bonuses to Halliburton Co. for logistics work in Iraq but had not decided whether to give the Texas company bonuses for disputed dining services to troops.

South American and Arab leaders criticized the world's rich countries and Israel and gave support to the Palestinians Tuesday at a summit originally intended to promote stronger business links between the two regions.Both sides, however, clearly had different priorities.Lula wants summit participants to identify business opportunities that will open up new relationships between poorer regions long dominated by the world's most powerful economies. He used the occasion to reiterate his criticism of the world trade order and subsidies by the rich countries

A former U.N.-appointed investigator probing corruption in the Iraq oil-for-food program on Monday defended his decision to retain confidential official documents after he quit the inquiry and give them to a congressional committee.Parton, a former FBI official, said he had kept the documents to prove that he had disputed the IIC's findings.Although Parton was subject to U.N. confidentiality and diplomatic immunity agreements, he said he felt "legally obligated to comply" with a congressional subpoena from the committee chaired by Rep. Henry J. Hyde -Washington Post

Records from a 2001 energy task force headed by Vice President Dick Cheney can remain secret, a U.S. appeals court ruled.The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in Washington ruled today that the task force isn't legally bound to reveal the material.The court said business executives who advised the panel weren't official members and thus the panel isn't required to reveal its consultations with them -Bloomberg

Senate Democrats criticized the inclusion of the immigration provisions in the spending bill, saying they never had the chance to discuss them.Among other things it establishes uniform standards for state drivers' licenses.The bill now goes to President Bush for his signature

President Hugo Chavez announced measures to probe tax evasion from foreign companies, which may add up to $2 billion.-Pravda

Real wages in the US are falling at their fastest rate in 14 years, according to data surveyed by the Financial Times.

On the second anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, Bechtel, the gargantuan global construction firm based in San Francisco, issued its revenue numbers for 2005. While the situation continued to deteriorate for the US military forces in Iraq, Bechtel reported more fragrant news.-CounterPunch