Currently top rated stories on Yahoo
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=index&cid=17601. New Policy Could Open Land to Oil Use
AP - Mon Sep 29, 7:54 PM ET
New guidelines issued Monday by the Bush administration could allow oil and gas companies and off-road vehicles on federal lands that had been off-limits to protect their natural qualities.
Avg Rating: 4.5, 177 ratings
2. New Firm With Bush Ties Consults on Iraq
AP - Tue Sep 30,10:20 AM ET
A company that was created to help clients take advantage of business opportunities in Iraq is made up of businessmen associated with President Bush, his family and his administration. Full Coverage
Avg Rating: 4.4, 342 ratings
3. Leaking of Name Creates White House Storm
AP - Tue Sep 30, 7:15 AM ET
The pressure for a Justice Department investigation into the leaking of a CIA agent's name is a creating a political storm for a White House otherwise known for its discipline and tight message control. Full Coverage
Avg Rating: 4.4, 223 ratings
4. Army Reserve fears troop exodus
USATODAY.com - Tue Sep 30, 6:24 AM ET
If the United States is unable to recruit significantly more international troops or quell the violence in Iraq in the next few months, it could trigger an exodus of active and reserve forces, the head of the U.S. Army Reserve said Monday.
Avg Rating: 4.4, 194 ratings
5. Doubt Grows over Prewar Intelligence
OneWorld.net - Tue Sep 30, 8:34 AM ET
Upcoming Kay report is already stoking skepticism of prewar claims, which are under fire in Congress.
Avg Rating: 4.4, 177 ratings
6. U.S. Soldier Killed, Two Wounded in Afghanistan
Reuters - Tue Sep 30, 7:30 AM ET
An American soldier died of wounds after fighting in eastern Afghanistan, the fourth U.S. fatality in just over a month in operations against Taliban and al Qaeda militants in Afghanistan, the U.S. military said on Tuesday. Full Coverage
Avg Rating: 4.4, 151 ratings
7. US Justice Department opens CIA leak investigation
AFP - 8 minutes ago
The White House vowed total cooperation with a formal US Justice Department probe into who leaked the name of a covert CIA agent after her husband charged the case for war with Iraq was exaggerated. Full Coverage
Avg Rating: 4.4, 135 ratings
8. Consumer Confidence Drops Unexpectedly
Reuters - Tue Sep 30,11:01 AM ET
U.S. consumer confidence dropped unexpectedly in September, a report showed on Tuesday, as the weak jobs market weighed on consumers. Full Coverage
Avg Rating: 4.4, 133 ratings
9. Gov't Hires 2 Criticized Ex-FBI Managers
AP - Mon Sep 29, 4:17 PM ET
Two former FBI managers were hired as government contractors after their retirements, despite criticism of both men in an inspector general's report on FBI discipline.
Avg Rating: 4.4, 133 ratings
10. Exxon Valdez oil spill still takes toll
FT.com - Mon Sep 29, 6:20 PM ET
Fourteen years after the Exxon Valdez tanker ran aground, spilling 11m gallons of oil across Alaska's Prince William Sound, up to 26 beaches remain "impaired", according to a new report by the state's department of environmental conservation.
Avg Rating: 4.4, 99 ratings
11. Big Increase Seen in People Lacking Health Insurance
The New York Times - Tue Sep 30, 8:54 AM ET
The number of people without health insurance shot up last year by 2.4 million as health costs soared and many workers lost coverage. Full Coverage
Avg Rating: 4.4, 90 ratings
12. Punishment Issue Splits Ashcroft, Judges
AP - Mon Sep 29, 6:40 PM ET
A debate over appropriate punishments for federal crimes and how cases should be pursued by prosecutors has made unlikely foes of conservative judges and Attorney General John Ashcroft.
Avg Rating: 4.4, 72 ratings
13. CIA leak triggers demand for probe
USATODAY.com - Tue Sep 30, 6:24 AM ET
Democrats demanded Monday that a special counsel be named to investigate allegations that someone in the White House leaked the identity of a CIA officer to the news media.
Avg Rating: 4.4, 42 ratings
14. Scores of States May Build Nuclear Weapons -ElBaradei
Reuters - Tue Sep 30,11:28 AM ET
The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog said Tuesday that unless the United States and other nuclear powers take concrete steps toward disarmament, scores of countries will follow their lead and build atomic weapons.
Avg Rating: 4.4, 17 ratings
15. Groups Sound Warning on Large Budget Deficits
Reuters - Mon Sep 29, 5:59 PM ET
Large and mounting budget deficits represent a threat to the health of the U.S. economy that urgently requires the attention of policymakers, three watchdog groups said on Monday. Full Coverage
Avg Rating: 4.3, 267 ratings
16. Pentagon Probes Alleged Budget Inflation
AP - Mon Sep 29, 2:43 PM ET
The Pentagon's chief investigator is looking into allegations that one of the military's major command headquarters inflated budget proposals at the Pentagon's request to hide $20 million from Congress, officials said Monday.
Avg Rating: 4.3, 178 ratings
17. Democrats call for independent investigation into outing of CIA agent
AFP - 2 hours, 8 minutes ago
Democrats expressed skepticism that a US Justice Department probe into allegations the White House leaked the name of a covert CIA agent can be sufficiently nonpartisan, and called for an independent investigator to be named.
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