CHICAGO – Visitors to the Sears Tower’s new glass balconies all seem to agree: The first step is the hardest. “It’s like walking on ice,” said Margaret Kemp, of Bishop, Calif., who said her heart was still pounding even after stepping away from the balcony. “That first step you take …

Senior Scotland Yard officials fear Neo-Nazis are plotting a “spectacular” terrorist attack on Britain, the U.K.’s Daily Mail reported. Surveillance of suspects have been increased and officials are monitoring their ability to carry out an attack that would “breakdown in community cohesion,” according to the newspaper. “I fear that they …

OKANOGAN, Wash. – Okanogan County sheriff’s detectives have accused a Tonasket woman of having her husband’s pregnant lover stabbed to death with an ice pick. The sheriff’s office says 33-year-old Lacy K. Hirst-Pavek was arrested Tuesday night and jailed for investigation of murder and manslaughter in the slaying of 25-year-old …

DES MOINES, Iowa – Strong thunderstorms packing possible tornadoes battered parts of the Midwest on Sunday for a second straight day, damaging at least half a dozen buildings and a campground in Iowa and two Oklahoma homes. Tornadoes were reported in eastern Iowa, western Oklahoma and south-central Kansas, but there …

They are the elite of the elite. Special Operations warriors: The Navy SEALs, Army Special Forces, Air Force Special Operations and Marine Special Operations. Just this week, it was the Navy SEALs who captured the world’s attention after Somali pirates hijacked an American ship and held her captain hostage in …

A 31-year-old man who went to the hospital complaining of a headache was told to take a pain reliever and sent home. But after two more days of excruciating pain, Paul Curtis, of Carlingford, Australia, went back to the hospital to find he had a chip out of his spine …

BAGHDAD – Three jailed suspects in Oct. 25 bombings that killed more than 150 people in Iraq said they filmed the targeted buildings before the attack and escorted the car bombs in a convoy into Baghdad, according to confessions shown on Iraqi television Sunday. The men, who were seated and …

In the wake of the Ft. Hood shootings by Major Nidal Malik Hasan, an uncomfortable and unjust spotlight has been trained on Muslim-American soldiers serving in the armed forces. To be blunt, their loyalties are being questioned, with some conservatives arguing that Muslims should be barred outright from serving in …

SAN FRANCISCO – Hackers made off with at least 285 million electronic records in 2008, more than in the four previous years combined, according to a new study that shows identity thieves are getting better at exploiting careless mistakes that leave companies vulnerable to attack. The number comes from a …

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Suspended NFL star Michael Vick told a bankruptcy court on Friday that his time in prison has given him a chance to think, and he’s realized he needs to make some changes. The ex-Atlanta Falcons quarterback, who is serving a 23-month prison sentence for bankrolling a …