WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Army equipped helmets for soldiers with the 101st Airborne Division with sensors to monitor concussive effects of nearby explosions.The device, described as "basically a computer chip in a helmet" by one official, monitors 527 percussive events ranging from a drop on the ground to a bomb blast. The device weighs 6 ounces and comes equipped with a battery life of six months, USA Today said Thursday.Army officials said they intend to ... [full story]

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- A newly-resigned U.S. circuit judge in Chattanooga, Tenn., is battling to suppress an audiotape purportedly containing sounds of torture.At a hearing Wednesday, Sgt. Bill Phillips of the Chattanooga Police Department said former Judge John Hagler is not considered a suspect, but the tape is part of an ongoing investigation into the 1997 shooting death of an Episcopal priest, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported.The tape apparently was taken from Hagler's office by ... [full story]

MOSCOW -- The Russian government's desire for a Cyrillic Internet suggests an attempt to oversee Web access despite claims of Internet security, a British newspaper said.Kremlin officials are looking at imposing greater control over the Russian-language portion of the Internet by creating a Web that uses the Cyrillic alphabet, the Guardian said Thursday.There are technical issues regarding top-level domain names as the ASCII suffix ".ru" translates to ".py" in Cyrillic -- the domain name for ... [full story]

JERUSALEM -- Israel will ask the Bush administration to safeguard its security interests and demands in any final-state agreements regarding the Palestinian territories.Israel will seek an understanding with the U.S. government preserving Israel's security interests and supporting its security demands before a settlement is reached in any Israeli-Palestinian arrangement, Haaretz said Thursday.The Israelis want to retain autonomy in their counter-terrorism activities in the West Bank and establish limitations on the defense capabilities of any future ... [full story]

ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia -- A Bulgarian cargo sank Wednesday in a winter storm in the Sea of Azov between Russia and Ukraine, killing at least five of its crew of 11, local media said.Russia's Novosti news agency said 10 of the crew aboard the Vanessa were Bulgarian and the pilot was from Ukraine.The distress signal went out at 2 a.m. as the men took to lifeboats but bad weather hampered rescue efforts by a Ukrainian tugboat ... [full story]

NEW YORK -- U.S. late-night TV hosts David Letterman, Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien, off the air since November, keyed jokes on the writers' strike that kept them off the air."Late Show with David Letterman" was the first late-night TV show to go back on the air with its writers, thanks to an independent deal made between the striking Writers Guild of America and Letterman's Worldwide Pants production company.The WGA has been on strike against ... [full story]

SCRANTON, Pa. -- Police in Pennsylvania arrested a priest on perjury charges in relation to grand jury testimony about a relationship with an organized crime boss.Police arrested the Rev. Joseph F. Sica Wednesday on perjury charges relating to his testimony in the case of an acquaintance, Louis DeNaples, accused of lying on a slot-machine license application, the Harrisburg (Pa.) Patriot-News reported Thursday.Sica denied a personal relationship with the late Russell Bufalino, an organized crime boss, ... [full story]

SAN FRANCISCO -- A San Francisco woman said three of the men attacked by a tiger at the city zoo Christmas Day had been harassing the big cats beforehand.Jennifer Miller told the San Francisco Chronicle she, her husband and two children saw a group of four young men outside the enclosure."The boys, especially the older one, were roaring at them. He was taunting them," she said. "The lion was bristling, so I just said, 'Come ... [full story]

STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- Two buses collided head-on in central Sweden Thursday, killing one person and injuring as many as 60 others, police reported.The wreck involved a Russian tourist bus and a city bus near Gagnef, 150 miles northwest of Stockholm, The Local newspaper reported.Bo Eriksson, spokesman for Dalarna County Police, said seven of the 60 people hurt were listed in serious condition.It had been snowing before the crash but police hadn't determined a cause for ... [full story]

GAZA -- Israeli soldiers shelled a house in central Gaza Thursday, killing four people and injuring 16 others, Israeli media reported.Witnesses told Ynetnews.com several of the people injured were in critical condition. The news agency said it was unclear if the house was deliberately targeted or hit randomly in running battles with Palestinian militants. Israeli forces have staged such attacks in retaliation for rocket attacks from Gaza.Witnesses said at least 30 people were in the ... [full story]