WASHINGTON - President George Bush was told U.S. troop levels in Iraq would stay the same in 2008 as any other time during the five-year-old war, military officials said.Bush didn't announce a final decision on future troop levels after his video conference with Gen. David Petraeus, commander of U.S. troops in Iraq, and Ryan Crocker, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq. However, the recommendation is any major U.S. troop reductions would be left to the next president, ... [full story]

ARLINGTON, Va. - Northern Virginia investigators believe a rattlesnake that bit a high school coach crawled into the man's suitcase on its own.The small snake nipped Andrew Bacas on the hand Monday as he unpacked from a school trip to South Carolina. "He felt a sharp pain, brought his hand out and saw the bite," said Arlington County Assistant Fire Chief Benjamin Barksdale.Barksdale said Bacas quickly closed the bag and called 911. Firefighters blasted the ... [full story]

NEW YORK - Newly installed New York Gov. David Paterson has admitted he used marijuana and cocaine while in his 20s. Paterson admitted during an interview with a New York television station he tried cocaine "a couple of times" and marijuana "probably when I was about 20," Newsday reported. Paterson, 53, is the latest politician to admit to drug use in his younger days. Both ex-Gov. Eliot Spitzer and his Democratic primary challenger, Nassau County ... [full story]

PORTLAND, Ore. -- A 39-year old Portland OBGYN doctor was arrested and on Friday was indicted on almost a dozen crimes in connection with the alleged sexual abuse of two young children, deputies reported.   Thomas Lee - WCSO photo  Dr. Thomas Lee, 39, surrendered to Washington County Sheriff’s detectives last week, was arrested, and released on bail.  Following a grand jury indictment for four counts of first-degree unlawful sexual penetration and seven counts of first-degree sexual ... [full story]

SACRAMENTO - Researchers conclude that requiring U.S. motorists to use hands-free devices while talking on their cell phones won't necessarily improve their driving.The mental distractions caused by yakking is increasingly seen as a greater handicap to safe driving than having only one hand on the steering wheel. "There is a common misperception that hands-free phones are safer when the research clearly suggests that they they're both equally risky," said Arthur Goodwin, a researcher at the University ... [full story]

ATLANTA - Less than 1 percent of the average 28,000 daily U.S. commercial airline flights have armed federal air marshals on board, a CNN investigation found.The investigation found the low numbers even as the Transportation Security Administration recently conducted tests in which it could smuggle guns and bomb-making materials through airport security checkpoints, CNN said Tuesday. The air marshal program began in 1970 and expanded after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The marshals were seen ... [full story]

VANCOUVER, Wash. - Sheriff's deputies in rural Washington answered a call of gunshots at the home of figure skater Tonya Harding but say they found nothing amiss.A spokesman for the Clark County Sheriff's Department told the Vancouver Colombian a 911 call reported someone firing a high-powered rifle at or near Harding's home.A deputy responded and talked to the reporting party, but otherwise found nothing going on and did not even file a report on the ... [full story]

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Defense Department reported Tuesday it accidentally sent non-nuclear ballistic missile components to Taiwan.Four nose cone fuses for intercontinental ballistic missiles were shipped instead of the helicopter batteries Taiwan requested, CNN reported.The Defense Department said it has repossessed the fuses from Taiwan and Chinese officials have been notified. © 2008 United Press International. All Rights Reserved. [full story]

DETROIT - Detroit's head prosecutor plans to put Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick on trial regardless of whether he chooses to resign or remain in office.Kilpatrick faced arraignment Tuesday on a dozen felony counts and has so far vowed to stay in office and fight charges, which include perjury and stem from the city's settling of a police whistle-blower lawsuit. Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy told the Detroit free Press there has been no indication that Kilpatrick will ... [full story]

OTTAWA - Canadians have no shortage of reasons for cheating on their income taxes, a study done for the Canada Revenue Agency showed.The newly released study by Page Research Corp., conducted last November said Canadians in 20 focus groups interviewed last fall gave reasons for cheating on taxes such as payback for government waste and the perception it isn't a serious crime, the Ottawa Citizen reported. Among those who answered "yes" to the question about whether ... [full story]