WASHINGTON (AP) — Supreme Court nominee John Roberts was told by the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Republican chairman Monday that lawmakers are irate about the court’s “disrespectful statements about Congress’ competence” and by its interference with congressional power. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., advised Roberts in a letter that he would question the nominee on his thoughts…

ALEXANDRIA BAY, N.Y. (AP) — Security officials gathered Monday at a Canadian border crossing to mark the first test of a radio frequency identification system to be used by foreign visitors. If successful, radio “tags” carried by travelers will be part of the standard registration process for those entering the United States. The technology is…

MIAMI (AP) — Researchers are using a $3 million National Science Foundation grant in an effort to learn why sudden, dramatic changes occur in the intensity of hurricanes. The study will focus on how the interaction between a storm’s outer rain bands and its inner eye can influence abrupt fluctuations in its strength. “While great…

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Jeanine Pirro, a high-profile prosecutor in the New York City suburbs, said Monday she will seek the Republican nomination to challenge Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton next year. Clinton, leaving a New York City event, ignored reporters’ shouted questions about Pirro’s announcement. Pirro said the former first lady is more interested in…

MIAMI (AP) — A federal study has found motorcycle fatalities in Florida increased more than 81 percent in the three years after state lawmakers repealed a law requiring riders to wear helmets. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study noted that some of the increase in fatalities could be attributed to alcohol use, speed and…

VIENNA, Austria (AP) — Both regimes are suspected of running covert nuclear weapons programs. Both are increasingly defiant, accusing Western envoys of meddling in what they insist is their right to develop peaceful nuclear technology. By refusing to blink or budge, Iran and North Korea have the international community scrambling to cool and contain two…

WASHINGTON (AP) — By month’s end, federal health officials will decide whether to let women buy emergency contraception without a prescription — and if so, if the morning-after pill will be treated more like aspirin off the shelf or like cigarettes. Regardless of how the Food and Drug Administration ends the two-year saga, it isn’t…

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve, responding to solid growth in the economy after a brief slowdown early in the year, is expected to keep raising interest rates. The Fed’s credit tightening campaign will keep mortgage rates and other consumer interest rates rising as well but at a pace that should slow only modestly the…

WASHINGTON (AP) — Housing prices are far outstripping salary increases for low- and moderate-income jobs, putting the American dream of owning a home beyond the reach of teachers, firefighters and other community workers in many cities, said a study being released Tuesday. The report, by a coalition advocating affordable housing, found that even cities once…

CRAWFORD, Texas (AP) — President Bush, upbeat about reports showing steady economic growth, is mapping out a fall agenda that includes reviving the debate over Social Security and pushing to overhaul the nation’s tax code. Bush and his economic advisers have good news to discuss Tuesday at the president’s Texas ranch, including last Friday’s report…