AP - Insurgents brought down a Russian-made helicopter carrying 11 civilians with missile fire north of the capital Thursday and said they captured and shot to death the lone crew member who survived. The dead from the crash included six American bodyguards for U.S. diplomats.
AP - Pope Benedict XVI reinforced his caretaker image Thursday, reappointing the entire Vatican hierarchy chosen by his populist predecessor, John Paul II. At the same time, the new pontiff sought to dispel any impression that he was aloof or dour.
AP - The Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly approved $81 billion for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in a spending bill that would push the total cost of combat and reconstruction past $300 billion.
The Islamic Army in Iraq claimed responsibility for shooting down a helicopter Thursday and killing all 11 people onboard -- one of them apparently executed after surviving the crash. Among the dead were six American employees of the security firm Blackwater USA, three Bulgarian crew members and two Fijian security guards. The Bulgarian Defense Ministry said missile fire downed the chopper, and U.S. military sources suspect that was the case.
A police officer who once moonlighted as a security guard at Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch returned to the witness stand again for more cross-examination Thursday as the pop star's child molestation trial resumed.