SPB News for Wednesday.

Dollar sinks to new low against euro

European bank officials warn of high inflation; Bush: US not in recession.

Phillyburbs.com - News orgs appeal judge's decision to shield jurors' names (Wecht Case)

Prisoners allege forced drugging during US interrogations At least two dozen former and current detainees have alleged that they were either forcibly administered drugs or witnessed the forceful administration of drugs on other prisoners while in US custody, the Washington Post reported Tuesday. The detainees, held at Guantanamo Bay and other sites, said in interviews and court documents that they did not know what drugs they were given, but that they believed they were intended to make prisoners more pliant during interrogation.

U.S.: Iran "Hell-Bent" On Acquiring Nuclear Weapons U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Monday that Iran is "hell bent" on acquiring nuclear weapons, but he strongly warned of the consequences of going to war over that issue. Delivering a speech to the Corps of Cadets at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, Gates said, "Another war in the Middle East is the last thing we need and, in fact, I believe it would be disastrous on a number of levels."

Democrats seek resignation of top VA mental health official Two Democratic senators on Tuesday called for the chief mental health official of the Veterans Affairs Department to resign, saying he tried to cover up the rising number of veteran suicides. Sens. Daniel Akaka of Hawaii and Patty Murray of Washington state said Dr. Ira Katz, the VA's mental health director, withheld crucial information on the true suicide risk among veterans.

American accused of giving nuclear secrets to Israel U.S. authorities arrested an American engineer on Tuesday [Ben-Ami Kadish, a Connecticut-born U.S. citizen] on suspicion of giving secrets on nuclear weapons, fighter jets and air defense missiles to Israel during the 1980s, the Justice Department said.

Virtual fence on Mexican border to be replaced The government will replace its highly touted "virtual fence" on the Arizona-Mexico border with new towers, radars, cameras and computer software, scrapping the brand-new $20 million system because it doesn't work sufficiently, officials said. The move comes just two months after Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff officially accepted the completed fence from The Boeing Co. With the decision, Customs and Border Protection officials are acknowledging that the so-called Project 28 pilot program to detect illegal immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border doesn't work well enough to keep or to continue tweaking.

A Developer, His Deals and His Ties to McCain Donald R. Diamond, a wealthy Arizona real estate developer, was racing to snap up a stretch of virgin California coast freed by the closing of an Army base a decade ago when he turned to an old friend, Senator John McCain... In California, the McCain aide’s assistance with the Army helped Mr. Diamond complete a purchase in 1999 that he soon turned over for a $20 million profit. And Mr. McCain’s letter of recommendation reinforced Mr. Diamond’s selling point about his McCain connections as he pursued -- and won in 2005 -- a potentially much more lucrative deal to develop a resort hotel and luxury housing.