■ United StatesTerror provision struck down
In a blow to the US Justice Department's post-Sept. 11 powers, a federal judge said the government's ability to conduct secret and unchallengable searches of Internet and telephone records violates the Constitution. US District Judge Victor Marrero on Wednesday struck down a Patriot Act provision that allowed the FBI to gather phone and Web customer records and prevent service providers from disclosing the search took place. While Marrero called national security of "paramount value," he called personal security equal in importance and "especially prized in our system of justice."
■ United Kingdom
Actress carrying Jacko twins
An actress based in Los Angeles is carrying the twins of Michael Jackson, conceived in vitro, and plans to give birth in the UK, the Sun newspaper reported yesterday. Sholeh Bocchelli, 35, told the tabloid she had originally been pregnant with quads after IVF treatment with the singer, but had two of the babies aborted to save the others on the advice of doctors. Bocchelli is reported to be in hiding in the US after receiving death threats from what the Sun described as deranged Jackson fans. "She moved into a secret home and virtually never leaves. She is terrified something will happen to her and her babies," the usually reliable tabloid's source said. Jackson, 45, has denied on his Web site he is the father of the twins.
■ United States
Shots fired in recipe row
A family meal erupted into a gun battle after a father and son in Bluewell, West Virginia, clashed over how to cook chicken. The two men argued on Sunday over the best way to prepare skinless chicken for dinner. Detective Sergeant A.D. Beasley of the Mercer County Sheriff's Department said each man fired a .22-caliber handgun at the other. Harley Shrader was struck by a bullet that went through the upper part of his right ear and lodged in the back of his head. He was treated at a hospital and released. The elder Shrader was not injured.
■ United States
You do need that coffee
It's official -- you really do need that coffee in the morning and if you don't get it, you really are in withdrawal, researchers said on Wednesday. As little as one cup of coffee a day can produce caffeine addiction, researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore said. "When people don't get their usual dose they can suffer a range of withdrawal symptoms, including headache, fatigue and difficulty concentrating. They may even feel like they have the flu with nausea and muscle pain," said Roland Griffiths, a professor of psychiatry and neuroscience who led a review of 170 years' worth of studies on caffeine.
■ Australia
Child porn raids net 150
Australian police have arrested more than 150 people and expect to charge hundreds more in a massive nationwide crackdown on Internet child pornography, officials announced yesterday. Those already charged after raids this week on more than 400 premises across Australia include policemen, health workers and an owner of three child care centers. Some 2,000 charges had already been laid for offences including child sex tourism, sexual abuse and possession or distribution of pornographic images of children, Justice Minister Chris Ellison said. He said police found some libraries of child pornographic material dating back 20 years and photographic studios set up in suburban homes.
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