Iraq claims no intention of exploiting U.S. war

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraq says it has been warned by the United States to expect a "crushing" reply if it tries to exploit instability following the Sept. 11 terror attacks on New York and Washington.

Iraq responded it was not afraid of the United States, a statement on the exchange said Thursday by the Information Ministry.

The ministry said the U.S. envoy to the United Nations, John Negroponte, contacted Iraq's U.N. envoy Sunday, the day the United States began its retaliatory bombing of Afghanistan.

Policies keep millions from health insurance

WASHINGTON -- Millions of Americans lack health insurance and, with the economy floundering, that is likely to increase, the National Academy of Sciences reported Thursday.

"Unless health insurance is made more affordable, the number of uninsured Americans is likely to continue growing over time," said Mary Sue Coleman, co-chairwoman of the committee that wrote the report. She also is president of the Iowa Health System and the University of Iowa, Iowa City.

The report is the first of six planned by the Institute of Medicine over two years.

The series is planned to find out who lacks health insurance and why, determine what the consequences are and provide the groundwork for debate on how to correct the problem.

Air Force launches third spy satellite

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A secret satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office rocketed into space amid heightened security.

Wednesday night's launch was the third in just over a month of a classified NRO satellite, and had been scheduled long before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

For security reasons, the Air Force did not reveal the exact time of Wednesday's launch until 1 1/2 hours before the 10:32 p.m. liftoff.

No details about the satellite were given out. But Aviation Week & Space Technology, a trade magazine, reported that the payload was a data-relay satellite designed to transfer images and other information from U.S. spy satellites to the CIA and the Defense Department.

Bank finds $10 million for heirs of Holocaust

GENEVA -- Heirs of Holocaust victims have received $10 million from a massive search of Swiss bank accounts dormant since World War II, an international tribunal said Thursday.

The settlement ended a four-year effort to satisfy claims by relatives of people who had deposited money in Swiss banks and later were killed by the Nazis.

There were successful claims for 207 accounts believed owned by people who became victims of the Holocaust, said the Claims Resolution Tribunal.

Claimants received a total of $10 million -- the amount in the accounts plus interest and a refund of bank fees.

Ill teacher accused of exposing children

ASHLAND, Mont. -- A substitute teacher infected with hepatitis C was charged with exposing five second-graders to the virus during a demonstration of drawing blood.

Charles Halvorson, 55, pricked the fingers of students at Ashland Public School with the same needle he used to puncture his own finger shortly after a school assembly about illegal drug and alcohol use, according to court documents.

Halvorson told people that he knew he was infected with the liver disease, knew it was contagious, knew it was spread by contact with blood and knew the virus could cause serious health problems, including death, court records said.

He told the second-graders he was diabetic and explained how he regulates his blood sugar through blood testing and insulin injections.

-- From wire reports