An immediate end to 'don't ask, don't tell' policy

SAN FRANCISCO - A federal appeals court ordered the U.S. government on Wednesday to immediately cease enforcing the ban on openly gay members of the military, a move that could speed the repeal of the 17-year-old rule.

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said the "don't ask, don't tell" policy must be lifted now that the Obama administration has concluded it's unconstitutional to treat gay Americans differently under the law. The appeals court noted that Congress repealed the policy in December and that the Pentagon is preparing to certify that it is ready to welcome gay military personnel.

Pentagon officials said Wednesday that they will comply with the court order and are taking immediate steps to inform commanders in the field. Col. Dave Lapan, Pentagon spokesman, said the department is studying the ruling.

Gay rights advocates said without an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court - which seems unlikely since the Pentagon already is committed to repealing the rule - the government now is barred from discharging gay or lesbian servicemembers anywhere in the world.

"The ruling ...removes all uncertainty - American servicemembers are no longer under threat of discharge as the repeal implementation process goes forward," said R. Clarke Cooper, Log Cabin Republicans executive director.

Cantor flexible, but Obama digs in on tax breaks

WASHINGTON - As a top House Republican signaled new flexibility on White House demands to close wasteful or ineffective tax loopholes, President Barack Obama responded with some of his harshest political rhetoric to date in advance of today's negotiating session on the budget.

Wednesday's salvo came hours after House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., opened the door to closing wasteful or unfair tax loopholes in the battle over a must-pass proposal to increase the government's borrowing authority. Obama suggested that Republicans are using the debt limit measure "as a gun against the heads" of Americans to retain breaks for corporate jet owners or oil and gas companies.

"If the president wants to talk loopholes, we'll be glad to talk loopholes," Cantor said, adding that revenues raised from those revisions "should be coupled with offsetting tax cuts somewhere else."

Shortly thereafter, at a White House Twitter town hall, Obama fired a sharp response. It was far more partisan than the language he used Tuesday to invite top lawmakers in both parties to the White House to move the budget talks forward. They've been stalled since a bipartisan group led by Vice President Joe Biden broke up last month after Republicans declared an impasse on taxes.

U.S. warnsairlines of 'implant' bombs

WASHINGTON - Airlines are being warned by the government that terrorists are considering surgically hiding bombs inside humans to evade airport security. And as a result, travelers may find themselves subjected to more scrutiny when flying in the heart of summer vacation season, especially to the U.S. from abroad.

Bombs-in-the body is not a brand new idea, but recent intelligence indicates a fresh interest in using this method, as people-scanning machines in airports aren't able to detect explosives hidden inside humans. Still, there is no current information that points to a specific plot involving surgically implanted explosives, a U.S. security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss such sensitive matters.

As airport security has increased since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, so has the terrorists' creativity in developing methods to get around it. Aviation continues to be a special target, and evidence from Osama bin Laden's compound showed that the al-Qaida leader retained his fascination with attacking airplanes until his death in May.

Libyan rebels seize twowestern towns

TRIPOLI, Libya - Rebel fighters in western Libya seized two mountain towns from government troops Wednesday as their counterparts east of the capital Tripoli suffered heavy losses in intense fighting with government troops.

Meanwhile, the embattled regime of Moammar Gadhafi sought to show it remains in control of the country, laying out plans to try rebel leaders for treason in court next week.

In the eastern rebel stronghold of Benghazi, tens of thousands of rebel supporters poured into the city's main square for a rally aimed at sustaining momentum for their nearly five month-old uprising. Fighting began in February when a popular movement against Gadhafi quickly escalated into armed conflict.

Nuclear weapons lab reopens as fire danger fades

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Smoke still hung in the air from a northern New Mexico wildfire that came dangerously close to the nation's premier nuclear weapons laboratory, but life was returning to normal Wednesday as thousands of employees showed up for their first day of work in more than a week.

Although the threat to Los Alamos National Laboratory and the town that surrounds it has passed, the largest fire in New Mexico's history continued to burn in remote areas. The fire, which began last month, had forced the closure of the lab along with the evacuation of thousands of residents in nearby communities.

Lab officials say they have a "methodical and careful" plan to resume operations suspended by the blaze known as the Las Conchas fire. The lab had some 10,000 experiments running that were put on hold because of the fire and the evacuations.

- The Associated Press