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The surge in Baghdad's sectarian violence in recent weeks means Iraq is closer to civil war, according to two of the Pentagon's most senior generals. Gen. John Abizaid, chief of U.S. Central Command, and General Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

On the second day of his visit to the United States, Chinese President Hu Jintao says China is taking steps to reduce its huge trade surplus with the United States, a gap that stood at $200 billion in 2005. Hu spoke to workers at a Boeing plant in Everett, Wash.

Israel decides not to expand its 17-day-old offensive in Lebanon, one day after its soldiers suffered their bloodiest day in the battle against Hezbollah. Nine soldiers were killed Wednesday, and almost two dozen wounded, in two Lebanese towns near Israel's northern border.

Bob Grenier was removed in February as head of the CIA's Counterterrorism Center. The rumor at the time was that Grenier was sacked for objecting to aggressive interrogation and rendition practices. But Grenier insists it was actually because of a personality clash.

In his first public communication since December 2004, Osama bin Laden says in an audiotape broadcast that al Qaeda is preparing attacks inside the United States. The CIA has confirmed that the voice on the tape is that of the al Qaeda leader. The taped statement aired on Al-Jazeera Thursday.

Nigeria will no longer protect former Liberian President Charles Taylor, paving the way for a war-crimes trial. Taylor was in exile in Nigeria. David Crane, former prosecutor for the International War Crimes Tribunal for West Africa, offers his insights on the case.

A case of mad cow disease is confirmed in the United States, the second to be found here. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns emphasized that the cow never entered the food supply and was not used as feed for other cattle. The first case came in December 2003.

In Iraq, insurgents conducted attacks across the country Tuesday, killing more than 20 people, including several Iraqi policemen and a U.S. soldier. In Washington, top Pentagon officials encouraged Iraqis to finish work on a new constitution on schedule.

The Organization of American States opens its annual meeting in Florida, with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice acting as host. Rice has said she hopes to use the Ft. Lauderdale meeting to urge the 34-member organization to find better mechanisms to protect what she called "fragile" democracies.

New England is experiencing what may be the region's worst-ever outbreak of red tide, an algae bloom that has infected shellfish beds along the coast from Maine to Cape Cod. Pam Belluck of The New York Times and Liane Hansen discuss the red tide's effects.