NEW YORK - Vice President Dick Cheney unleashed a stinging attack on Sen. John Kerry Wednesday night, ridiculing him as a politician who has made a career out of changing his mind. "More wrong, more weak and more wobbly than any other national figure," agreed Sen.

EAGLE, Colo. - The criminal case against Kobe Bryant case collapsed Wednesday as prosecutors said they had no choice but to drop the sexual assault charge because the NBA star's accuser no longer wanted to participate. Bryant, whose trial had been days from opening arguments, responded with an apology to the woman who had accused him and whose civil suit for damages is still pending.

Due to the success of its 4-week trial run in March, the Collegiate Readership Program will return to Texas A&M this year. The program provides free Monday through Friday issues of the Dallas Morning News, the New York Times, the Houston Chronicle and USA Today to all A&M students at nine on-campus locations.

The Presidential Task Force, appointed by Texas A&M President Robert M. Gates has been asked by Brazos County District Attorney Bill Turner to suspend investigations until the completion of a criminal investigation. "Law enforcement has an obligation when someone dies of unnatural causes to evaluate the case until we're completely convinced it was not criminal," Turner said.

The Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine recently changed its name to the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (CVMBS) to reflect the college's commitment in biomedical research and attract more high quality faculty and students. The CVMBS attracted $20 million per year for past three years for basic biomedical research.

SALT LAKE CITY - A judge unsealed an indictment Wednesday against a homeless street preacher accused of kidnapping Elizabeth Smart, a day after the self-proclaimed prophet was ruled competent to stand trial. The grand jury indictment of Brian David Mitchell, returned last September but kept under wraps, includes kidnapping and sexual assault charges against him and his wife, Wanda Barzee.

FORT LEWIS, Wash. - A soldier accused of trying to pass military secrets to al-Qaida suffers from bipolar disorder and other mental health problems, a psychologist testified at his court-martial Wednesday. "He has been an outsider, a social misfit, most of his life," psychologist Jack Norris said of Spc.

WASHINGTON - The war on terror might eventually be won, depending on one's definition of winning. Victory might mean a drop in the number of terror attacks, or a drop in the death tolls they inflict. But almost no one foresees a complete end to terror tactics that have succeeded in getting attention for Islamic extremists and others.

BESLAN, Russia - Armed militants with explosives strapped to their bodies stormed a Russian school in a region bordering Chechnya on Wednesday, corralling hundreds of hostages - many of them children - into a gymnasium and threatening to blow up the building if surrounding Russian troops attacked.

PANAMA CITY, Panama -Martin Torrijos, the son of a former dictator, took office as Panama's president Wednesday promising jobs, better relations with Cuba and a referendum on a proposed $8 billion expansion of the Panama Canal. Torrijos said Panamanians should decide on the proposal to widen the canal for a new generation of bigger ships because of its high cost for this poor nation, where 40 percent of the people live in poverty.

PROVIDENCIALES, Turks and Caicos - Hurricane Frances battered the Turks and Caicos islands with stinging rains and powerful winds Wednesday, peeling off tin roofs from wooden houses and knocking out power before churning toward the Bahamas and threatened Florida.