WASHINGTON — Al-Qaida is using its growing strength in Pakistan and Iraq to plot attacks on U.S. soil, heightening the terror threat facing the United States over the next few years, intelligence agencies concluded in a report unveiled Tuesday.

At the same time, the intelligence analysts worry that international cooperation against terrorism will be hard to sustain as memories of Sept. 11 fade and nations' views diverge on what the real threat is.

In the report prepared for President Bush and other top policymakers, analysts laid out a range of dangers — from al-Qaida to Lebanese Hezbollah to non-Muslim radical groups — that pose a "persistent and evolving threat" to the country over the next three years.

The findings focused most heavily on Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network, which was judged to remain the most serious threat to the United States. The group's affiliate in Iraq, which has not yet posed a direct threat to U.S. soil, could do just that, the report concluded. Al-Qaida in Iraq threatened to attack the United States in a Web statement last September.

The Iraqi affiliate also helps al-Qaida more broadly as it tries to energize Sunni Muslim extremists around the globe, raise resources and recruit and indoctrinate operatives — "including for homeland attacks," according to a declassified summary of the report's main findings.

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DEMOCRATS FORCE OVERNIGHT SENATE SESSION

WASHINGTON — Democrats pushed the Senate toward an attention-grabbing, all-night session Tuesday to dramatize opposition to the Iraq war, but conceded they were unlikely to gain the votes needed to advance troop withdrawal legislation blocked by Republicans.

"Our enemies aren't threatened by talk-a-thons, and our troops deserve better than publicity stunts," said Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader.

McConnell and many other Republicans favor waiting until September before considering any changes to the Bush administration's current policy. They have vowed to block a final vote on the Democrats' attempt to require a troop withdrawal to begin within 120 days.

"We have no alternative except to keep them in session to explain their obstruction," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.

So far, the legislation has drawn the support of three Republicans, Sens. Gordon Smith of Oregon, Olympia Snowe of Maine and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska.

With a test vote set for Wednesday — capping a day and night of debate — Democratic officials conceded they were likely to get 52 or 53 votes at most. That's well short of the 60 needed to force a final vote on the measure.

While the issue was momentous — a war more than four years in duration, costing more than 3,600 U.S. troops their lives — the proceedings were thick with politics.

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VETERANS AFFAIRS CHIEF NICHOLSON RESIGNS

WASHINGTON — VA Secretary Jim Nicholson abruptly resigned Tuesday after months of the Bush administration struggling to defend charges of shoddy healthcare for veterans injured in the Iraq war.

Nicholson, a former Republican National Committee chairman and a Vietnam veteran, was picked by President Bush to head the Veterans Affairs Department in 2005. Planning to return to the private sector, he said his resignation is to take effect no later than Oct. 1.

Nicholson, 69, is the latest in a line of senior officials heading for the exits in the final 1 1/2 years of the Bush administration.

"It has been an honor and privilege to lead the VA during this historic time for our men and women who have worn the uniform," Nicholson said in a statement. "We have accomplished so much and the VA is always striving to improve our services to veterans."

His resignation comes amid intense political and public scrutiny of the Pentagon and VA following reports of shoddy outpatient care of injured troops and veterans at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and elsewhere.

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ROMNEY CAMPAIGN SHOWS PROFICIENCY

BOSTON — Mitt Romney's campaign found 9,732 ways to spend its money last quarter. From a $15 service fee for its travel agent to $300 for makeup work to $31,500 to rent the Boston Red Sox's Fenway Park for a celebratory barbecue, the Republican presidential contender was anything but fiscally conservative in spending money as fast as he raised it between April and June.

Based on the report Romney filed with the Federal Election Commission over the weekend, his spending was so prolific he had to lend his committee $6.5 million during the quarter, allowing him to cover the difference between $20.5 million he spent and the $14 million he raised.

That loan also means that, for all intents and purposes, Romney has personally paid for every second of the $4.9 million in television ads his campaign has aired since he formally declared his candidacy in February.

And while the former venture capitalist's personal wealth may be declining, that of his cadre of Washington advisers is skyrocketing. Barbara Comstock, a former Justice Department official who is an expert in opposition research, is being paid $15,000 per month. Patton Boggs, the well-connected Washington law firm, is on a $35,000 monthly retainer.

Alex Castellanos, Romney's media adviser, may be doing best of all. All of Romney's advertising money — $4.9 million — has flowed through his Virginia firm, National Media Inc., and its affiliate, Midnight Ride Media. Political ad firms typically make a commission as high as 15 percent, which would leave Castellanos with up to $732,000 for the quarter if Romney did not negotiate a flat fee or lower commission rate.

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FRUIT, VEGGIES DON'T STOP CANCER RETURN

CHICAGO — Hopes that a diet low in fat and chock-full of fruits and vegetables could prevent the return of breast cancer were dashed Tuesday by a large, seven-year experiment in more than 3,000 women.

The government study found no benefit from a mega-veggies-and-fruit diet over the U.S. recommended servings of five fruits and vegetables a day — more than most Americans get.

Researchers noted that none of the breast cancer survivors lost weight on either diet. That led some experts to suggest that weight loss and exercise should be the next frontier for cancer prevention research. The study appears in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association.

"It sends us back to the drawing board," said Susan Gapstur of Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, who wasn't involved in the new study but co-wrote an accompanying editorial in the journal.

"Should we really have focused on dietary components like fruits, vegetables and fat?" Gapstur asked. "Or should we be focusing, in addition to diet, on lifestyle factors including physical activity and weight?"

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'PRIMETIME' TO FOLLOW BALDWIN THROUGH REHAB

NEW YORK — Daniel Baldwin opened up about his cocaine addiction in a series of confessional video diaries, taped at various stages of his treatment, that were to be shown Tuesday night on ABC News' "Primetime."

Baldwin, brother of actors William, Stephen and Alec Baldwin, allowed "Primetime" to chart his progress through a three-month drug treatment program at Renaissance Malibu, in Malibu, Calif. He taped more than 19 video entries for "Primetime."

"I've been very thorough in my recovery, and identified where I am powerless," the 46-year-old actor said. "And I'm truly powerless over cocaine. There's no question about that in my life."

Last year, police said they found Baldwin and another man in a Santa Monica motel, along with cocaine and drug paraphernalia. Prosecutors declined to file felony charges.