WASHINGTON — The Democratic-controlled House defeated legislation today to require the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq within nine months, then pivoted to a fresh challenge of President Bush's handling of the unpopular war.

The vote on the nine-month withdrawal measure was 255-171.

On a day of complex maneuvering, Democrats said they would approve legislation funding the war on an installment plan and Bush said he would veto it. But the president, under pressure from lawmakers in both parties, coupled his threat with an offer to compromise on a spending bill that sets standards for the Iraqi government.

"Time's running out, because the longer we wait the more strain we're going to put on the military," said Bush, who previously had insisted on what he termed a "clean" war funding bill.

Despite Bush's ability to sustain his vetoes in the House — as demonstrated last week — critics of the war insisted on challenging him anew.

U.S. files charges against Gitmo detainee accused of working as driver for Osama bin Laden

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The United States filed charges of conspiracy and providing support for terrorism today against a Guantanamo detainee accused of working as a driver and bodyguard for Osama bin Laden.

Salim Ahmed Hamdan is the third Guantanamo detainee to be charged under a new set of rules signed last year by President Bush after the Supreme Court rejected the previous system.

Hamdan, who is from Yemen, has been detained at Guantanamo since May 2002. It was his legal challenge that forced the Bush administration and Congress to draft new rules for the military trials, known as commissions, for the men held at the Guantanamo Bay detention center in eastern Cuba.

In the charging documents, the military said Hamdan conspired with bin Laden and other al-Qaida leaders in the bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, the attack on the USS Cole in 2000, and the terrorist attacks in the United States on Sept. 11, 2001.

In addition to working as bin Laden's driver and bodyguard, the U.S. said Hamdan transported and delivered weapons to al-Qaida and its associates and trained at terrorist camps.

California jury convicts engineer of conspiring to steal U.S. military secrets for China

SANTA ANA, Calif. — Jurors convicted a Chinese-born engineer today of conspiring to export U.S. defense technology to China, including data on an electronic propulsion system that could make submarines virtually undetectable.

Chi Mak also was found guilty of acting as an unregistered foreign agent, attempting to violate export control laws and making false statements to the FBI. Prosecutors had dropped a charge of actually exporting defense articles.

When the verdict was read, Mak at first showed no emotion but then appeared to hold back tears as defense attorney Marilyn Bednarski teared up and rubbed his back. Defense attorney Ron Kaye's face was flush.

Mak faces up to 35 years in prison when he is sentenced Sept. 10.

The government accused Mak, a naturalized U.S. citizen, of taking thousands of pages of documents from his defense contractor employer, Power Paragon of Anaheim, and giving them to his brother, who passed them along to Chinese authorities over a number of years.

Bush looks for Iraq support from likely British Prime Minister Brown, praises ally Blair

WASHINGTON — President Bush expressed optimism today about the future of British policy toward Iraq under Gordon Brown, the apparent successor to Prime Minister Tony Blair, declaring that Brown "understands the consequences of failure."

Bush said that in discussions with Brown, he found him "to be easy to talk to, a good thinker."

Speaking with reporters, Bush said he will miss Blair, his close ally in the Iraq war, who announced today his decision to step down on June 27. Brown, Britain's treasury chief, is the apparent successor, but Bush was careful to point out that the final decision was yet to be made.

A month ago, Brown met with Bush for the first time without Blair being present. The two spoke for a half hour after Bush dropped in on a meeting between Brown and U.S. National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley. Brown was in Washington for meetings at the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

"I have found him to be an open and engaging person," Bush said.

Confident Gonzales parries questions about U.S. attorney firings

WASHINGTON — Attorney General Alberto Gonzales confidently deflected House Democrats' demands today for details in the firings of U.S. attorneys, appearing ever more likely to survive accusations that the dismissals were politically motivated.

Republican lawmakers rushed to Gonzales' defense as the attorney general denied anew that the firings last year were improper.

The mostly muted five-hour hearing in front of the House Judiciary Committee was a sharp contrast to Gonzales' sometimes testy appearance three weeks ago when Senate Republicans questioned his competence to run the Justice Department. One senator at that session joined a small GOP chorus saying he should step down.

"I will work as hard as I can, working with this committee and working with DOJ employees, to reassure the American people that this department is focused on doing its job," Gonzales said today.

That didn't satisfy exasperated Democrats who accused Gonzales of being evasive.

Purdue Pharma and executives plead guilty to misleading public about OxyContin addiction

ROANOKE, Va. — The maker of the powerful painkiller OxyContin and three of its current and former executives pleaded guilty today to misleading the public about the drug's risk of addiction, a federal prosecutor and the company said.

Purdue Pharma L.P., its president, top lawyer and former chief medical officer will pay $634.5 million in fines for claiming the drug was less addictive and less subject to abuse than other pain medications, U.S. Attorney John Brownlee said.

The plea agreement settled a national case and came two days after the Stamford, Conn.-based company agreed to pay $19.5 million to 26 states and the District of Columbia to settle complaints that it encouraged physicians to overprescribe OxyContin.

"With its OxyContin, Purdue unleashed a highly abusable, addictive, and potentially dangerous drug on an unsuspecting and unknowing public," Brownlee said. "For these misrepresentations and crimes, Purdue and its executives have been brought to justice."

Privately held Purdue learned from focus groups with physicians in 1995 that doctors were worried about the abuse potential of OxyContin. The company then gave false information to its sales representatives that the drug had less potential for addiction and abuse than other painkillers, the U.S. attorney said.

DIET: Thin people may be fat on the inside, doctors warn; exercise key, rather than dieting

LONDON — If it really is what's on the inside that counts, then a lot of thin people might be in trouble. Some doctors now think that the internal fat surrounding vital organs like the heart, liver or pancreas — invisible to the naked eye — could be as dangerous as the more obvious external fat that bulges underneath the skin.

"Being thin doesn't automatically mean you're not fat," said Dr. Jimmy Bell, a professor of molecular imaging at Imperial College, London. Since 1994, Bell and his team have scanned nearly 800 people with MRI machines to create "fat maps" showing where people store fat.

According to the data, people who maintain their weight through diet rather than exercise are likely to have major deposits of internal fat, even if they are otherwise slim. "The whole concept of being fat needs to be redefined," said Bell, whose research is funded by Britain's Medical Research Council.

Without a clear warning signal — like a rounder middle — doctors worry that thin people may be lulled into falsely assuming that because they're not overweight, they're healthy.

"Just because someone is lean doesn't make them immune to diabetes or other risk factors for heart disease," said Dr. Louis Teichholz, chief of cardiology at Hackensack Hospital in New Jersey, who was not involved in Bell's research.

Tribunal rules that pop star Sting and his wife, Trudie Styler, wrongly fired their chef

LONDON — An employment tribunal ruled today that Sting and his wife, Trudie Styler, discriminated against their chef by firing her after she became pregnant.

The couple, who face having to make a substantial compensation payment, said they were "devastated" by the ruling. The level of compensation will be decided at a June 8 hearing.

Jane Martin, 41, said she had worked for the 55-year-old pop star and Styler for eight years, cooking meals for them and guests including Madonna and Elton John. She said Styler grew unhappy after Martin became pregnant in 2005, making her work long hours and growing angry when she took time off work because of illness.

Martin, who accused Styler of having a "grandiose ego," left her job under disputed circumstances in April 2006.

In its ruling, the panel at an employment tribunal in Southampton, southern England, said Martin had been unlawfully dismissed by Lake House Estate, Sting and Styler's management company, and was a victim of sexual discrimination.

Stocks decline after disappointing retail reports, widening trade deficit

NEW YORK — Wall Street retreated sharply today, slicing nearly 150 points off the Dow Jones industrial average after weak sales at many of the nation's major retailers heightened concerns about consumer spending.

The day's economic news, which also included a disquieting trade deficit figure, appeared to give investors the rationale they were looking for to cash in some of the market's recent gains. Analysts have been saying the surging stock market, which had pushed the Dow up more than 1,000 points since the beginning of March, was due for a pullback.

Companies including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., J.C. Penney Co. and Federated Department Stores Inc. said business fell in April, hurt by rising gasoline prices. Though many retail stocks had respectable gains today, the reports raised worries that retail sales data from the Commerce Department Friday will also disappoint, and suggest that the economy is slower than previously thought.

The downturn in stocks followed a rise yesterday that pushed the Dow to its 21st record close of the year, after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged and reiterated that while the economy has slowed, inflation remains the central bank's primary concern. today's sluggish retail sales and widening trade gap raised concerns that, while a rate cut may be necessar##chairman and chief investment officer of Johnson Illington Advisors. "Things are not good out there in economy land."

Rory Sabbatini and Phil Mickelson share early lead at The Players Championship

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — The wind was strong enough to knock branches from palm trees and keep Tiger Woods without a birdie on his card for the first time in four years. It really got blustery when Rory Sabbatini completed a 5-under 67 today to share the early lead with Phil Mickelson at The Players Championship.

Sabbatini, a pint-sized South African, is not short on confidence, even after calling out Woods last week and losing to him.

"I think he's more beatable than ever," Sabbatini said.

In a grueling start on the refurbished TPC Sawgrass, where gusts reached 39 mph and made the island green look even more terrifying, Woods wasn't much of a threat to anyone. He had only four good looks at birdie, three-putted three times and had to save par from 90 feet behind the green on his final hole for a 3-over 75, matching his highest score at The Players.