In the letter, Iran said the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency had repeatedly allowed confidential information crucial to the country's security to be leaked.

      The IAEA, in response, urged Iran to reconsider, saying the decision would be in defiance of the monitor's 35-nation board. Both the Iranian document and the confidential IAEA response were made available to The Associated Press.

      The exchange reflected heightened tensions arising from Iran's refusal to heed the U.N. Security Council and freeze uranium enrichment and the council's decision last Saturday to increase sanctions in response.

      The IAEA also is waiting for Iran to respond to its requests to install remote cameras at key locations at Iran's underground enrichment plant at Natanz.

     The story with Iran just keeps getting more and more interesting.

     WASHINGTON (AP) - "The Bush administration, facing heavy pressure to deal with soaring trade deficits, said Friday it is imposing economic sanctions against China to protect American paper producers from unfair Chinese government subsidies.

      The action reverses 23 years of U.S. trade policy by treating China, which is classified as a nonmarket economy, in the same way that other U.S. trading partners are treated in disputes involving government subsidies.

      The decision was announced by Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez..."

     OKLAHOMA CITY (Fox)—  "A massive spring storm spawned dozens of tornadoes from the Rockies to the Plains, killing at least four people in three states, including a woman who was flung into a tree by a twister as wide as two football fields.

      Sixty-five tornadoes were reported late Wednesday in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Colorado and Nebraska, the National Weather Service said. The storms continued Thursday afternoon, with a tornado critically injuring two people in central Oklahoma.

      In Colorado, Rosemary Rosales, 28, was found critically injured in the tree after the huge tornado destroyed several homes and damaged dozens of others in Holly, a town of 1,000 people about 235 miles southeast of Denver near the Kansas line.

      "All they heard was this big ugly noise, and they didn't have no time to run," said Victoria Rosales, the victim's sister..."

     Now we're starting to see more of that "Wrath of Nature" stuff everyone is always hearing about.

     WASHINGTON (Reuters) - "Sliding U.S. house prices and rising energy costs could leave normally stalwart U.S. consumers hard pressed to continue their spending growth at a time when businesses appear to be tightening their belts.

      Still, most economists think the U.S. economy will dodge recession this year given the current strength of the labor market.

      NEW YORK (Reuters) - "U.S. stocks ended lower on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said he was uncomfortable with inflation and uncertain about the economy, compounding the impact of a weak durable goods report.

      Escalating tensions between Iran and the West also kept investors on edge and boosted crude oil prices nearly 2 percent.

     And he said this, so we're going to do this.  But wait this says this so we have to hold off... but wait.....  Ugh.

    SEOUL (Reuters) - Oil held near its highest close in over six months on Thursday as traders weighed rising risk to Gulf supplies from mounting tension between Iran and the West.

      Small draws in weekly U.S. product and crude stocks were overshadowed by fears surrounding the world's fourth-largest oil exporter, which has been holding 15 British sailors and marines since Friday and was hit with new U.N. sanctions at the weekend.

      U.S. light, sweet crude fell 28 cents to $63.80 a barrel by 0729 GMT, dipping back after closing above $64.00 a barrel for the first time since September 11. London Brent crude shed 8 cents to $65.70 a barrel..."

     Ring of fire... still active.  It'll be active for many millenia to come.

     LONDON (Reuters) - "British Prime Minister Tony Blair warned Iran on Tuesday of a "different phase" if it does not free 15 British military personnel captured in the Gulf four days ago.

      The sailors' capture and new U.N. sanctions imposed on Tehran on Saturday over its disputed nuclear program have stoked tensions between the West and Iran and pushed oil prices to a 2007 high.

      Russia and the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday urged Iran to comply with U.N. demands that it halt sensitive nuclear work but Tehran says the U.N. resolution is illegal..."

     NEW YORK (Reuters) - "A senior U.S. Federal Reserve staff member warned on Tuesday that subprime mortgage market troubles could last as long as two years, while a leading home builder posting a huge profit plunge blamed subprime lending problems for worsening a soft housing sector.

      Further underscoring the troubles in the U.S. housing sector, economic data showed home prices fell at the start of this year while consumer confidence waned in March, at least partly due to worries about real estate.

     WASHINGTON (AP) -- "Some climates may disappear from Earth entirely, not just from their current locations, while new climates could develop if the planet continues to warm, a study says.

      Such changes would endanger some plants and animals while providing new opportunities for others, said John W. Williams, an assistant professor of geography at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

      Using global change forecasts prepared for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, researchers led by Williams used computer models to estimate how climates in various parts of the world would be affected.

      Their findings are being published in this week's online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

     Wow.  Ok, let me get this straight.  The earth is getting warmer.  So, that means that during this Climate Shift, the Climate is going to change?  Hold on, I need to sit down to let that shocking revelation soak in.  Pshhh...

     TOKYO (Reuters) - The dollar stayed near overnight lows against most major currencies on Tuesday after U.S. sales of new homes in February dropped to the lowest rate since June 2000, resurrecting expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut.

      The report offset stronger-than-expected existing home sales data last Friday and reignited concerns that the slowing U.S. housing market has yet to stabilize.

     KANAZAWA, Japan (Fox)  —  "Aftershocks shook a rural area of coastal central Japan Monday, a day after a powerful earthquake killed at least one person and injured 170 others as it toppled buildings, triggered landslides and generated a small tsunami along the coast.

      One of the aftershocks had a preliminary magnitude of 5.3 and struck at 7:19 a.m. Monday. Japan's Meteorological Agency said there was no tsunami danger.

      "A fairly big aftershock hit just minutes ago and I jumped out the door," said Tomio Maeda, manager of a convenience store in Anamizu town. "It's scary, I guess it's not over yet."..."

     Still causing some problems, it seems. 

     TEHRAN, Iran (Fox)  —  "Iran isn't backing down after a unanimous vote by the U.N. Security Council to impose sanctions, announcing Sunday that it will partially suspend cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency and will be adjusting relations with those nations who voted for sanctions.

      Iranian officials called the vote by the U.N. Security Council in response to Tehran's refusal to stop enriching uranium "illegal and bullying."

      "The Security Council has to be aware of its own position and status. Actions that are illegal, unwarranted and unjustified will reduce the credibility of the Security Council," Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said through a translator while in New York.

      "A few select countries don't have the right to abuse the Security Council," Mottaki added..."

     LONDON, England (AP) -- "Prime Minister Tony Blair on Sunday called the Iranian seizure of 15 British sailors and marines "unjustified and wrong," saying in his first remarks on the escalating confrontation that London saw it as a "very serious situation."

Iran said legal proceedings were under way, suggesting the possibility that the group may be tried for illegally entering Iranian waters off the coast of Iraq.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice insisted during a trip to the Middle East that the Britons be released, saying "we all fully trust the British" account.

Blair disputed Tehran's claim that the 15 were in Iranian territorial waters at the time they were seized on Friday.

     TOKYO, Japan (AP) -- "A powerful, deadly earthquake struck Japan early Sunday, killing at least one person and injuring 110 others as it violently shook buildings and triggered a small tsunami that hit the coast, officials and media reports said.

      The magnitude-6.9 quake struck at 9:42 a.m. local time off the north coast of Ishikawa prefecture (state), Japan's Meteorological Agency said, about 225 miles northwest of Tokyo. The agency issued a tsunami warning urging people near the sea to move to higher land.

      A small tsunami measuring 6 inches hit shore about 40 minutes after the quake, the agency said. The warning was lifted about an hour later.

      The quake toppled buildings, triggered landslides, cut power, interfered with phone service, broke water mains and snarled public transportation. At least one person was killed and 110 others were hurt along the country's Sea of Japan coast, media reports said.

      Fear of aftershocks and more landslides caused by the loosening of soil waterlogged by overnight rains continued to plague the quake zone..."

     Nothing unusual here.  Just part of the tectonic zone of high activity known as "The Ring of Fire". 

      BERLIN (Reuters) - "The International Monetary Fund will say further depreciation by the U.S. dollar is needed to help correct global imbalances in its latest World Economic Outlook (WEO), Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung said on Saturday.

      Quoting from a draft of the WEO, the paper said the Washington-based fund argued "extraordinarily aggressively" for a correction in exchange rates, above all so as to reduce the massive U.S. current account deficit.

      The dollar, which slid to a 2-year low against the euro last week, should continue to depreciate in the mid-term, while the yen, the Chinese yuan and currencies of oil-exporting countries in the Middle East should all appreciate, the draft WEO said.

      Low rainfall in the province of Sichuan has forced officials to deliver clean water to the worst-hit areas.

      Six million livestock and half a million hectares of land are affected, Sichuan's governor said.

      Many areas of China are regularly hit by water shortages or droughts, with some blaming climate change.

      Most of Sichuan received no major rain in February, and no significant rain predicted before the end of March..."