A State Department report on terrorism due out next week will show a nearly 30 percent increase in terrorist attacks worldwide in 2006, to more than 14,000, with almost all of the boost due to growing violence in Iraq and Afghanistan, U.S. officials said Friday.

The annual report’s release comes amid a bitter feud between the White House and Congress over funding for U.S. troops in Iraq and a deadline favored by Democrats to begin a U.S. troop withdrawal.

A strong majority of people in the United States see global warming as an imminent danger but not all are ready to make big sacrifices to slow climate change, according to a new poll Friday.

The New York Times/CBS poll said that even among Republicans, traditionally less likely to support environmental issues, 60 percent believed the threats to the global climate require immediate action. Among Democrats, the figure was 90 percent.

“ABC daytime has announced it was unable to come to a contractual agreement with ‘The View’ co-host Rosie O’Donnell,” ABC News reports today. “As a result, her duties on the show will come to an end mid-June.”

O’Donnell also recently said on her blog she was conducting her own investigation into the events of Sept. 11, 2001.

“The falling of the twin towers served to remind me that many of the assumptions Americans have about their lives are rooted in false feelings of security,” O’Donnell wrote. “In light of this reminder, I have begun doing exactly what this country, at its best, allows for me to do: inquire. Investigate.

The Marine Corps chain of command in Iraq ignored “obvious” signs of “serious misconduct” in the 2005 slayings of two dozen civilians in Haditha, and commanders fostered a climate that devalued the life of innocent Iraqis to the point that their deaths were considered an insignificant part of the war, according to an Army general’s investigation.

For years, the debate over global warming has focused on the three big “E’s”: environment, energy, and economic impact. This week it officially entered the realm of national security threats and avoiding wars as well.

A platoon of retired US generals and admirals warned that global warming “presents significant national security challenges to the United States.” The United Nations Security Council held its first ever debate on the impact of climate change on conflicts. And in Congress, a bipartisan bill would require a National Intelligence Estimate by all federal intelligence agencies to assess the security threats posed by global climate change.

Many experts view climate change as a “threat multiplier” that intensifies instability around the world by worsening water shortages, food insecurity, disease, and flooding that lead to forced migration. That’s the thrust of a 35-page report (PDF) by 11 admirals and generals this week issued by the Alexandria, Va.-based national security think tank The CNA Corporation.