The United States can expect a terror attack using nuclear or more likely biological weapons before 2013, reports a bipartisan commission in a study briefed today to Vice President-elect Joe Biden.

DEMOCRATS challenged Republicans for control of Congress for US President George W Bush’s final two years in office last night in elections shadowed by war in Iraq and scandal at home.

In a response to charges by conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh, actor Michael J Fox defended his appearance in recent political campaign ads, saying he was neither acting nor off his medication for Parkinson’s disease.

Republicans and Democrats battled for control of Congress today in mid-term US elections clouded by terrorism, the threat of war and a shaky economy, with voters marking ballots for governor from Maine to California.