Mapping Software Jolts City Governments
The bureaucratic, pothole-plagued world of big-city government is making creative use of sleek, innovative technology.
( BRIAN BERGSTEIN, Associated Press, 02/02/2004 08:43 AM EST)

Asia Is Traditional Cradle of Influenza
For much of the past century, Asia has been the cradle of influenza, including two of the three major human flu pandemics.
( EMMA ROSS, Associated Press, 02/02/2004 08:43 AM EST)

Lost Wallet Returned After 40 Years
A wallet lost by a Swedish teenager more than 40 years ago has been returned, complete with the cash its owner once considered a small fortune.
( Associated Press, 02/02/2004 08:41 AM EST)

Iran Reform Party to Boycott Elections
The leader of Iran's largest pro-reform party said Monday it will boycott Feb. 20 parliamentary elections, saying they would not be free and fair.
( ALI AKBAR DAREINI, Associated Press, 02/02/2004 08:38 AM EST)

Sharon Confirms Plan to Pull Out of Gaza
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told leaders of his Likud Party on Monday he plans to dismantle all 17 Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip, but did not give a timetable, a participant in the closed-door meeting said.
( STEVE WEIZMAN, Associated Press, 02/02/2004 08:36 AM EST)

Russian Boxers Married in the Ring
There's usually a ring in a wedding ceremony, but a wedding ceremony in a ring?
( IRINA TITOVA, Associated Press, 02/02/2004 08:35 AM EST)

France: No Data to Back U.S. Terror Fears
French intelligence had no indications of its own to support U.S. warnings of a threat to trans-Atlantic flights on Sunday and Monday, but they were canceled anyway as a precaution because of the American concerns, a French official said.
( JOHN LEICESTER, Associated Press, 02/02/2004 08:34 AM EST)

Iran Reform Party to Boycott Elections
Iran's largest pro-reform party has lost hope that free and fair parliamentary elections can be held as scheduled Feb. 20 and will boycott the polls, its leader said Monday.
( Associated Press, 02/02/2004 08:30 AM EST)

Groundhog Booed As He Sees His Shadow
If you're tired of winter, Punxsutawney Phil had a message for you Monday: get used to it.
( DAN NEPHIN, Associated Press, 02/02/2004 08:28 AM EST)

U.S. Optimistic on North Korea Nuke Talks
Washington's point man on North Korea said Monday he held "intensive" talks with South Korean officials and expressed optimism for fresh negotiations on the North Korean nuclear crisis.
( SOO-JEONG LEE, Associated Press, 02/02/2004 08:22 AM EST)

Asia's Bird Flu Death Toll Rises to 12
A teenage boy in Vietnam and a woman in Thailand on Monday became the latest victims of the bird flu sweeping Asia as world health authorities sought to confirm the first possible case of human-to-human transmission of the virus.
( EMMA ROSS, Associated Press, 02/02/2004 08:20 AM EST)

NASA Rushes to Fix Bug Ailing Mars Rovers
NASA scientists were busy trying to coax their ailing rover Spirit back to health while its twin prepared to reach out to the martian soil with its robotic arm for the first time.
( ANDREW BRIDGES, Associated Press, 02/02/2004 08:07 AM EST)

Camel Roams Sweden Road During Snowstorm
It took some convincing before police would respond to reports of a camel on a southern Sweden road in the middle of a snowstorm.
( Associated Press, 02/02/2004 07:52 AM EST)

Bird Flu Pandemic Could Drain Drug Supply
Prescription flu drugs could provide lifesaving early protection against bird flu if the virus disastrously mutates into a worldwide pandemic, but experts warn that supplies will quickly run out unless governments stockpile the medicines.
( DANIEL Q. HANEY, Associated Press, 02/02/2004 07:52 AM EST)

FDA Probes Use of Antidepressants on Kids
The government is trying to determine if popular adult antidepressants sometimes increase the risk of suicide when they're given to children, an emotionally charged controversy that escalated months ago when British authorities sounded an alarm.
( LAURAN NEERGAARD, Associated Press, 02/02/2004 07:51 AM EST)

Saudis Plan Mecca Effort; 244 Die in Hajj
Saudi King Fahd said his government would launch a development project for the Muslim cities of Mecca and Medina, an announcement that followed a stampede that killed 244 people at the annual pilgrimage in those cities.
( RAWYA RAGEH, Associated Press, 02/02/2004 07:46 AM EST)

Bush Giving Congress $2.4 Trillion Budget
President Bush is sending Congress a $2.4 trillion election-year budget that provides big increases to the military and homeland security while squeezing scores of other programs in an effort to cut a deficit projected to top a half-trillion dollars this year.
( MARTIN CRUTSINGER, Associated Press, 02/02/2004 07:40 AM EST)

China to Train Astronauts for Next Flight
Less than four months after it first reached for the stars, China said Monday it would begin training astronauts in March for the nation's second manned spaceflight - a mission that will likely include a crew of two, according to official media.
( TED ANTHONY, Associated Press, 02/02/2004 07:28 AM EST)

Ariz. Inmates Surrender, Release Hostage
Two inmates with a history of violent crime climbed down from a prison guard tower and surrendered after releasing their last captive, peacefully ending the longest U.S. prison hostage standoff in decades.
( PAUL DAVENPORT, Associated Press, 02/02/2004 07:13 AM EST)

Death Toll in Iraq Suicide Blasts Hits 67
American military officials raised the death toll in the suicide bombings at two Kurdish party offices to 67 on Monday, while leaders of the rival U.S.-allied parties said the attacks would serve to strengthen Kurdish unity.
( SCHEHEREZADE FARAMARZI, Associated Press, 02/02/2004 07:11 AM EST)

Bush to Order Probe of Iraq Intel Failure
President Bush will sign an executive order to open an investigation into U.S. intelligence failures in Iraq, his way of quieting mounting election-year criticism from Republican and Democrats alike.
( DEB RIECHMANN, Associated Press, 02/02/2004 07:06 AM EST)

Pakistan Nuclear Expert Gave Info to Iran
The founder of Pakistan's nuclear program has acknowledged in a written statement that he sent sensitive technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea to aid their atomic programs, a Pakistani government official said Monday.
( MATTHEW PENNINGTON, Associated Press, 02/02/2004 07:05 AM EST)

Colo. Woman Survives Ride in Runaway Car
A woman was shaken but unhurt after a wild, 75-mile ride at speeds over 100 mph that began when her brakes failed and her car accelerated out of control.
( Associated Press, 02/02/2004 06:58 AM EST)

The Nation's Weather
Snow clouds spread from Missouri to Wisconsin early Monday as a storm system made its way toward the Midwest, while rain and sleet pummeled the California coast.
( Associated Press, 02/02/2004 06:53 AM EST)

Obituaries in the News
Karl Kaldestad SEATTLE (AP) - Karl Kaldestad, a pioneer of the Alaska king-crab fishery and a veteran of World War II's Battle of the Bulge, died Jan. 24. He was 83.
( Associated Press, 02/02/2004 06:52 AM EST)

Asia Is Traditional Cradle of Influenza
For much of the past century, Asia has been the cradle of influenza, including two of the three major human flu pandemics.
( EMMA ROSS, Associated Press, 02/02/2004 06:49 AM EST)

Britain Considers Secret Terrorist Trials
The British government said Monday that it is considering giving courts the power to try terrorist suspects in secret and without juries - proposals condemned by civil liberties groups.
( JILL LAWLESS, Associated Press, 02/02/2004 06:47 AM EST)

Attackers Fire Grenade at Army Vehicle
Attackers fired a rocket propelled grenade at an army vehicle Monday as Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz met with local officials across town.
( Associated Press, 02/02/2004 06:43 AM EST)

Centenarian Grieves After Losing Husband
Over 82 years of marriage, George and Amelia Limpert seldom were apart.
( JIM SUHR, Associated Press, 02/02/2004 05:22 AM EST)

Armitage, Japan Discuss Iraq, North Korea
Japan's dispatch of military forces on a humanitarian mission to Iraq signals a "historic moment" in Tokyo's growing leadership role and its deepening alliance with the United States, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said Monday.
( JOSEPH COLEMAN, Associated Press, 02/02/2004 04:51 AM EST)

Reports: Prosecutors detain Japanese to face industrial espionage charges in U.S.
Prosecutors in Japan detained a Japanese citizen Monday in response to a request from the United States that he be handed over to face charges he stole biological material from a lab, the prosecutor's office said.
( Associated Press, 02/02/2004 04:48 AM EST)

Ontario Toxic Leak Taints Water in U.S.
Authorities gave the go-ahead for residents to resume drinking tap water after tests determined a leak of up to 39,000 gallons of toxic chemicals into the St. Clair River had not contaminated the water supply.
( Associated Press, 02/02/2004 04:29 AM EST)

Experimental Sonar Sparks Whales Debate
In a boat off the central California coast, scientists huddle around a computer screen sprinkled with slow-moving white dots, each one representing a migrating whale detected with sonar.
( TERENCE CHEA, Associated Press, 02/02/2004 02:27 AM EST)

Space Shuttle Columbia Tragedy Remembered
A prodigious rumble shook this East Texas town a year ago as Columbia broke apart on re-entry, killing the seven astronauts on board.
( PAM EASTON, Associated Press, 02/02/2004 02:19 AM EST)

Iraqis Queue Up to Work for U.S. Forces
Abdul Hadi sells souvenirs to U.S. troops at their base - a livelihood that could get him killed by insurgents who are warning Iraqis against dealing with Americans. Yet he goes on with his work.
( CHRIS BRUMMITT, Associated Press, 02/02/2004 01:50 AM EST)

Australia's New Train Passes Halfway Mark
Rolling through vistas of red sand and spiky bushes, the first passenger train to traverse Australia from south to north rumbled past the halfway point of its journey deep in the Outback on Monday.
( MIKE CORDER, Associated Press, 02/02/2004 12:29 AM EST)

Kosovo Seen As Test of New NATO Approach
NATO's top commander in Europe said Sunday he views the alliance's mission in Kosovo as a testing ground for how it will operate in future missions around the world.
( FISNIK ABRASHI, Associated Press, 02/02/2004 12:27 AM EST)

Group Seeks Liberia Child-Soldier Rehab
If Liberia's fragile peace is to hold, international donors must pledge more money to rehabilitate the West African nation's child soldiers to ensure that they - and new generations - don't take up arms again, a leading human rights group said Monday.
( TODD PITMAN, Associated Press, 02/02/2004 12:04 AM EST)

Haitians March for President's Ouster
Tens of thousands of government opponents marched peacefully Sunday to demand President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's resignation, a day after the embattled leader rescinded restrictions on street protests and vowed to implement measures aimed at ending the country's unrest.
( MICHAEL NORTON, Associated Press, 02/01/2004 11:55 PM EST)