INTERNATIONAL
IRAQ -- 1,299 words -- Associated Press -- FALLUJAH, Iraq - U.S. troops battled with insurgents in two central Iraqi towns last night, with at least 60 Iraqis killed and more than 120 wounded in overnight fighting in Fallujah, hospital officials said. photos and maps available
VINSON -- Chronicle correspondent -- 980 words -- ABOARD THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER CARL VINSON, IN THE ARABIAN SEA -- The ship's bomb factory is a busy place these days. Two shifts of sailors are making bombs every hour of every day to maintain the U.S. Navy's aerial assault on troops of the Taliban. photo available
TINY CARS -- wire story -- London--With gas prices above four dollars per gallon and city centers so jammed that illegal parking is an esteemed art form, many Europeans are turning to cars so little you hardly need a garage if you have a half-way decent hall closet. -- 563 words -- photo to come
AUTHOR -- MOSCOW (AP) -- While Boris Yeltsan was writing a memoire of his last days as Russian President, his successor Vladimir Putin was apparently working on a book of his own: A judo manual. -- 168 words
HEADLESS -- 205 words -- Algiers (AP) -- Attackers decapitated 28 civilians in two separate attacks in northeastern Algeria, residents of the area said yesterday. They said the attackers were disguised as policemen. -- photo to come
STRIKE --- 300 --- The New York Times -- PARIS -- Bending to pressure from a student protest movement that put more than 100,000 demonstrators onto the streets of Paris yesterday, the French government announced an "emergency plan" to improve conditions in the country's 4,700 senior high schools by adding 4,500 employees.
ACQUIT --- 300 --- Knight-Ridder -- PANAMA -- The son of this country's most powerful anti-American politician was acquitted yesterday of charges in the 1992 murder of a U.S. soldier, a verdict that the U.S. State Department said "raises questions about the handling of this case."
MARYROCK -- 460 -- JERUSALEM (AP)--Archeologists have discovered the rock revered by early Christians as the place where the pregnant Virgin Mary rested on her way to Bethlehem, officials said yesterday. -- photo to come
KIDNAP --- 630 --- SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) -- Seven years after she disappeared from her bed in California, 8-year-old Crystal Anzaldi is slowly being readied by social workers to meet her real mother again.
SWISSGOLD --- 780 --- BERN, Switzerland (AP) -- Switzerland was involved in 76 percent of Nazi Germany's gold transactions during World War II, historians reported yesterday, adding that Swiss banks handled $450 million in Nazi gold -- a portion of which had been looted.
DINO -- 295 -- Rome, Italy (AP) --Italian paleontologists said yesterday they have identified a new species of dinosaur, which lived 200 million years ago and is one of the oldest meat-eating reptiles ever discovered. w/photo
OLYMPICS -- Greek minister of finance is first official to express doubts that all venues will be ready for upcoming Summer Olympics. story to come; 600 words
NATIONAL
Gay lawmaker -- Wire services -- He's a star, but the army wants him gone: Stephen T. May, Arizona State Legislator, Army Reserve officer, Eagle Scout, Mormon, Republican. And homosexual.-- 540 words -- mugshot to come
Publisher -- Twin Falls, ID (AP) -- Two weeks ago, a reader slipped into the home of Times-News publisher Stephen Hartgen with a gun and an unspoken warning about the newspaper's decision to print the names of sex offenders. -- 260 words
Colon test -- from Health News -- Americans who undergo a colonoscopy soon will have an alternative to the unpleasant preparation currently required before the test -- an oral laxetive in pill form approved by the Food and Drug Administration last month and is expected to reach pharmacies by early January. -- 586 words
Walmart -- wire story -- Sometime before the end of the year, Wal-Mart Stores' annual sales are on track to exceed those of General Motors, the largest American company for much of the last half-century. -- 307 words
Bible -- wire story -- Bible lost in WWII finds its way back to sister of owner. -- 434 words -- with photo
GENES -- 275 -- WASHINGTON (AP) -- Two researchers trying to grow new blood vessels around blocked ones failed to report to the National Institute of Health that six people died during their gene therapy studies. One of the researchers is from Tufts University.
2CHIMPS --- 320 --- Knight-Ridder -- DETROIT, Michigan -- It was a birth like any other. The mother-to-be rubbed her belly. She screamed. She stood on her head. And when it was all over, the Detroit Zoo had a bigger-than-expected new addition to their chimpanzee colony: fuzzy, 4-pound twins. Twins show up in about one of every 100,000 chimp births, zoo officials said yesterday. photo to come
POVERTY -- 515 words -- WASHINGTON (AP) -- The number of people living in poverty varies widely across the nation, ranging from the single digits throughout most of the Northeast to more than 20 percent in some parts of the south, the United States Census Bureau reports.
POTPIPELINE -- 300 -- SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) Police say they have disrupted an Arizona-Massachusetts marijuana pipeline, whereby nine tons of marijuana were shipped to the East Coast over the past year by means of overnight package services.
FRAT -- 325 --WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) - The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday refused to hear an appeal by a University of New Hampshire fraternity leaving in tact Zeta Chi's conviction and sentence for selling alcohol to someone under 21.
STRESS --- 475 --- Knight-Rider Newspapers -- NEW ORLEANS -- Thanks to recent advances in biology, scientists are beginning to dope out why the myriad stresses of daily life make you feet so bad. And they are more optimistic than ever that they can find ways to limit or repair the damage it wreaks.
REGIONAL
Drug Plan -- A federal judge yesterday blocked Maine's pioneering-law aimed at cutting the cost of prescriptions with the threat of price controls, saying it would probably be tossed out as unconstitutional. -- 264 words
Census -- Massachusetts had one of the most-improved response rates in the latest U.S. Census. -- 165 words
WOK -- 260 -- NASHUA, N.H. (AP) - A heated argument between two workers at a Nashua restaurant yesterday left one man in critical condition after a co-workers dumped a pot of hot oil over his head.
DRUNK -- 158 -- GRANBY, Conn. (AP) A Catholic school principal charged with drunken driving has been granted a special form of probation that would clear his record if he completes the state's alcohol education program. **WITH MUGSHOT**
GUNS -- 220 -- CANTERBURY, Conn. (AP) State police seized eight guns from the home of a Windham County deputy sheriff charged in two states in connection with an armed, off-duty chase of another motorist.
STORM -- 131 -- HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) A storm with wind gusts of over 65 mph knocked out power across Connecticut. -- photo to come
TERMINEX -- 239 --Staff Writer -- HARTFORD, Conn. -- The state has reversed its decision to award a $676,000 pest control contract to a company that lost three of its four commercial licenses in Connecticut for repeated violations of safety laws.
EDUCATION -- 110 -- MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) -- The state Board of Education is trying to narrow down its field of candidates in its search for a new Education Commissioner.
FISHING -- 555 -- By Staff Writer -- BOSTON -- The persistent failure of struggling ground fish stocks to rebound should be met with stricter fishing regulations in the Gulf of Maine and Georgešs Bank. A new report recommends a 50% reduction in the number of days fisherman are allowed at sea and closure of fishing areas among other possible actions. photo to come
KITCHEN -- 215 -- New Braintree, Mass. (AP) The kitchen at the State Police Academy has been closed for health violations.
LAUNCH -- 115 -- BATH, Maine (AP) A guided missile destroyer named for the late United States Sen. John Chafee will be the first such vessel to be launched at the new land-level transfer facility at Bath Iron Works, a ship yard spokeswoman said.
ROADRAGE -- 280 --staff writer -- A southeastern Mass. man who rammed another car and tried to run it off the road had the tables turned on him when friends of the other driver threatened him with a knife.
MUSEUM -- 990 words -- Feature -- Staff Writer--Steve Middel knew the 10-year-old Childrenšs Museum of Southeastern Connecticut in Niantic was a special place the first time he visited it more than two years ago. So when his employer approached him about serving on the board, the East Providence man, who is chief of innovation and administration at EB, didnšt hesitate to get involved. -- photos to come
BISHOP --- 252 --- Burlington, Vermont (AP) -- Vermont's newly appointed Roman Catholic bishop, promises to take an activist role in political subjects that the church views as moral issues, especially abortion. -- mugshot from files
EARRING --- 400 --- New Bedford -- Clarke Fisher, who fought for the right to wear an earring to work said he is disappointed the state labor board upheld his police department's ban on the practice.
UNITED --- 360 --- SWANSEA, Mass. -- John Killian delivered what he called "good news, good news and more good news" 1ast night. Despite not reaching its $15.2 million fund raising goal, the Unlted Way of Southeastern New England got Rhode Islanders to pledge $14.7 million, about $300,000 more than last year.
DEER --- 385 --- Seekonk -- Massachusetts is home to an estimated 90,000 deer, but Trooper Tim Curtin had never seen one on the highway near the Seekonk mini-Mall until last night, when his cruiser hit a big one.
RHODE ISLAND
BBGun -- 165 -- BRISTOL -- Police have charged two teen-age boys after someone fired a B-B gun at a school bus that had 17 elementary school students on board.
FAMILY -- 400 -- A legislative task force is studying how Rhode Island could offer paid leave to people who need to take time off from work to care for a new child or a sick relative.
CVS -- staff-written -- CVS ProCare specialty pharmacy stores in more than 30 cities that provide medications for patients with HIV/AIDS, cancer, organ transplants and other serious conditions. --1,222 words -- 3 photos
Ironing -- News2Use press release -- In a recent survey, 14 major cities, including Providence, candidly revealed their "ironing personalities." -- 387 words
Route6 -- staff written -- A section of Route 6 through Foster makes Readers Digest's list of "America's Most Dangerous Highways." -- 735 words -- w/handout of statistics
Winner -- staff written -- A Narragansett girl wins a nation-wide board-game inventing contest. -- 475 words -- w/photo
Educated -- staff written -- Rhode Islanders are more educated today than at any time in history, an analysis of new data shows. -- 1,430 words
Venture -- free-lancer -- Contributor -- Firms headquartered in the Ocean State have received more venture capital money this year than in the previous three years combined. -- 650 words with sidebar on bluestreak -- 200 words -- w/photos -- with handout of statistics
PILFER --- 415 --- Barrington --Discerning thieves cruised through a cooperative antique store in the dark of night picking out only the choicest items: Tiffany lamps, diamond rings, Steuben glass, sterling silver
QUONSET -- 305 -- By Ariel Port, Staff Writer -- PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The group which sought to build a port at Quonset is now seeking compensation from the state for reneging on their project.
CHIEF -- 375-- NARRAGANSETT -- The town council voted to appoint Captain John O'Donnell the town's new police chief yesterday in front of an audience that filled the town hall's assembly room. -- mugshot from files
MENENGIT -- 245 --By the staff-- LINCOLN, R.I. - A Lincoln high school student has been hospitalized with a potentially fatal strain of meningitis and health officials are on the watch for more possible cases.
CRIB ---400 --- Wakefield (AP) -- The foster parents of a six-month-old child who was found dead Sunday morning had put him in a portable crib in the basement because he was fussing, a police investigator said.
GRANDE --- 710 --- PROVIDENCE -- William G. Grande, a Providence Municipal Court judge since 1993, died yesterday at home. He was 90. Grande, of 270 Mount Pleasant Ave., was believed to be the oldest sitting judge in the United States. -- mugshot from files
PLEA --- 275 --- SOUTH KINGSTOWN (AP) -- A former Marine who allegedly went from short-order cook to bank robber, pleaded not guilty yesterday in Washington County Superior Court. -- mugshot from files
SCARED --- 425 --- Central Falls (AP) -- Youngsters are increasingly becoming the victims of random street violence, being killed by design or by stray bullets, and recent writings by a Central Falls 6th grade class expressed their fears.
ONLINE -- 820 --- More than 1 in 4 Rhode Island households connect to the Internet, a sharp increase from a year ago. And nearly half of those Internet users connect using America. Those are two of the most eye-opening results of a survey on computer and Internet use in Rhode Island, taken by the University of Rhode Island's Research Institute for Telecommunications & Information Marketing.
WINTERIZE -- 760 --- For new home owners, the mortgage, the insurance and the new cost incurred with buying a home are top priority, but with bad weather on the way, it is time to start winterizing your new home.
CLEANUP -- stand-alone photo from South County, where Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts spent the day picking up a ton of trash from area beaches
UFO -- 1,100 -- Staff-written feature story about the RI chapter of the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON), a national organization established in 1967 for the scientific investigation of aerial phenomena.
DARE -- stand-alone photos (2) -- as the anti-drug program faces budget cuts, DARE recruits fifth graders at Wakefield elementary school
SPRING -- stand-alone photo attached -- warm weather brings out kite guy
CRASH -- stand-alone photo attached -- two killed in car crash in Westerly