NATIONAL
Plane prompts D.C. evacuations
A small two-seater plane strayed into restricted airspace heading directly for the center of Washington yesterday, prompting frenzied evacuations at the Capitol, White House and Supreme Court, and a shudder of fear and emergency activity throughout the city. [Page 1a]
Panel to vote on U.N. nominee
Senators on the Foreign Relations Committee are poised today to render their long-awaited verdict on President Bush's embattled pick to be ambassador to the United Nations, voting on whether to keep alive John R. Bolton's stalled nomination in an important test of the president's second-term power. [Page 3a]
Killing is called punishment
Jerry Branton Hobbs III, the Illinois man accused of murdering his 8-year-old daughter and her second-grade classmate as they played in a park, told prosecutors he punched and then stabbed the girls 31 times because his daughter refused to go home with him. [Page 7a]
WORLD
At least 69 killed in Iraq
A wave of attacks across Iraq killed at least 69 people yesterday, raising the two-week death toll from insurgent violence to more than 400. [Page 1a]
N. Korea claims nuclear advance
North Korea said yesterday that it had removed 8,000 fuel rods from a nuclear reactor -- a step that could allow it to harvest plutonium for atomic weapons. [Page 13a]
MARYLAND
City police officers charged
Two Baltimore police officers described as being "in the game" in the infamous Stop Snitching DVD were charged by federal authorities yesterday with robbing criminals, selling confiscated illegal drugs and pocketing the profits. The arrests served as the latest fallout from the street-level distribution of an homegrown video that unabashedly promoted the city's drug trade and threatened those who would dare testify against its purveyors. [Page 1a]
`Dead zone' standard changes
Scientists with the federally funded Chesapeake Bay Program will be using a more relaxed standard of what "low oxygen" means when they complete their annual ritual this summer of reporting on the size of the low-oxygen "dead zone" in the Bay. Some environmentalists are concerned that the EPA's move will weaken water-quality standards. [Page 1b]
SPORTS
O's score 3 in 8th, top Twins, 7-4
Sidney Ponson outpitched Johan Santana and B.J. Surhoff broke a tie with an eighth-inning RBI single as the Orioles defeated the Minnesota Twins, 7-4. B.J. Ryan pitched a scoreless ninth for his ninth save. [Page 1c]
Boulware released by Ravens
The Ravens released linebacker Peter Boulware, their career sack leader. Although the overall cap savings stands to be only $300,000, the Ravens are freed from the remaining four years of Boulware's contract, which would have paid him $6 million a season. [Page 1c]
Afleet Alex arrives at Pimlico
The first of the Preakness colts arrived at Pimlico Race Course. Kentucky Derby third-place finisher Afleet Alex completed a nearly 13-hour trip by van from Louisville. [Page 1c]
BUSINESS
Airlines face pension pressure
Now that United Airlines and US Airways have been granted bankruptcy court approval to terminate their pension obligations, competitive pressure is mounting on other struggling carriers to seek similar relief. Delta, Northwest, American and Continental are among the candidates for such action. [Page 1d]
Three seek hotel contract
Three national builders, including Baltimore-based Whiting-Turner Contracting Co., are in the running to construct the city's proposed $290 million, publicly financed 750-room convention headquarters hotel. Two other qualified firms didn't submit bids by Monday's deadline. [Page 1d]
TODAY
A mature LeAnn Rimes
Country star LeAnn Rimes, who will be at the Hippodrome Theatre on Sunday is all grown up, says pop music critic Rashod D. Ollison. [Page 1e]
Albom speaks at fund-raiser
Detroit Free Press columnist Mitch Albom, who has drawn notoriety recently for writing a column about a game before it had taken place, was the featured speaker at the annual fund-raising luncheon for the House of Ruth Maryland, held at M&T Bank Stadium yesterday. He steered clear of the incident yesterday, instead telling stories about the men who inspired his best sellers, Tuesdays with Morrie and The Five People You Meet in Heaven.
[Page 1e]
Eva Longoria tops list for success
Eva Longoria of ABC's Desperate Housewives tops Maxim magazine's sixth annual Hot 100 list of the most successful women of the year in film, television, music, sports and fashion. [Page 2e]
TODAY ONLINE
WITNESS INTIMIDATION
The FBI announced the arrest of two Baltimore police officers with connections to the Stop Snitching witness intimidation video. See clips from that video and the police Keep Talking video, and read archived coverage at www.baltimoresun.com/witness
LIVE! ONLINE
Check out the online version of our weekly entertainment and events section, where you'll find a searchable database of fun things to do. www.baltimoresun.com/live
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"All I can say is that this is the only time I wish I was white, so I could get some justice in this courtroom."
Robin Jones -- the mother of Noah Jamahl Jones, who was killed in a fight. (Article, Page 1B)
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