MARYLAND
Greyhound bus crashes on I-95
Three people remained hospitalized in serious condition last night as police continued to investigate yesterday's early morning crash of a Greyhound bus on Interstate 95. Passengers recounted a terrifying ordeal of climbing out of the overturned bus that landed in a muddy ditch. [Page 1a]
State seeks bigger city schools role
The Maryland State Department of Education asked a federal judge yesterday to send state managers into several Baltimore school system departments, intensifying a power struggle over who will run the city's schools. [Page 1a]
Third of bay called `dead zone'
More than a third of the Chesapeake Bay was found to be a low-oxygen "dead zone" during monitoring this month, meaning the nation's largest estuary is on pace to have one of its most unhealthy summers on record. [Page 1b]
NATIONAL
Senator Clinton to head initiative
The Democratic Leadership Council, an organization of influential party moderates, named Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to direct a new initiative to define a party agenda for the 2006 and 2008 elections. [Page 3a]
NASA to try again with shuttle
Space shuttle managers will have one eye on the weather and the other on a temperamental fuel-level sensor as NASA makes its second attempt to launch Discovery today. Liftoff is scheduled for 10:39 a.m. The long-awaited 114th shuttle launch would be the first since the Columbia accident two years ago. [Page 3a]
Effort begins on Voting Rights Act
With the approaching 40th anniversary of the landmark Voting Rights Act, civil rights activists are urging Congress to reauthorize provisions of the law set to expire in two years and mobilizing to clear up misconceptions including an e-mail hoax warning that blacks are about to lose their right to vote when the act expires in 2007. [Page 4a]
WORLD
Egyptians give details on attacks
Egyptian officials, giving their first detailed account of the bombings at this Red Sea resort, said yesterday that all three bombs were suicide attacks and suggested that they were intended to explode at two hotels and a busy nightlife strip packed with Western tourists. [Page 8a]
London police seek two fugitives
Police disclosed yesterday the names of two fugitives who are wanted for allegedly trying to bomb a bus and a subway train last week. They stormed an apartment in a north London housing project where neighbors said they had frequently seen the two men. [Page 8a]
Sunni leaders to rejoin Iraq talks
Sunni Arab leaders who suspended participation in drafting Iraq's new constitution after one of their negotiators was assassinated made it clear that they would return to the talks, probably today, after receiving assurances from Iraqi and U.S. officials. [Page 9a]
BUSINESS
Two unions leave the AFL-CIO
The largest rift organized labor has seen in decades came yesterday when two of the nation's largest unions broke from the AFL-CIO - a move that some warn will bring chaos to the movement or may be labor's last hope in a changing economy, others say. [Page 1a]
Existing homes sell at fastest pace
Existing homes were sold at the fastest pace in history last month, as mortgage rates near a four-decade low helped drive prices to an all-time high. But some private economists predicted that housing might be nearing its peak as mortgage rates begin to rise. [Page 1c]
Tecore makes small, thinks big
Tecore Wireless Systems envisions the day when you and your cell phone will never be out of reach - whether in the air, on land or sea. Founded in 1991, the Columbia company makes super-small equipment for worldwide wireless communications networks. [Page 1c]
SPORTS
Nevin rejects trade; O's lose
First baseman Phil Nevin turned down a trade that would have sent Orioles pitcher Sidney Ponson to San Diego. And the Orioles suffered their sixth consecutive loss last night, 4-2 to the visiting Texas Rangers. [Page 1d]
Hoff wins 200 IM at worlds
Katie Hoff, 16, of Abingdon won the 200-meter individual medley at the FINA World Championships, finishing in a meet-record 2 minutes, 10.41 seconds and breaking her American record. Michael Phelps of Rodgers Forge posted the best time in the semifinals of the 200 freestyle. [Page 1d]
Pacers, Jasikevicius agree to deal
Former Maryland guard Sarunas Jasikevicius, 29, a collegiate role player who became a professional star in Europe, has agreed to a three-year contract with the Indiana Pacers, according to his agent. [Page 1d]
TODAY
Green Day tops MTV nominations
Punk rockers Green Day led all musical acts with eight MTV Video Music Awards nominations. Gwen Stefani and Missy Elliott followed with six nominations each and U2 had five. P. Diddy will host the Video Music Awards on Aug. 28 in Miami Beach, Fla. [Page 1e)
Tiger salamander in trouble?
