Early Today

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Abdurrahman Wahid, a partly blind and frail Muslim cleric who previously had never run for political office, was elected Indonesia's president yesterday in a stunning upset that steers the world's fourth-most-populous nation into uncharted waters.The powerful military immediately said it will support Wahid, who won this nation's first free presidential election in 44 years and was quickly sworn in.Wahid's defeated rival, Megawati Sukarnoputri, called on her supporters to respect the results.

Mohamed Al Fayed, the father of Dodi Fayed who was killed with Princess Diana in an automobile crash in Paris in 1997, is being treated for an unspecified illness at Johns Hopkins Hospital, a hospital spokeswoman said early today."

Police sub-station burns in DentonDENTON -- A fire that gutted a neighborhood police station early today may be related to a fire-bombing attempt and a disturbance that had occurred 24 hours earlier, a state fire official said this morning.Deputy Chief Allen Ward, of the State Fire Marshal's office, said the disturbance occurred early yesterday in a predominantly black neighborhood.Last year, members of Denton's all-white police force were charged with using excessive force against black teen-agers when they broke up a melee at a dance in January, a charge not supported by a State Police investigation.

GROZNY, Russia -- Warplanes fired rockets into the capital of the rebellious republic of Chechnya early today as Russian troops fought their way toward the city, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported.There were no immediate reports of casualties in the early morning attack, which came after Russian planes bombed the outskirts of Grozny yesterday and attempts to start peace talks failed.In today's attack, at least two rockets reportedly exploded in Chechen leader Dzhokhar Dudayev's neighborhood, ITAR-Tass reported from Grozny.

HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- They came from across the mountains. They came from Moon Township, Beaver Falls and Baden. They came from more than 30 communities: volunteer firefighters, emergency units, ambulances, police.But there was nobody to save last night when USAir Flight 427 went down while trying to land near Pittsburgh."I was in World War II, and I've seen a lot," said James Albert, chairman of the Beaver County commissioners. ". . . But I've never seen anything like this."That was awful," he said early today while emergency workers packed their gear.

Eight people were shot early today when at least two gunmen armed with large-caliber handguns fired more than a dozen shots into a crowded intersection across the street from the state penitentiary.At least 15 bullets were fired at 2:15 a.m., sending a crowd gathered at the corner of East Eager Street and Greenmount Avenue scurrying for shelter and many victims, all bystanders ages 20 through 37, into nearby houses seeking help.One victim, Louis Anthony Flower, 21, of the 4800 block of Calumet Ave., was shot in the head and was listed in critical condition at the Maryland Shock Trauma Center.

A Baltimore police officer was shot in the arm last night and lost his gun during a struggle with a man in the city's Reservoir Hill section.The wounded Central District plainclothes officer, Antonio Leroy Murray, 23, who has been on the force for two years, was in stable condition early today at the Maryland Shock Trauma Center.Police were searching early today for two men who fled after the shooting.It was the first incident this year in which a city officer was shot on duty. Two other officers were shot while off-duty -- one of them March 15 by a would-be robber on North Bentalou Street on the west side, the other April 2 by a man who had gotten into the officer's car on Ramsey Street in Southwest Baltimore.

Federal officials declared a state of emergency in Maryland yesterday, making the state eligible for millions of dollars that will help pay the costs of the Blizzard of '93 and ease the sting on recession-tight budgets for local governments.The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) decision allows Maryland to recoup 75 percent of the costs of snow removal -- but only for "one lane in each direction of major roads and arteries for emergency access," the governor's office said.Gov. William Donald Schaefer estimated the total costs for snow removal alone by state and local highway and public works crews at $22 million.

An off-duty Central District police officer died early today after being shot during an exchange of gunfire with two or three men during an attempted robbery at an East Baltimore carryout.Two suspects were wounded in a struggle between the officer and the would-be robbers, investigators said.Officer Herman Jones Sr., 50, a policeman for 23 years, was pronounced dead at Johns Hopkins Hospital from a bullet wound to the pelvis that apparently severed the femoral artery. He died in surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital about 40 minutes after being admitted.

A 74-year-old woman found beaten to death at her home and two men who were shot several times in their apartment were among the four latest victims of Baltimore homicides late last night and early today, city police reported.Also slain was an unidentified man in his late teens or early 20s who was shot to death on a northeast Baltimore street.Police had no suspects in any of the cases early today.Police identified the woman as Jeromia B. O'Neal, who lived alone in the 1200 block of N. Caroline St. in East Baltimore.

The packed West Baltimore funeral was unsettled before the shots rang out. At 12:15 p.m. yesterday, the Rev. Napoleon Rush was preaching on the need to stop the violence that had brought 300 mourners to Unity United Methodist Church to view the body of Anthony Lamont Izzard Sr., 26, killed April 11 in a triple shooting. "I noticed a lot of things that was out of order," Rush said of the overflow crowd, many of them young and, according to him, "in the drug life." Instead of sitting quietly in the pews, many mourners were walking in and out of the church, according to Rush, and not abiding by his calls for order.

NEVE DEKALIM, Gaza Strip - Israel closed the main crossing point leading to its settlements in the Gaza Strip at midnight yesterday to all but military vehicles, signaling the start of the evacuation of the 21 settlements and the troops protecting them. Israeli soldiers were expected to fan out across the settlements early today, serving residents with eviction notices. The withdrawal will end 38 years of occupation of the Gaza Strip, which Israel captured along with the West Bank in the 1967 Middle East war. Four West Bank settlements will also be removed.

Maryland morphs back into wintry conditions today, with morning rain changing over to snow this afternoon as it turns blustery and cold. The National Weather Service in Sterling, Va., issued a wind advisory for Central and Western Maryland until 7 p.m. A cold front will push across the state, forcing temperatures to plummet from a high of near 50 degrees early today into the mid 30s. The chill follows yesterday's spring tease that brought a high of...

FORT MYERS, Fla. - As rare back-to-back tropical storms - one a hurricane, the other likely to become one - churned toward Florida, Gov. Jeb Bush declared a statewide emergency and mobilized the National Guard yesterday. Tourists were told to evacuate the low-lying Florida Keys. "Tomorrow's going to be an interesting day, to say the least," said Ben Nelson, state meteorologist for the Florida Division of Emergency Management. In 150 years of reliable storm data, he said, there was no precedent for two hurricanes striking Florida in such rapid succession.

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A cease-fire between American forces and insurgents loyal to a rebel cleric appeared to be unraveling as fighting erupted yesterday and early today in the centers of the cities of Najaf and Kufa. Three U.S. soldiers were killed and two others were injured in separate engagements ,the military said today. Two of the soldiers were killed yesterday near Kufa, where insurgents loyal to the 31-year-old radical cleric Motqada al-Sadr have clashed with U.S. troops. One soldier died when attackers ambushed a patrol while the other was killed when a rocket-propelled grenade struck his tank.

A 46-year-old Anne Arundel County man was unaccounted for early today after a fire in a Severn farmhouse, authorities said. Firefighters called to the 7600 block of Plumbers Pasture Lane about 10 p.m. found a two-story house engulfed in flames, according to the Anne Arundel County Fire Department. Two members of the household made it to safety, but the status of the third was unknown, a department spokesman said.

After waiting five days for a rescue plane, a sick employee stationed at the South Pole will be flying out early today to get medical treatment. The Twin Otter rescue plane arrived at the National Science Foundation's Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station at 5:13 p.m. yesterday. The name of the male employee of Raytheon Polar Services based in Centennial, Colo., has not been released. Unconfirmed reports indicate he is suffering from bladder problems that could require surgery. The rescue effort had been delayed for five days because of bad weather.

JERUSALEM - Plans by Israel to end its occupation of two West Bank cities and return them to Palestinian control hit last-minute snags early today over the removal of checkpoints and how Palestinian police would supervise suspected militants. Israeli and Palestinian security officials have scheduled another round of talks tomorrow for the withdrawal of troops from Jericho and Qalqilya. The abrupt breakdown today was a surprise, as both sides had portrayed the hand-over as all but completed.

Four city police officers were wounded by gunfire last night while they served a search warrant at a North Baltimore rowhouse as part of a drug investigation, authorities said. The officers - two of them in plainclothes - were rushed by ambulance to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center and were in good condition, said Police Commissioner Edward T. Norris. Three were hit in the leg, and the other was shot in one or both hands as he held a protective body shield, police said. The gunfire erupted shortly before 9 p.m., as the officers, three of them members of the Northeastern District's drug enforcement unit, attempted to raid the house in the 1000 block of Cameron Road, where police said drug activity was conducted.

BETHLEHEM, West Bank - A monthlong standoff between the Israeli army and Palestinians holed up inside this city's venerated Church of the Nativity appeared to be nearing an end early today, with negotiators expressing cautious hope that the crisis might soon be resolved. A top aide to Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat met yesterday with Israeli and U.S. officials for intensive talks aimed at breaking the siege, which began April 2. More than 200 Palestinians took shelter in the church when Israeli troops entered Bethlehem as part of their West Bank offensive.