Monrovia

Race fans are like any other sports fans -- they can't get enough of their sport. In the past, racing came to a halt during the winter months. Thanks to the Monrovia Raceway, that won't happen this year.For the next three Sundays beginning today, there will be indoor go-kart races in the Cow Palace at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium.The doors will open each Sunday at 7 a.m. with practice at 9 a.m. The time trials that will determine the starting field in each class begin at 11:30 a.m. The racing starts at 2 p.m.Aware that the interest for racing during the winter months does not subside, Monrovia Raceway officials scheduled an indoor race last year.

Frederick police say a Monrovia man was killed early Sunday when the vehicle he was driving struck a building. Police say two passengers in the vehicle also were injured in the crash. The driver was identified as 25-year-old Bradley David Aloi. Giuseppe Phillip Deluca, 23, of Ijamsville was taken to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center and Benjamin Joseph Nardella, 22, of Gaithersburg, was taken to Washington County Hospital, where he was treated and released.

The Monrovia Raceway, a kart track located adjacent to the 75-80 Dragway near Carroll County, has had its ups and downs.When it is operating, the track provides young and old the opportunity to race inexpensively. About four years ago, after a brief revival, the track closed for what many thought was the final time.As the track sat abandoned, it became evident that it would take someone special to re-open the facility, someone who was dedicated to racing and was willing to put the necessary time and money into it.Now George Streaker has brought the track back to life, bigger and better than ever.

LOS ANGELES -- The FBI is investigating whether Rep. Gary G. Miller, a California Republican, improperly used an unusual tax provision to avoid paying capital gains taxes on profits from land sales to California cities, law enforcement and government officials said. Last summer, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a watchdog group, filed a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service saying that Miller had not paid capital gains tax on the 2002 sale of 165 acres in Monrovia, Calif.

Buried among the brush and trees adjacent to 75-80 Dragway in Monrovia was a go-cart track that had been abandoned for years.One fallday in 1990, between races at the Frederick County dragway, Craig Fetter of Arbutus explored the desolate go-kart track."

MONROVIA, Liberia - Tens of thousands of Liberians burst through a barricade at dawn yesterday, pouring over the bridge that had separated warring government and rebel forces, reuniting a broken city as the first relief shipments in weeks arrived by sea and air. Searching for food, friends and family after a brutal 70-day siege, the civilians flowed in a great river of humanity that grew all morning. They pushed past a simple barrier of barbed wire that had been dropped by a helicopter Thursday and maintained overnight by four weary Nigeria peacekeeping soldiers.

MONROVIA -- At the 75-80 Dragway, where what comes after the decimal point means everything and a thousandth of a second can shatter hearts, 45 years seems like forever. And yet, Bill Wilcom says, "Time flew." Flew, like a souped-up '68 Camaro down the quarter-mile straightaway, over the paved hill and into the cornfield beyond. So much has packed the 4 1/2 decades since he and his dairy-farming brothers mowed down their alfalfa field and laid asphalt in a long lane like an airplane runway, not even bothering with a guardrail.

Lori Coon isn't your ordinary 11-year-old.She is a youngster with more maturity than some twice her age.She is at ease with adults and handles press interviews like a veteran. She also handles the wheel of a go kart like a seasoned racer.Last week, she won her first feature event in the junior sportsman class at the Monrovia Raceway in Frederick County.What was so special about the win is that Lori accomplished this in only her fourth day of racing."I was very surprised," said Coon of her feat.

MONROVIA, Liberia - Rebels pushed toward the heart of Liberia's embattled capital yesterday, trading heavy artillery fire with government troops and sending throngs of civilians into the streets seeking shelter. International relief groups said nearly 200 people were injured in the crossfire during two days of intense fighting. Widespread looting was reported across the capital, and tens of thousands of Liberians bearing buckets full of their possessions sought haven in churches, public buildings and housing complexes near the U.S. Embassy compound.

MONROVIA, Liberia - Leaping from white United Nations helicopters into a torrential rain, heavily armed Nigerian peacekeepers arrived in Liberia yesterday, ending weeks of uncertainty over an international rescue mission and bringing hope to desperate civilians. As the peacekeepers fanned out across the runway of Monrovia's Robertsfield airport and crouched in defensive positions, mobs of jubilant people overwhelmed security to welcome them. They sang and shouted what has become a common slogan in war-weary Liberia: "No more war!

MONROVIA -- At the 75-80 Dragway, where what comes after the decimal point means everything and a thousandth of a second can shatter hearts, 45 years seems like forever. And yet, Bill Wilcom says, "Time flew." Flew, like a souped-up '68 Camaro down the quarter-mile straightaway, over the paved hill and into the cornfield beyond. So much has packed the 4 1/2 decades since he and his dairy-farming brothers mowed down their alfalfa field and laid asphalt in a long lane like an airplane runway, not even bothering with a guardrail.

MONROVIA, Liberia - Tens of thousands of Liberians burst through a barricade at dawn yesterday, pouring over the bridge that had separated warring government and rebel forces, reuniting a broken city as the first relief shipments in weeks arrived by sea and air. Searching for food, friends and family after a brutal 70-day siege, the civilians flowed in a great river of humanity that grew all morning. They pushed past a simple barrier of barbed wire that had been dropped by a helicopter Thursday and maintained overnight by four weary Nigeria peacekeeping soldiers.

MONROVIA, Liberia - As Nigerian peacekeepers moved into the city yesterday for the first time, President Charles G. Taylor submitted his letter of resignation to the Liberian legislature, paving the way for his official handover of power to his vice president on Monday. The legislature officially accepted Taylor's offer to step down, but yesterday's developments left unanswered the more pressing question of when the president would leave the country. Rebels trying to topple Taylor from power have suggested that they will not release their pressure on the capital, Monrovia, until the president departs.

MONROVIA, Liberia - Leaping from white United Nations helicopters into a torrential rain, heavily armed Nigerian peacekeepers arrived in Liberia yesterday, ending weeks of uncertainty over an international rescue mission and bringing hope to desperate civilians. As the peacekeepers fanned out across the runway of Monrovia's Robertsfield airport and crouched in defensive positions, mobs of jubilant people overwhelmed security to welcome them. They sang and shouted what has become a common slogan in war-weary Liberia: "No more war!

MONROVIA, Liberia - President Charles Taylor offered last night the most specific timetable for his promised departure. Rebels here also said they had ordered their troops to stop attacks, after four days of shelling and gunfire that the government estimated had killed more than 600 people. It was unclear whether the rebel group, Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy, was aware of Taylor's latest departure plans, which he disclosed in a telephone interview. The larger mystery was whether either side's declarations were credible.

WASHINGTON - The capital of war-torn Liberia erupted yesterday with bloody fighting that left at least 90 Liberians dead and more than 350 wounded and spilled over to the U.S. Embassy, which was struck by a mortar round. The blast at the embassy complex in Monrovia caused no injuries to U.S. personnel, though a private American citizen suffered a minor shrapnel wound in a separate incident, said Philip T. Reeker, a State Department spokesman. The fighting escalated shortly after a contingent of more than three dozen Marines arrived to tighten security at the U.S. complex, as forces loyal to President Charles Taylor battled rebels who have been trying for weeks to seize the capital.

Much as Americans deplore the catastrophe of social breakdown in Somalia, something similar is happening closer to home in Liberia, where American associations are greater. In a civil war with no winners, the whole Liberian people are losers. Some 20,000 have been killed since 1990 and twice as many starved to death.The American nuns, Sisters Barbara Ann Mutra, Mary Joel Kolmer, Shirley Kolmer, Kathleen McGuire and Agnes Mueller, all in their 50s and 60s, nurses and teachers, spent years in Liberia, helping its development and sharing the lot of its people.

MONROVIA, Liberia - Rebels pushed toward the heart of Liberia's embattled capital yesterday, trading heavy artillery fire with government troops and sending throngs of civilians into the streets seeking shelter. International relief groups said nearly 200 people were injured in the crossfire during two days of intense fighting. Widespread looting was reported across the capital, and tens of thousands of Liberians bearing buckets full of their possessions sought haven in churches, public buildings and housing complexes near the U.S. Embassy compound.

MONROVIA, Liberia - Rebels battling to oust President Charles Taylor entered Liberia's capital yesterday, pushing tens of thousands of civilians and retreating soldiers farther downtown. Exploding rockets shattered the night after a day of heavy machine gun and mortar fire. Rebels crossed the St. Paul River Bridge that marks the boundary of the city, putting them within three miles of the city center. Dressed in full combat gear, Taylor took to the streets of Monrovia and called on his troops to fight until the very last man. He vowed to stick with his soldiers to the bitter end. "I say to you, my people, I will be here with you," Taylor said.