Storms kill six in small community

EAGLE PASS -- Six people were killed when severe storms spawned a tornado that struck a small community near Mexico yesterday, a local official said. The tornado hit unincorporated areas of Maverick County known as Loma Linda and Chula Vista, said Eagle Pass Fire Chief Roy Delacruz. The six fatalities were reportedly in one residence, Delacruz said. An unknown number of people were also injured . "We're still getting more and more people into the hospital," the fire chief said. (AP)

Washington, D.C.

The blood clot in Vice President Dick Cheney's left leg is slowly getting smaller, according to doctors who checked his leg yesterday and gave him an upbeat report, a spokeswoman said. Cheney was taken to his doctor's office for an ultrasound of the clot, then returned to the White House to resume his normal schedule, said Megan McGinn, a spokeswoman for the vice president. On March 5, doctors discovered that Cheney had a clot, called a deep venous thrombosis, in his left lower leg. Cheney, 66, has a history of heart problems. (AP)

Chinese officials yesterday granted Tai Shan, the National Zoo's popular giant panda cub, an extra two years at the Smithsonian Institution park with his parents. Under a panda loan agreement with China, any cub born at the National Zoo would be returned for breeding sometime after its second birthday. Tai Shan turns 2 on July 9 but will remain with his mother, Mei Xiang, and father, Tian Tian, at least until 2009. (AP)

A former congressional aide pleaded guilty yesterday to accepting tens of thousands of dollars in gifts from lobbyist Jack Abramoff in an influence-peddling scandal that has touched the White House, Interior Department, and congressional Republicans. Mark Zachares was the 11th person convicted in the Justice Department probe. (AP)