Race gap analyzed in traffic stops

Black, Hispanic, and white drivers are equally likely to be pulled over by police, but blacks and Hispanics are much more likely to be searched and arrested, a Justice Department study found. Police also were much more likely to threaten or use force against blacks and Hispanics than against whites in any encounter. The study, released yesterday, covered incidents during 2005 and was based on interviews with nearly 64,000 people. (AP)

Tony Snow, President Bush's press secretary, will return to work at the White House today, while continuing to undergo chemotherapy. He said he has a message for people with cancer: "Don't think about dying. Think about living." Last month, Snow learned his colon cancer had recurred and spread to his liver. Snow, 51, a former radio and television host, plans to use high-profile position to give other cancer patients hope, and to educate the public. (New York Times News Service)

GEORGIA

WAYCROSS -- Firefighters have contained about 70 percent of the largest wildfire in Georgia history, which had charred 100 square miles of forest and swampland, officials said yesterday. A few families were unable to return to their homes on the opposite side of US Highway 1 from the main blaze. Smaller spot fires started in that area over the weekend, the Georgia Forestry Commission said. (AP)

ILLINOIS

MURPHYSBORO -- A teenager was in jail yesterday after police said he threatened to shoot people at a high school prom. Shane S. Bramlett, 18, of Ava, left a message on his ex-girlfriend's cellphone threatening an attack at the Murphysboro High School prom, police said. Investigators also said he made a similar threat in a conversation with her. The prom was held without incident Saturday. (AP)

COLORADO

LITTLETON -- Thanks to an anonymous donor, a memorial to the 13 people killed at Columbine High School will be completed this summer. The total cost, including donated labor and material, is $1.5 million. Organizers would not say how much the anonymous donor delivered, but their website had listed the shortfall as $167,000. (AP)

WASHINGTON

MOUNT RAINIER -- Work crews have spent thousands of hours repairing $36 million in damage caused by a deluge last fall that closed Mount Rainier National Park for the first time in a quarter-century. Even as they prepare to reopen one of the Pacific Northwest's most popular attractions on May 5, work still remains. (AP)