Suspect hospitalized in Oakland freeway shootout

A convicted felon armed with three guns and wearing a bulletproof vest opened fire on California Highway Patrol officers for several minutes during a traffic stop on an Oakland freeway Sunday before he was shot multiple times and wounded, authorities said.

Byron Christopher Williams, 45, of Groveland was in serious but stable condition Sunday night at Highland Hospital and was expected to survive despite being shot in the arm, side, leg and foot, said CHP Sgt. Trent Cross. Cross described Williams' condition as serious but stable.

Cross said Williams had an "extensive criminal history," and another conviction would mean a third strike under …

Sixth Suffolk race down to the wire for candidates

As the only two candidates running to replace retiring state Rep. Shirley Owens-Hicks, William Celester and Willie Mae Alien are campaigning as much against their respective pasts as they are against each other.

The election is considered crucial for the development of the Sixth District, long known for its disappointing public schools, drugs and crime.

Allen and Celester made another attempt to gain more voters last week as they debated during a forum at the Great Hall in Codman Square sponsored by the Civic Engagement Initiative, a non-partisan voter participation project.

The candidates struck similar notes on the need to improve public education, reduce youth …

Iran agrees to provide answers to programs linked by U.S. to nuclear arms activities

Tehran and the U.N. atomic agency have agreed to wrap up a probe into secret activities linked by the U.S. to a possible Iranian weapons program within four weeks, an official and diplomats have said.

The time limit was announced by International Atomic Energy Agency official Melissa Fleming Sunday at the end of talks in Tehran between IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei and top Iranian leaders.

ElBaradei also was given new information on Iran's "new generation of centrifuges" during weekend talks with Iranian leaders, said Fleming, his spokeswoman. That issue is a priority for the agency as it tries to establish how far advanced Iran is in developing …

Briefs

EXELON IMPROVES OUTLOOK

Exelon Corp., the largest U.S. utility owner by market value,raised its 2005 earnings forecast on higher profit from powergeneration and rising energy demand. Net income this year will be$3.05 to $3.20 a share, Chicago-based Exelon said today. Thatcompares with $2.78 a share in 2004. Exelon's previous forecast, madein January, was $2.95 to $3.15 a share.

FCC SCRAPS PHONE WEB RULES

The Federal Communications Commission scrapped rules that forcephone companies to let competitors rent space on networks thatdeliver high-speed Internet service at discounted rates. The FCCvoted 4-0 today to let Verizon Communications and other Baby …

Blacks hit hardest by blood pressure Series: THE SILENT KILLER (STANDARD)

Blacks suffer high blood pressure with greater frequency andferocity than whites.

They are "five times more likely than whites to have strokescaused by hypertension. The incidence of kidney failure induced byhypertension is 18 times greater in blacks than whites," said Dr.Paul Crawford, a private-practice kidney specialist active inhypertension prevention programs for the Chicago branch of theAmerican Heart Association.

More than 100,000 blacks a year in this country die fromhypertension-related disease, including heart attack, stroke andkidney failure.

Racial differences in blood pressure are not obvious until afteradolescence or early adulthood. By …

Tunisian parties taking part in elections

A glance at the main parties competing in Tunisia's elections for a constitutional assembly. Though there are 117 parties registered and around 80 actually participating only a handful are expected to win any seats.

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ENNAHDA: Founded in the 1970s, the Hizb Ennahda or Renaissance Party, was brutally suppressed by the country's first president, Habib Bourguiba, and then by his successor Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, with thousands of activists jailed. With the fall of Ben Ali, however, it managed to reconstitute itself as the best organized party in the country. It espouses a moderate form of Islam that it says does not clash with the country's progressive traditions, such as …

Petkovic beats Shvedova to reach Gastein final

Andrea Petkovic of Germany has beaten Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan 6-2, 6-1 to reach her first career WTA Tour final at the Nuernberger Gastein Ladies.

Petkovic will play either top-seeded Alize Cornet or Ioana Raluca Olaru in Sunday's …