Report: Charter school 4th graders score lower

WASHINGTON -- Fourth graders in traditional public schools score better in reading and math than students in charter schools, according to a government report that is likely to spur a fresh debate over the benefits of school choice.

'Idol' wannabes descend on city of champs

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (AP) -- After failing to advance at the "American Idol" auditions in New Jersey earlier this month, Priscilya Hawkes decided it couldn't hurt to give it another go in a city that's produced two winners and two runners-up.

Hurricane chief: 'Mega-disaster' coming

MIAMI, Florida (Reuters) -- If you thought the sight of New Orleans flooded to the eaves -- its people trapped in attics or cowering on rooftops -- was the nightmare hurricane scenario, think again.

Airline terror suspects go to court

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Court hearings for 11 suspects charged in the alleged plot to bomb trans-Atlantic airliners are under way in London.

D.C. bolsters New Orleans crime fighters

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is promising federal help to police battling increasing crime in New Orleans.

Terrorism charges in alleged missile, bribery plot

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Eight men have been charged with plotting to buy surface-to-air missiles for Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels, U.S. federal prosecutors have announced.

Deputy, inmate injured in courthouse shooting

JEFFERSON, Georgia (AP) -- An inmate in chains and leg irons grabbed a deputy's gun and shot him outside a county courthouse Monday but was gunned down by other deputies as he drove away in a police van.

Former Atlanta mayor reports to prison

ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- Former Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell reported to a Florida federal prison Monday, beginning a 21/2 year sentence for tax evasion.

Ex-President Ford stable after getting pacemaker

ROCHESTER, Minnesota (CNN) -- Former President Gerald Ford has received a cardiac pacemaker and is in stable condition at the Mayo Clinic, where the procedure was done, a statement from his office said Monday.

USS Cole skipper is denied promotion

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Nearly six years after the deadly terrorist attack on the USS Cole, the Navy has decided that the officer who was skipper of the ship is not qualified for a promotion that had been in limbo since 2002.

Phoenix serial killing suspects plead not guilty

PHOENIX, Arizona (AP) -- Two men charged with more than a dozen shootings that terrorized the Phoenix area for months pleaded not guilty Monday to charges of murder and attempted murder.

Researchers: Fewer Vietnam vets had stress disorder

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) -- The widely cited estimate that one in three Vietnam veterans suffered post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of their service may be too high, researchers are reporting.

Escaped inmate shuts Virginia Tech campus

BLACKSBURG, Virginia (AP) -- Virginia Tech shut down its campus Monday and ordered everyone to remain inside as authorities searched for an escaped inmate suspected of killing a hospital guard and a sheriff's deputy.

Bush: Hezbollah must not be allowed to re-arm

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush on Monday said there would be no quick U.S. exit from Iraq despite his concerns over talk of civil war in the country and the effect the war is having in American society.

Church dumps teacher for being female

WATERTOWN, New York (AP) -- The minister of a church that dismissed a female Sunday School teacher after adopting what it called a literal interpretation of the Bible says a woman can perform any job -- outside of the church.

Engineers swap out bolts on Atlantis

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (AP) -- Technicians on Sunday successfully swapped out two bolts securing a crucial communications antenna on space shuttle Atlantis because engineers thought they were too short.

Boy George wraps up community service

NEW YORK (AP) -- Sporting a sunburn and blisters on his fingers, Boy George wrapped up his court-ordered community service -- sweeping the streets for the sanitation department.

Jill Carroll: Held captive by 'Zarqawi's boss'

(The Christian Science Monitor) -- One day, Ink Eyes, my chief captor, arrived for a chat.

Four officers hurt in Texas shootout

MIDLOTHIAN, Texas (AP) -- Three police officers and a state trooper were shot and wounded Sunday afternoon and the alleged gunman died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, ending a standoff that lasted more than eight hours, police said.

Photog who shot Iwo Jima flag-raising dies

SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- Photographer Joe Rosenthal, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his immortal image of six World War II servicemen raising an American flag over battle-scarred Iwo Jima, died Sunday. He was 94.