Tuesday News

• 2 bodies found in freezer

  She walked barefoot along the gravel road, her pink nightshirt stained. The girl wore her hair in pigtails, each fastened with a pink barrette, her dark hair so matted it looked as if it were in dreadlocks.

• House rejects $700B bailout plan

  The historic effort to rescue the U.S. financial system was thrown into doubt yesterday after the House rejected a $700 billion emergency plan, sending stocks to their deepest one-day point loss ever. Stunned leaders of both parties and the White House scrambled to put together a new effort to bolster confidence in the U.S. financial system after the legislation that was widely expected to pass the House fell victim to partisan acrimony.

• Stocks plunge as House rejects bailout package

  Stocks plunged yesterday with the Dow Jones industrial average falling nearly 780 points - the biggest one-day point drop ever - after federal lawmakers failed to pass a $700 billion plan to bail out the financial system.

• Correction

  The Baltimore Sun is committed to providing fair and accurate coverage. Readers who have concerns or comments are encouraged to call the newspaper's comment line at 410-332-6364 or toll-free at 1-800-829-8000, Ext. 6364, or to send an e-mail to underthesun@baltsun.com.

• Israel must withdraw, Olmert says

  Israel will have to give up "almost all" of the West Bank areas it occupies and accept the division of Jerusalem in order to take advantage of a rapidly closing window of opportunity for peace with the Arabs, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said in an interview published yesterday.

• European tour group rescued from captors

  CAIRO, Egypt Egyptian and Sudanese troops, backed by European commandos, swooped down in helicopters yesterday to rescue a tour group that had been kidnapped in Egypt and taken on a 10-day dash across the Sahara to the frontier of Chad. Freedom for the 11 European tourists and eight Egyptian guides came hours after Sudanese troops killed six of the abductors and captured two who revealed where the remaining gunmen were holding their captives. The brother of one of the freed Egyptians said he was told that the kidnappers abandoned the captives in the desert and fled soon before the rescuers arrived. Egyptian officials released no details of the rescue except to say troops used helicopters to bring out the prisoners.

• Former CIA official pleads guilty to fraud

  WASHINGTON The former No. 3 official at the CIA pleaded guilty yesterday to defrauding the government, closing an investigation that linked the nation's pre-eminent spy service to the corruption scandal involving former Republican Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham of California. In admitting that he abused his rank to steer lucrative contracts to cronies, Kyle Dustin "Dusty" Foggo, the agency's one-time executive director, became one of the highest-ranking officials in CIA history to be convicted of criminal charges. The deal involved major concessions from prosecutors, who allowed Foggo to admit guilt to a single fraud charge, wiping out 27 additional counts that included money laundering and conspiracy. Foggo, 53, faces up to 20 years in custody and a $250,000 fine, but prosecutors indicated that they would recommend he serve no more than 37 months. Foggo was accused of directing millions of dollars in business to a longtime friend, Brent Wilkes, who is serving a 12-year sentence after being convicted of bribing Cunningham

• 12 bodies are found near school in Tijuana

  TIJUANA, Mexico The bodies of 11 men and one woman were found dumped in an empty lot next to a Tijuana elementary school yesterday morning, an hour before children were scheduled to arrive. City officials suspended classes after finding the victims, most of whom had been bound and tortured. Some were only partially clothed, said Tijuana police spokeswoman Prisna Perez. Minutes after the grisly discovery, four other bodies were found in another empty lot in Tijuana, and two other bodies were discovered late Sunday in a lot next to a factory. Investigators believe 16 of the victims were killed by warring drug gangs. The other two were victims of street crime, said Jose Manuel Yepiz, spokesman for the Baja California attorney general's office.

• Cadbury recalls chocolate made in China

  HONG KONG British candy maker Cadbury announced a recall yesterday of chocolate made in its Beijing factory after it was found to contain melamine, the industrial chemical that has sickened tens of thousands of Chinese children. The 11 recalled items were sold in parts of Asia and the Pacific, the company said in a statement. Cadbury's chocolates sold in the United States were not affected, said a spokesman for Hershey's, Cadbury's sole U.S. distributor. Meanwhile, Kraft Foods, the maker of Oreo cookies, and Mars, the maker of M&Ms and Snickers candy, questioned the findings of Indonesian tests that identified melamine in samples of their products made in China. Both Kraft Foods and Mars said they would comply with an Indonesian recall but planned to conduct their own tests and look into the possibility the tainted products were counterfeits.

• U.S. warships surround hijacked freighter

  NAIROBI, Kenya U.S. warships yesterday surrounded an arms-laden freighter hijacked by pirates, sealing off any possible escape in a standoff near the craggy Somalia coastline. Lt. Nathan Christensen, a Navy spokesman, said that "several destroyers and missile cruisers" had joined the U.S. destroyer that was already following the hijacked vessel. He would not specify the number of warships or what they would do if the pirates refused to surrender. "Our intent is for the ship not to offload any of its cargo," he said, referring to the 33 battle tanks and large supply of grenade launchers and ammunition now in the hands of the pirates. The ship, operated by a Ukrainian arms supplier, was hijacked Thursday in Somalia's pirate-infested waters. The U.S. military, among others, fears that the pirates could sell the dangerous cargo to Islamist insurgents battling Somalia's weak government.

• Justice Dept. probe flays White House

  As U.S. attorney general Alberto R. Gonzales and his top deputy, Paul J. McNulty, "abdicated their responsibility" in the 2006 dismissals of nine federal prosecutors, were aloof and uninformed about the process, and offered the public reasons for the firings that were "inconsistent, misleading and or inaccurate," Justice Department investigators concluded yesterday.

• Md. lawmakers say plan does not protect individuals

  Rep. Elijah E. Cummings wanted more help for homeowners facing foreclosure. Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett didn't want to reward the "bad behavior" of irrational lenders and borrowers.

• McCready heading to jail

  Country singer Mindy McCready will surrender to authorities today to begin serving a 60-day sentence for violating her probation on a 2004 drug charge.

• A piece of Glass

  The New York City Opera yesterday announced it has commissioned Baltimore native Philip Glass to compose an opera that imagines the final months in the life of Walt Disney.

• Ready to rumble

  The highly anticipated revival of West Side Story has found a theater and set an opening date on Broadway.

• The Boss gets nod to play at Super Bowl halftime

  Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will perform at the Super Bowl halftime show in Tampa, Fla., the NFL and NBC announced Sunday night.