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A home for the salmon?

President Bush is seeking to temporarily end habitat protections under the Endangered Species Act for 19 populations of salmon and steelhead trout in Washington, Oregon, California, and Idaho. The move could open the areas to greater development.

Hoping to settle lawsuits filed by the the National Association of Home Builders and 16 other groups of developers and local governments, the National Marine Fisheries Service said it will eliminate and revise the protections, which were issued by President Clinton. Environmentalists say Bush is going against his campaign pledge to help save the endangered fish.

For the first time, worldwide sales of new cellphones dipped last year, according to Gartner Dataquest. The 3.2 percent drop came as wireless firms reduced their discounts for new phones and many users held off upgrading to new models. Most of the decline was in Western Europe, where cellphones are already ubiquitous. Despite a US recession, sales rose in North America.

COLUMBUS, OHIO - Hundreds of teachers, parents, and students gathered here Monday to hear scientists who support teaching evolution square off against backers of "intelligent design," as the state school board struggles to develop science standards. The board must decide before 2003 what Ohio's 1.8 million public-school students should learn about this subject. The state's new standardized test for 10th graders will be based on the guidelines.

The current guidelines avoid the word "evolution" and recommend covering "change through time." A new draft includes evolution, but not "intelligent design," which some say is creationism disguised. The courts have barred creationism from public schools as a religious expression.