USA

During a meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah II in the Oval Office Wednesday, President Bush called for an end to violence triggered by drawings of the prophet Muhammad but also said press freedom should be exercised with sensitivity. "I call upon the governments around the world to stop the violence, to be respectful, to protect property, protect the lives of innocent diplomats who are serving their countries overseas," Bush said.

A 6,500-acre wildfire still burning about 35 miles southeast of Los Angeles was apparently ignited late last week by undetected remnants of a controlled forest burn, a National Forest official said. No homes or lives have been destroyed by the blaze, which was 10 percent contained as dry winds arrived in the area Wednesday.

Just 8 percent of the 500 or so terror suspects still held in US custody at the Navy's Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, base are listed as fighters for terrorist groups, according to the lawyers of two of the detainees. They cited information compiled from declassified Defense Department evaluations.

Echoing some of the reforms West Virginia has instituted, the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration said it will publish new emergency rules for mine safety within the next two weeks. They will go into effect immediately. The new rules will require companies to provide readily accessible back-up oxygen supplies near every miner and to notify the agency within 15 minutes of an accident.

The Retail Industry Leaders Association filed suit Tuesday in Maryland challenging so-called "fair share" laws that would require companies with more than 10,000 employees, such as Wal-Mart, to spend at least 8 percent of their payroll on healthcare or contribute the difference to the state's Medicaid fund. The group wants to discourage similar spending mandates under consideration in at least 30 other states.

Scientists believe a pair of 160-million-year-old dinosaur skeletons found in China belong to the earliest known ancestors of Tyrannosaurus rex, according to a report in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature. Though far smaller and 90 million years older than its famous descendant, the two-legged creature could help shed light on T. rex's evolution.