Argentina
Companies investigated
Police confiscated documents, computer tapes and surveillance videos Thursday from a dozen banks and companies to investigate whether up to $27 billion flew out of Argentina last month just days before the country's financial collapse.
Among the companies expected to be searched today: United and American Airlines.
Argentina suffered an economic breakdown in December, defaulting on $141 billion in foreign debt.
One of the fundamental problems was the failure of banks to cover deposits.
On Thursday, a judge launched a probe to determine whether the reason that the banks failed to give depositors their money was that they were tipped off about a possible freeze on withdrawals and emptied their reserves in advance.
New York
DNA frees 100th inmate
Marking DNA's stunning revelations for the nation's criminal justice system, new tests led to the release of the 100th person to be freed nationwide because of genetic testing.
The release of Larry Mayes in Indiana last month comes as a timely victory for a nationwide coalition of advocates seeking to free those wrongfully convicted. The advocates plan to gather this weekend to call for reform of the criminal justice system.
Mayes, 52, spent 21 years in prison for a rape of a gas station cashier that he steadfastly maintained he never committed. He was released from Indiana State Prison on Dec. 21 after DNA tests of old crime scene evidence was compared to his own genetic tests.
Last year, there were 20 inmates freed by DNA tests.
WASHINGTON
Bush eyes arctic drilling
President Bush launched a renewed pitch Thursday for legislation that would open part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to oil and gas exploration, presenting the plan as a potentially rich source of jobs and winning the embrace of five major unions.
With his visit to the Teamsters, Bush sought to focus attention on his energy measure, now pending in Congress.
The Teamsters have been one of the most vocal unions in backing the proposal to drill in Alaska, touting it as a source of jobs for its members.
The Natural Resource Defense Council disputes the jobs argument. It said that one study, by the Center for Economic and Policy Research, put the number at 46,000 and asserted that many would not last more than 10 years.
WASHINGTON
Mammal cells make 'silk'
By transplanting genes from a spider into cow and hamster cells, scientists have caused those cells to produce the protein that makes spider silk, a step that could point the way to commercial production of the tough fiber.
Spider silk has long been admired for its strength and durability and producing it has been a goal of researcher. They anticipate a range of uses, from surgical thread to soft body armor.
The process developed by Nexia Biotechnologies Inc., of Montreal, Quebec, and U.S. Army researchers in Natick, Mass., has produced small amounts of silk so far.
But Nexia President Jeffrey Turner says he can increase production to commercial scale using goats that would produce the silk protein in their milk.
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