Berlin

Gate’s unveiling highlights celebration

One million people gathered Thursday for the unveiling of the restored Brandenburg Gate as Germany celebrated 12 years as a reunited nation with a street party and a pledge of friendship by President Bush after weeks of tension between the two countries over Iraq.

For 40 years, the 18th-century gate stood as a symbol of division in no man’s land between East and West Germany, regaining a more positive role only after the Berlin Wall fell Nov. 9, 1989.

While the public holiday focused attention on the lingering gaps between east and west Germans, it also gave U.S. and German leaders an occasion to subdue a festering dispute over policy toward Iraq.

Schroeder has incensed Washington with his loud opposition to a U.S. invasion of Iraq, a stand credited with helping him win re-election last month.

North Korea

U.S., North Korea have historic meeting

U.S. and North Korean officials Thursday had their first talks on security issues in two years, but the State Department offered no information, saying any discussion of details would be premature.

The talks were in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, with Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly and Vice Foreign Minister Kim Gye Gwan heading the respective delegations.

After the discussions, the two delegations sat down for an informal dinner, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said.

The talks were to resume today.

Boucher said the purpose of the delegation’s visit was to explain U.S. policy and seek progress on a range of issues of long-standing concern to the United States.

The spokesman had no information on whether the delegation would meet with Kim Jong Il, the North Korean leader.

Earlier, the administration said Kelly and his colleagues planned to talk about North Korea’s long-range missiles, its capacity for mass destruction and its large force deployment near the demilitarized zone.

Washington, D.C.

Ford Crown Victoria investigation closes

A 10-month federal investigation ended Thursday without finding a defect in the Ford Crown Victoria police cars linked to the fiery deaths of a dozen officers.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the car exceeded federal standards for fuel system safety and the rate of fires was not much greater than with Chevrolet Caprice police cars.

Each of the 12 officers’ deaths since 1983 involved a Crown Victoria gas tank catching fire, often after being hit in the rear in a high-speed crash.

NHTSA said the car met current federal standards that require a vehicle to withstand a rear crash at 30 miles per hour without leaking fuel. The agency also said the vehicle did not leak fuel during a test at 50 miles per hour, which the agency has proposed to be the new standard.

The agency opened its investigation on Nov. 27, 2001, and has found 26 fires that led to 16 deaths and 11 injuries. Four of the deaths were from crashes involving civilian Crown Victoria cars.

Washington, D.C.

GOP makes offer on homeland security

Republicans sought to revive the stalled Homeland Security Department bill with a compromise Thursday they said would still give President Bush the management powers he wants. Democrats quickly rejected it.

Bush said that a Democratic version would limit powers dating to President Kennedy that allow a president to waive union agreements for federal employees for reasons of national security. The latest GOP offer preserves most of that power, which Democrats say tramples labor rights.

House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., matched Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle’s pledge to keep Congress in session until a homeland security bill passes. That also buys time to resolve a budget impasse.

Congress on Thursday approved a temporary spending bill to keep the government operating another week. The step was necessary because lawmakers have not passed any bills necessary for the budget year that began Tuesday.

Lawmakers had hoped to adjourn by Oct. 11 to campaign full time for the Nov. 5 elections; that now is in doubt.

California

Suspect in California bus attack hospitalized

A homeless man accused of stabbing a Greyhound bus driver with a pair of scissors and causing a crash that killed two passengers tried to commit suicide in jail Thursday, police said.

Arturo Martinez, 27, cut himself three times on the arms after taking apart a disposable razor issued by the jail, sheriff’s Lt. Margaret Mims said. Martinez was taken to the hospital and underwent surgery.

His arraignment was rescheduled for today.

Martinez, 27, was booked on suspicion of murder and attempted murder after Monday’s crash 70 miles outside Fresno.

The driver, Abel Hernandez, 50, was released from a hospital Tuesday.

Authorities said they still did not know the motive for the attack. They said Martinez might have mental problems.

Atlanta

3-year-old Georgia girl dies in sweltering car

Police have charged a mother with murder after she left her 3-year-old daughter with Down syndrome strapped in a sweltering car on the first day of her new job.

Ashante Burgess died Wednesday shortly after arriving at a hospital, where doctors said her temperature was 108 degrees.

Police also charged Nakia Burgess, 28, with cruelty to children. The woman’s attorney, Phinia Aten, said her client left Ashante in the car while she worked because she couldn’t find affordable day care.

The attorney said Ashante was playing with a chalkboard the first time Burgess checked on her. Burgess found her daughter unconscious around noon, less than 90 minutes after arriving to work as a transcriptionist.

Burgess was supposed to start the temporary job Monday, but had trouble finding child care, her attorney said. She was given an ultimatum to show up Wednesday or lose the job, Aten said.