Washington, D.C.

Halliburton denies overcharging for gas

Vice President Dick Cheney’s former company said Thursday it had saved the Pentagon money even as new allegations surfaced that Halliburton’s own auditors warned of possible overcharging for fuel delivered to Iraq.

Halliburton said in a statement it expected to be cleared by the Defense Department of overcharging for gasoline it trucked into Iraq from Kuwait. Last week, Pentagon auditors said they suspected a Halliburton subsidiary, KBR, had overcharged the department by about $61 million on a no-bid contract to supply gasoline to Iraqis.

Michigan

Seven family members killed in house fire

A fast-spreading fire gutted a Grand Rapids home, killing seven family members ranging in age from 3 to 74, officials said Thursday.

The 1 1/2-story, wood-frame home was engulfed in flames, and there were no signs of life when firefighters arrived about 11:20 p.m. Wednesday, fire battalion chief Gerard Salatka said.

The bodies were found on both floors. Officials do not think anyone escaped, he said.

“It’s real rough. This is just unreal for everybody,” said Raelynn Kaminski, whose uncle and cousins were among those killed.

Kaminski identified the victims as her uncle Joseph Novakowski, 49; his daughters Natividad, 26; Angelina, 14; and Jolene, 12; his mother-in-law, Candida Muniz, 74; and Natividad’s sons Austin Andresiak, 4; and Darien Andresiak, 3.

Kaminski said her aunt, Novakowski’s wife, was at work and came home to find the house on fire.

Washington, D.C.

Federal jobless benefits set to end Saturday

Labor unions are trying to pressure President Bush and the GOP-controlled Congress to approve a new extension of federal unemployment benefits.

The program expires Saturday because Congress adjourned for the year without extending the benefits.

An average 90,000 jobless workers each week who exhaust their state benefits after Saturday won’t get the extra 13 weeks of federal aid that others have received since March 2002, when Congress first approved the help. Most states provide up to 26 weeks of aid to people who lose their jobs.

Republicans said extending the benefits was not necessary when unemployment is declining.

Ohio

Schools stay closed after bullets hit buses

Officials said schools would remain closed for a second day today at a Columbus district near a series of highway shootings after bullet marks were found on two school buses.

Officials already had canceled classes Thursday, a day after the marks were found near the taillights of the buses during maintenance inspections.

The district used the day off to inspect all of its 200 buses and confer with a task force investigating the shootings, said South-Western City Schools Supt. Kirk Hamilton. No other bullet marks were found during the inspection, he said.

The district serves about 20,500 students in grades kindergarten through 12, and today had been scheduled to be the last day of classes before a two-week winter break, Hamilton said.