March 18, 1998 in Nation/World on Page A1 Homes east of St. Maries were inundated by the St. Joe River in February 1996. File/The Spokesman-Review

March 18, 1998 in Nation/World on Page A1 Two North Idaho counties rank in the top 10 statewide in population growth from 1990 to 1997, the U.S. Census Bureau has announced. Kootenai County’s population is 98,767, up 28,972 …

March 18, 1998 in Nation/World on Page A1 It is the question that Americans are asking from coast to coast: Could the same woman who fended off President Clinton’s unwelcome sexual advance, as Kathleen Willey says she did, …

March 18, 1998 in Nation/World on Page A1 Washington’s population rose in all 39 counties during the past seven years, with rural Stevens and Pend Oreille counties recording some of the sharpest growth rates, the U.S. Census Bureau …

March 18, 1998 in Nation/World on Page A1 Idaho’s corrections director quietly has gotten a large raise - from $79,040 to $95,014 - in a year when employees in his department got no raises. The 20.2 percent boost …

March 18, 1998 in Nation/World on Page A1 Drug addiction can be treated as effectively as treating diabetes or other chronic diseases, America’s medical establishment argued Tuesday, and the nation’s current emphasis on punishment rather than treatment is …

March 18, 1998 in Nation/World on Page A1 A nationally recognized expert in hepatitis A and the state’s chief epidemiologist will talk about the virus today at the Spokane Regional Health District. “We’re hoping we can put Spokane …

March 18, 1998 in Nation/World on Page A2 1. Ellie Dahmer holds a photo of Vernon Dahmer in this file photo. File/Associated Press 2. Vernon Dahmer, a civil rights leader, died after his home, left, in Hattiesburg, Miss., …

March 18, 1998 in Nation/World on Page A2 Ten years ago: The government of Panama, controlled by Gen. Manuel Antonio Noriega, declared a “state of urgency” in a move apparently aimed at forcing the reopening of banks and …

March 18, 1998 in Nation/World on Page A2 Tuesday’s Washington Triple Choice: 8-7-5.

March 18, 1998 in Nation/World on Page A2 1931: Schick Inc. marketed the first electric razor. 1937: More than 400 people, mostly children, were killed in a gas explosion at a school in New London, Texas. 1959: President …

March 18, 1998 in Nation/World on Page A2 (Photo of sign)

March 18, 1998 in Nation/World on Page A3 Americans are moving west and south, fattening counties near such cities as Denver and Atlanta, the Census Bureau says. Colorado and Georgia each claim three of the fastest-growing counties in …

March 18, 1998 in Nation/World on Page A3 Internet service providers have a new means to keep computer users from getting “spammed” with junk e-mail. Sendmail, the most popular software used to route e-mail through companies and institutions …

March 18, 1998 in Nation/World on Page A3 The Rev. David M. O’Connell, associate vice president and dean at St. John’s University in New York, was named the 14th president of Catholic University on Tuesday. O’Connell, 42, will …

March 18, 1998 in Nation/World on Page A3 Federal officials announced the merger Tuesday of their investigations into three Atlanta bombings with the probe of a blast at a Birmingham, Ala., abortion clinic. The announcement made no mention …

March 18, 1998 in Nation/World on Page A4 Defying convention in this traditionally pro-British Protestant city, more than 10,000 Catholics marched into the center of Belfast on Tuesday in the city’s first-ever St. Patrick’s Day parade. Celebrants strolled …

March 18, 1998 in Nation/World on Page A4 All the parties to the Northern Ireland peace negotiations paraded through the Oval Office on Tuesday to hear President Clinton admonish them not to squander “the chance of a lifetime …

March 18, 1998 in Nation/World on Page A4 Women who charged Sgt. Maj. Gene McKinney with sexual harassment are banding together to defend his chief accuser in a libel suit he filed against her. “The truth is my …

March 18, 1998 in Nation/World on Page A5 1. A man crosses a road in Kowloon underneath the flight path of Hong Kong’s Kai Tak airport as a jet prepares to land. Photo by Associated Press 2. A …

March 18, 1998 in Nation/World on Page A5 The remains of 86 Japanese officers who died in Soviet prison camps after World War II will be returned to Japan this summer, Russian news agencies reported Tuesday. A Japanese …

March 18, 1998 in Nation/World on Page A6 Vitamin E appears to significantly reduce the risk for prostate cancer, according to a major international study released Tuesday. The study - which involved 29,133 white male smokers in Finland …

March 18, 1998 in Nation/World on Page A6 Three University of California campuses are showing dramatic declines in the number of black, Hispanic and American Indian freshmen admitted to the first fall class since affirmative action was dropped. …