May 15, 2004 in Nation/World on Page A1 NAJAF, Iraq – In a high-stakes move, U.S. troops confronted fighters loyal to anti-American cleric Muqtada al Sadr in this holy city on Friday, turning its sprawling cemetery, sacred to …

May 15, 2004 in Nation/World on Page A1 BOSTON — The Supreme Court refused Friday to block Massachusetts from allowing gay marriages beginning Monday, removing the last legal impediment to what will be the nation’s first state-sanctioned same-sex …

May 15, 2004 in Nation/World on Page A2 FARGO, N.D. – A man who said he was fed up with his cellular phone service went to a Fargo mall and started hurling phones across a store, striking an …

May 15, 2004 in Nation/World on Page A2 NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – ExxonMobil Corp. and town officials are investigating a freak fire at a New Paltz gas station Thursday that is believed to have been ignited by a …

May 15, 2004 in Nation/World on Page A3 SAO PAULO, Brazil – Brazil’s government decided Friday not to revoke the visa of a New York Times reporter who wrote an article suggesting President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva …

May 15, 2004 in Nation/World on Page A3 Guatemalan archeologists have discovered the remains of one of the oldest known royal burials at an un-looted tomb in the 1,800-year-old Maya city of Takalik Abaj, about 125 miles west …

May 15, 2004 in Nation/World on Page A4 WASHINGTON — A new project of the Bush-Cheney campaign, “W Stands for Women,” aims to make Republican voters of the single and suburban women who are more concerned about safety …

May 15, 2004 in Nation/World on Page A4 WASHINGTON – The dog chasing a mail carrier may seem funny in the comics, but it’s no joke to the post office, which says more than 3,400 of its workers …

May 15, 2004 in Nation/World on Page A4 WASHINGTON – President Bush and his wife, Laura, will dash from Texas to Connecticut next weekend for private celebrations of their twin daughters’ college graduations. Jenna Bush is to graduate …

May 15, 2004 in Nation/World on Page A5 ST. CHARLES, Ill. – A woman who falsely claimed her 7-year-old son was dying of cancer and took thousands of dollars in donations from neighbors has pleaded guilty to a …

May 15, 2004 in Nation/World on Page A6 BAGHDAD, Iraq – The U.S. military today announced the deaths of four soldiers: two from wounds suffered in rebel attacks, one in a vehicle accident and one from natural causes. …

May 15, 2004 in Nation/World on Page A8 CONCORD, N.H. – Anticipating future moves into the state by gay couples married in neighboring Massachusetts, Gov. Craig Benson signed a bill Friday that blocks recognition of same-sex marriages performed …

May 15, 2004 in Nation/World on Page A9 NEW YORK – Has sex returned to Times Square? An advertising billboard seems to suggest so. A Swatch watch ad at Broadway and West 45th Street features a larger-than-life close-up …

May 15, 2004 in Nation/World on Page A9 ‘BEIJING — In a bid to clean up its airwaves, China has ordered television personalities to get rid of their “weird” clothing and “colorful” hairdos and stop tossing out English …

May 15, 2004 in Business on Page A10 A judge has dismissed a lawsuit the Port of Seattle filed against Avista Corp. and other energy companies, saying the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s jurisdiction over power markets prevents the …

May 15, 2004 in Business on Page A10 WASHINGTON — Inflation appears to be stirring from its hibernation. Consumer prices are advancing in the first four months of this year at a pace twice as fast as the …