The News in 2 Minutes

From The Associated Press

Wall Street plummets, sending Dow down 416
NEW YORK — Stocks had their worst day of trading since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks Tuesday, briefly hurtling the Dow Jones industrials down more than 500 points on a worldwide tide of concern that the U.S. and Chinese economies are stumbling and that share prices have become overinflated.

The steepness of the market’s drop, as well as its global breadth, signaled a possible correction after a long period of stable and steadily rising stock markets, which had not been shaken by such a volatile day of trading in several years.

A 9 percent slide in Chinese stocks, which came a day after investors sent Shanghai’s benchmark index to a record high close, set the tone for U.S. trading.

The Dow fell 546.02, or 4.3 percent, to 12,086.06 before recovering some ground in the last hour of trading to close down 416.02, or 3.29 percent, at 12,216.24.

The drop hit every sector of stocks across the market. Riskier issues such as small-cap and technology stocks suffered the biggest declines.

U.S. inviting Iran, Syria

to “neighbors meeting”

WASHINGTON. D.C.—The United States and the Iraqi government are launching a new diplomatic initiative to invite Iran and Syria to a “neighbors meeting” on stabilizing Iraq, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday.

“We hope that all governments seize this opportunity to improve their relations with Iraq and to work for peace and stability in the region,” Rice said in remarks prepared for delivery to a Senate committee. Excerpts were released in advance by the State Department.

The move reflects a change of approach by the Bush administration, which previously had resisted calls by members of Congress and by a bipartisan Iraq review group to include Iran and Syria in diplomatic talks on stabilizing Iraq.

Suicide bomber had no chance at Cheney
BAGRAM, Afghanistan—The suicide attacker had no hope of getting past the security at the Bagram Air Base to attack Vice President Dick Cheney. In addition to the 5,100 U.S. troops, there are land mines, gun turrets and razor wire.

But the attack—which killed 23 people including two Americans—was a propaganda victory anyway for the resurgent Taliban, who are seeking to wear down public support for the Afghan government and the U.S.-led coalition that supports it.

The bomber struck Bagram’s outer gate at about 10 a.m., and U.S. military officials declared a “red alert” at the base while Cheney was rushed to a bomb shelter. Cheney, who had been stranded at the base overnight by a snowstorm, met with President Hamid Karzai in the capital before heading back to the United States via the Gulf state of Oman.

“I heard a loud boom,” Cheney told reporters aboard Air Force Two en route to Oman. “The Secret Service came in and told me there had been an attack on the main gate.”

Antioxidant vitamins ‘don’t lengthen life’
CHICAGO— Antioxidant vitamins, including A, E and C, don’t help you live longer, according to an analysis of dozens of studies of these popular supplements.

The new review showing no long-life benefit from those vitamins, plus beta carotene and selenium, adds to growing evidence questioning the value of these supplements.

Some experts said, however, that it’s too early to toss out all vitamin pills—or the possibility that they may have some health benefits. Others said the study supports the theory that antioxidants work best when they are consumed in food rather than pills.

The new study, appearing in Wednesday’s Journal of the American Medical Association, was led by the Cochrane Hepato-Biliary Group at Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark.

5 had $700,000 in stolen bonds
SALT LAKE CITY —Five men ejected from an Amtrak train for smoking marijuana were discovered with a cardboard box holding $700,000 in U.S. savings bonds, apparently stolen from a Nevada house, authorities said Tuesday.

The men were traveling to Chicago from Sacramento, Calif., to launder the bonds when they were arrested Feb. 19 at a depot in Helper, about 100 miles south of Salt Lake City, the FBI said.

“They have mentioned they’re from Sacramento and the Phoenix area but the exact cities of residence are unclear at this point,” said Melodie Rydalch, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Salt Lake City.

Druse becomes first Arab Israeli president
JERUSALEM — Israel got its first Arab president Tuesday, even if it’s only for a week.

Acting President Dalia Itzik left Tuesday on a trip to the U.S., leaving Majalli Wahaba, a Druse, as Israel’s ceremonial president.

Wahaba’s unexpected journey to the president’s office began last month when President Moshe Katsav was suspended as he faced multiple criminal charges, including rape. Itzik, who is the speaker of parliament, stepped in to take his place.