HAUTHORITIES CRACK DOWN ON RIOTERS IN AUSTRALIA

hAuthorities crack downon rioters in Australia
SYDNEY, Australia -- Police officers arrest a man at Sydney's Cronulla Beach. Authorities moved to crack down on rioters after two days of racial unrest in Sydney's beach-side suburbs, while people of Middle Eastern descent were allegedly assaulted by whites in two other cities amid concerns the violence could spread, police said Tuesday. Police stopped and searched dozens of cars in the Sydney suburb of Cronulla -- where an attack Sunday by 5,000 white youths against people they believed were of Lebanese descent sparked two nights of race riots.
Governors sign agreementto protect the Great Lakes
MILWAUKEE -- Representatives of eight states and two Canadian provinces formally approved an agreement Tuesday that would prevent outsiders such as the booming cities of the Southwest from raiding Great Lakes water. The pact, reached last month after four years of talks, also seeks to encourage conservation of water by the states and Canadian provinces around the Great Lakes. With limited exceptions, it allows lake water to be transferred only to communities within the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River Basin. "The lakes represent a fresh water ecosystem that's unique on our planet, supporting thousands of species, including human beings. These agreements will protect our Great Lakes from the threats of diversions outside this basin," said Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle, the incoming chairman of the Council of Great Lakes Governors.
Ford hospitalized
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. -- Former President Ford, suffering from "a horrible cold," was in the hospital Tuesday for what his chief of staff called routine medical tests. Ford, 92, was admitted to Eisenhower Medical Center late Monday and was expected to be released today, spokeswoman Penny Circle said from Ford's Rancho Mirage office about 110 miles east of Los Angeles. "He's in for medical tests, routine tests," Circle told The Associated Press by telephone. "He's had a horrible cold and he still hasn't gotten over it." Circle said those tests are scheduled each December. She did not release other details.
Red Cross presidentannounces resignation
NEW YORK -- American Red Cross President Marsha Evans announced her resignation Tuesday because of friction with the board of governors, shortly before witnesses and lawmakers at a congressional hearing assailed the charity's response to Hurricane Katrina. Red Cross spokesman Charles Connor said the board was not unhappy with Evans' handling of the hurricane crisis, "but had concerns about her management approach, and coordination and communication with the board."
Project to attempt to mapcancer's genetic makeup
WASHINGTON -- Cancer is a disease of genes run amok, and scientists have found only a fraction of the bad actors. Tuesday, the government unveiled a $100 million project to speed discovery of culprits and cures, the first step toward a comprehensive map of cancer's genetic makeup. It's an audacious project -- the technology to even try it wasn't available just a few years ago. And it comes at a crucial time: Half of U.S. men and one in three women will develop cancer in their lifetimes, and cases are poised to jump as the baby boomer population begins hitting 60 next year. The Cancer Genome Atlas will "tackle the cancer problem like it's never been tackled before," said Dr. Francis Collins, genetics chief at the National Institutes of Health.
U.S. held detainees inEurope, investigator says
PARIS -- A European investigator said Tuesday he has found mounting indications the United States illegally held detainees in Europe but then hurriedly shipped out the last ones to North Africa a month ago when word leaked out. Dick Marty, a Swiss senator looking into claims the CIA operated secret prisons in Europe, said an ongoing, monthlong investigation unearthed "clues" that Poland and Romania were implicated -- perhaps unwittingly. Both countries have denied any involvement, and Marty said he believes no prisoners are now being held by the United States in Europe.
Associated Press