GECKO SPREADS THROUGH WESTERN UNITED STATES

Gecko spreads throughwestern United States
LAWRENCE, Kan. -- There's a new creature crawling around Kansas. Herpetologists have confirmed that the Mediterranean gecko, above, is taking up residence in the state, spreading north from the southeast United States over the past decade. "We knew it got as far as Norman, Oklahoma, in the early 1990s," said Joe Collins, University of Kansas herpetologist. "Well, it's here." And one is now on display at the Prairie Park Nature Center in Lawrence, feeding on crickets. "Ours has been hiding under rocks in its cage since we got him," said Marty Birrell, the center's director. "They are nocturnal, so we don't usually see them in the daytime." Collins said there were sightings late last year in Johnson County. He was asked in May about the gecko after someone caught the lizard, which Collins had previously seen and caught in Texas and Florida.
Sanction backers delayfor Chinese overtures
UNITED NATIONS -- Supporters of a resolution that would impose limited sanctions on North Korea agreed to delay a vote in the hope that China can pressure Pyongyang to return to six-party talks on its nuclear program and halt missile tests, U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said Monday. Ambassadors from the five veto-wielding nations on the Security Council -- who are divided over sanctions -- met with Japan, which sponsored the resolution, as a Chinese delegation arrived in North Korea pledging friendship and deeper ties. Bolton told reporters after the meeting that the resolution's supporters -- including the U.S., Britain, France and other European council members -- decided not to press for a vote Monday "while the diplomacy in Pyongyang proceeds." "We think it's important to keep the focus on Pyongyang, which after all is the source of this problem, and to provide maximum support for, and leverage on the Chinese mission to Pyongyang," he said. On July 5, North Korea test-fired seven missiles, apparently including a long-range one that potentially could reach the United States.
Suicide suspected in Manhattan explosion
NEW YORK -- A four-story building on Manhattan's Upper East Side collapsed into a pile of rubble Monday after a thunderous explosion that hurled fireballs skyward and left an upscale block littered with bricks, broken glass and splintered wood. Authorities said the blast was caused by gas, and they were investigating whether it was the result of a suicide attempt by the building's owner, a doctor who was going through a bitter divorce. At least 15 people were injured. The doctor, Nicholas Bartha, 66, recently sent out a rambling e-mail to his wife in which he contemplated suicide, a police official with direct knowledge of the case told The Associated Press. The note read in part, "You will be transformed from gold digger to ash and rubble digger."
Five children drown afterriver sweeps them away
BALLWIN, Mo. -- Five children -- four of them siblings -- drowned during a church outing when they were caught in a river's current, apparently while trying to help a sixth child who was rescued, authorities and the victims' relatives said Monday. The six were among about 50 youths with the St. Louis Dream Center, an interdenominational church that was celebrating a volunteer appreciation day with a barbecue and swimming in Castlewood State Park southwest of St. Louis. Witnesses said the children -- ages 10 to 17 -- were swept away as they played in the Meramec River on Sunday evening, said Tracy Panus, a St. Louis County police spokeswoman. Authorities worked through the night to find the victims after receiving a call around 6:30 p.m. Sunday.
Associated Press