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Three college students were killed execution-style in a Newark, N.J., schoolyard. Mayor Cory Booker, who took office a year ago, says police are making progress against the city's high murder rate. Mayor Booker speaks with Steve Inskeep

There is still no indication the trapped miners are alive after being cut off by a mountain of rock some 1,500 feet underground. Early Friday, crews drilling holes in a Utah mountain lowered a microphone to the spot where the collapse occurred, but heard no sounds. The mine's owner remains hopeful.

The Senate approves tighter ethics rules. The ethics reform bill makes it illegal for legislators to accept gifts, meals, and even travel from lobbyists. And it requires them to make public 48 hours in advance any plans for spending on pet projects. It goes now to President Bush.

As foreclosures continue to rise, regulators and others are questioning the role of credit agencies, which gave top ratings to risky mortgage-backed securities. Critics say the system, in which firms are paid by the companies they rate, is inherently flawed.

This week, U.S. intelligence agencies produced a new assessment of the violence in Iraq and the chances for political reconciliation there. The last National Intelligence Estimate in February said the security situation in Iraq was dire and getting worse. The latest report says it could "continue to improve modestly."

Mexican President Felipe Calderon used his State of the Union speech to critique the United States. He said he was protesting what he called the "persecution" of undocumented Mexican workers.

The new U.S. Court of Military Commission Appeals has heard arguments in its first case. Guantanamo detainee Omar Khadr was captured in Afghanistan in 2002 for allegedly killing a U.S. soldier. A semantic dispute over the term "unlawful" is at the heart of the debate.

The number of Americans without health insurance grew to an all time high of 47 million last year, an increase of more than 2 million from a year before. The number of children without health insurance coverage also rose. The Census Bureau figures are likely to raise the stakes in the political debate about health care.

Now that Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID) has announced his resignation, the focus is on possible successors. Lt. Gov. Jim Risch is widely regarded as the likely front runner. But many Idahoans angrily claim that Republicans in Washington forced Craig to quit solely to protect the party.

Searchers say they have found no sign of Steve Fossett after his single-engine plane disappeared in the rugged mountains and sagebrush-filled desert of western Nevada.