Student loan help
Congress gave final approval Thursday to legislation aimed at ensuring the problems in the credit markets don’t prevent students from getting college loans. President Bush is expected to sign the measure.
Western wildfire
Three Texans were charged Thursday in Flagstaff, Ariz., with starting a fire than has charred more than 2,000 acres near Grand Canyon National Park. The three were camping Tuesday in the Kaibab National Forest, a court filing shows.
School smoke
Fire sent thick smoke through a dormitory at Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio, on Thursday, injuring five students including one who jumped from a third-story window, officials said. None of the injuries was life-threatening.
Bus crash
A tourist bus speeding at 100 mph with Canadian and European tourists on board lost control when it hit a sharp curve Thursday in Abu Zenima, Egypt. Nine people were killed and about 30 injured.
Double attack
Two suicide bombers attacked a wedding caravan Thursday as it drove through a crowded market district past bystanders cheering the bride and groom, killing at least 35 people and wounding 65 in Balad Ruz, Iraq, officials said.
DIGIT
South Africa lifted a 13-year ban on killing elephants Thursday, a move conservationists warn could encourage poachers to slaughter the animals for ivory and threaten dwindling populations elsewhere on the continent.
