Around the world
RETALIATION: Israel retaliated Friday for a guerrilla ambush that killed four Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon, blasting a Hezbollah arms depot near the Syrian border. Three civilians were slightly wounded in the predawn air strike on the guerrilla stronghold in eastern Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, security sources said. The five Israeli fighter-bombers fired a dozen missiles, scoring at least two hits and igniting fires at the depot in the suburban Kayyali neighborhood, said the sources.SHOOTOUT: Three Peruvian guerrillas and two soldiers were killed Friday during a shootout in the country's main drug-growing region, the Ministry of Defense said. Three soldiers and an unknown number of rebels were injured in the battle in the province of Tocache, in the Huallaga Valley northeast of Lima, a ministry statement added. Military officials could not give more details or confirm which of Peru's two main communist guerrilla groups - Shining Path or the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement - was involved.
Across the nation
ATV AWARD: An Elba, Ala., jury awarded $35 million to a man who has drifted in and out of coma since he was injured in an all-terrain vehicle accident in 1988 when he was 12 years old. Jason Barron, now 20, suffered severe brain damage and other injuries when the borrowed four-wheel Yamaha ATV he was driving overturned on a dirt road. His twin brother Jake was riding the ATV but was not injured. Neither was wearing a helmet. Barron's family said the vehicle flipped end over end while going less than 15 mph on a level road, and Jason's head hit the ATV's metal frame.
DEADLY BLAZE: Fire raced through a two-story house in Shelton, Wash., early Friday and killed four people including two pregnant women, officials said. The fire also injured seven people including a 1 year old infant. Mason County Coroner Martha Reed identified the dead as Michael Mastick, 7, Jenny Corter, 28, Michelle Deibert, 29, and William Yeck, 27. Deibert was seven months pregnant with twins and Corter was about 11 weeks pregant, Reed said. The fire broke out about 1 a.m. in the basement of the multifamily residence, and most of the victims died on the second floor, Reed said.