Around the world
CHECHNYA: Fighting reportedly flared Tuesday in southwestern Chechnya between Russian forces and separatist fighters after the rebels refused to free all their Russian prisoners. The fighting was near the village of Gekhivin, the Interfax and ITAR-Tass news agencies said. Casualties were reported on the Russian side; there was no im-me-di-ate word on rebel losses. It was not clear who attacked first.
CHESS: Anatoly Karpov edged closer to a successful defense of his disputed world chess championship Tuesday in Elis-ta, Russia, agreeing to a draw with Gata Kamsky without resuming their adjourned 17th game. The half-point for each player gave Karpov a 10-7 lead and left the 46-year-old Russian needing only a draw from the maximum three games remaining to preserve his World Chess Federation title. The first player to reach 10.5 points wins the championship of the federation plus $937,500. The loser gets $562,500.
NIGER: Niger's military leader General Ibrahim Bare Mai-nas-sara said Tuesday that nomination of a new electoral commission in mid-election was not an attempt to stay in power by force and that vote counting was continuing normally. After two chaotic days of voting, Mainassara on Monday dissolved the electoral commission and deployed security forces at the homes of his opponents.
Across the nation
DEADLY HEAT: With temperatures up to 106, a weeklong Texas heat wave is suspected in the deaths of nine mostly elderly people found in their sweltering homes. Ann Black, 74, was found dead under the kitchen table of her Fort Worth home Monday. Only a single fan was running and the temperature inside her house topped 100 degrees. Two other people in their 70s were also found dead Monday in Dallas-area apartments that had no air conditioning. Monday's high in the Dallas-Fort Worth area was a humid 102 degrees.
RECOVERING: Two months ago, Michael Hebranko was so big that rescue workers had to knock out a wall of his New York home and carry him out by forklift. Tuesday, he was ready to leave St. Luke's Hospital, where he lost about 250 pounds on a strict diet. The 43-year-old Hebranko weighed an estimated 800 to 1,000 pounds when he was hospitalized May 17. At the time, he suffered from heart disease, respiratory ailments and a severe skin infection in his legs. Doctors told ambulance workers that if they waited only a few more days to move him, he would die.