US intelligence agencies are tracking a Chinese ship carrying weapons materials and electronics destined for Pakistan's major nuclear weapons laboratory. The shipment includes special metals and electronics used in making anti-tank missiles, at the same facility that produced the nuclear devices Pakistan set off last week. The shipment has raised concerns that growing tensions in South Asia could trigger a war.

Arms and legs deeply bruised, a 16-year-old girl walked 7 miles to use a phone at a gas station. She called police to report that her father had beaten her because she didn't want to be one of his brother's wives. Her 43-year-old father is the patriarch of a large and well-known polygamist clan in Utah. He turned himself into sheriff's detectives Tuesday and was charged with second-degree felony child abuse, released on $10,000 cash bail, and could face 15 years in prison if convicted. Authorities were also looking into charges of statutory rape against the 32-year-old man whom the teenager was married to in a private ceremony conducted by her father. She was his 15th wife and had twice run away. While temporarily placed in a shelter, she told deputies her father took her to a remote barn 60 miles north of Salt Lake and whipped her repeatedly with a belt on May 24. She suffered a broken nose and deep bruises on her arms, buttocks and legs.

A flu-like virus particularly dangerous to small children claimed three more toddlers today, raising the death toll to 28 and prompting officials to close nursery schools and kindergartens in Taiwan. The enterovirus 71 virus hits Taiwan each summer. Although there are no firm numbers, the Health Department said this year's outbreak appears particularly severe. It said almost 7,500 cases have been reported, but the outbreak appears to have paked, and the number of new cases should start dropping. Complications from the virus, which is spread by physical contact, can include encephalitis, meningitis, and acute inflammation of the heart muscle. Early symptoms are similar to the flu, including fever, headache, and vomiting. Later, ulcers or blisters in the mouth and a rash on the hands and feet can develop. Parents are being advised to avoid taking small children out in public, and urged to be sure children wash their hands frequently and have clean changes of clothing.

After being harpooned, a whale fought for its life by ramming the Norwegian boat that shot it, breaking the vessel's mast and hurling two crewmen into the icy waters. It is not known if the whale survived. The two crewmen were recovered, and one had broken ribs as a result of the incident. They had been lookouts in the crow's nest of the 53-foot vessel when the whale rammed into it. Norway resumed commercial whaling in 1993, despite a ban imposed by the International Whaling Commission.

A Border Patrol agent was shot to death early Wednesday morning while trying to arrest five suspected marijuana smugglers, who then escaped from the agent's partner. The 27-year-old agent was shot in the head after he and his partner stopped the suspects around 1:00 am. The partner heard a shot and found his buddy on the ground. Authorities believe the suspects may have fled back to Mexico.

Three teenage crackers say they have broken into computer systems at India's Bhabha Atomic Research Centre , Bombay (BARC) and that they are targeting Pakistani computers in a protest against the two nations' recent series of nuclear weapons tests. The trio took credit for altering the research center's homepage and said they had stolen email exchanged among Indian nuclear scientists in the weeks immediately preceding and following weapons tests last month. They claimed to have gained control over six out of eight servers, and deleted the contents of two of those servers as a protest against that nation's nuclear weapons development program. The two 18-year-olds and a 17-year-old claim to have downloaded thousands of pages of email and research before deciding to get out, but took the time to deface the BARC homepage. Today that page has been replaced with a directory listing of the facility's server. The group says their next target is the Pakistani government computer systems, claiming to have obtained topology maps for both Indian government networks and those maintained by Islamabad. The trio said they intend to take a closer look into Pakistan's nuclear weapons program.

One fourth grade class in Texas set a record when all 16 students attended class each of the 176 days of the school year. Children came to school with sniffly noses. One came the day after being in a car wreck. The teacher said that in her 23 years of teaching, she'd never heard of a whole class with perfect attendance. The previous school record was 50 days. The reward for this perfection? Mexican restaurant and pizza. Plus the keys to the city.

Scientists are buzzing over the water in Boston Harbor. It is caffeinated. Research shows that in 12 ounces of harbor water, there's .0025 milligrams of caffeine. In a regular cup of coffee there are 250 milligrams of caffeine, and 45 milligrams in a can of Coke. One researcher attributed the caffeine levels to sewage. The 2 million people of Greater Boston drink approximately 855 pounds of caffeine everyday. About 95% of that is absorbed into the body, leaving a whopping 43 pounds to be sent into the waste stream everyday. "Overall, this may be the highest level of caffeine in the waters of the harbor since the Boston Tea Party," quipped a scientist.

Detroit authorities have come up with a novel way to put the squeeze on deadbeat parents who owe unpaid child support. Their cars will be immobilized with "boot" devices that are locked onto tires. They will be blue for fathers and pink for mothers. Unpaid child support in the county totals $1.9 billion, including 247 cases accounting for $30 million, according to the county sheriff. The boots will be put on beginning this summer and won't be removed until back child support is paid.

A hippopotamus has died of bacterial pneumonia at Disney's Animal Kingdom, the latest in a series of animal deaths at the new theme park. The 13-year-old female was found dead in a pool on the park's savannah, a 120-acre area built to recreate the African bush. A spokesman said there was no visible sign of illness, and that she was mating a few days before. The park opened in April to fanfare and controversy after animal rights groups complained about the deaths of nearly 30 animals prior to its opening, but the US Department of Agriculture cleared Disney of blame in most of the cases.