Ethiopia steps up attacks
Ethiopian troops seized towns throughout southern and central Somalia yesterday and bombed the international airport at Mogadishu, Somalia's capital, in a rapid escalation of a two-day-old offensive against Islamic fundamentalists who've controlled most of Somalia for the past six months. pg 1a
Movement in the Mideast
Israel has agreed to remove some military roadblocks in the West Bank and streamline checkpoints to strengthen the position of moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. pg 11a
MARYLAND
Helping city schoolchildren
Baltimore has hired 27 people to coordinate community schools that help low-income students and their families to find all the social services they need, often providing some of the services on site. The concept has taken off in Baltimore this academic year. pg 1a
Grim statistic increases
The number of people reported murdered so far this year in Baltimore - 270 - has now surpassed the total for all of 2005, with almost a week still to go until the new year. pg 1b
NATIONAL
Heaven may be a little funkier
Singer James Brown, the "Godfather of Soul," died yesterday at age 73. His decades of music-making forever influenced popular music in America and the world. pg 1a
Katrina aid down the drain
Money wasted in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina could exceed $2 billion next year as federal investigators start going after politically connected large firms that critics have accused of abusing the system. pg 3a
SPORTS
Wade leads Heat over Lakers
Dwyane Wade scored 40 points and had 11 assists to lead the Miami Heat to a 101-85 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. It was the third straight Christmas victory for the Heat in the series. pg 3d
BUSINESS
Thieves lurk in MySpace
The "place for friends" is instead also becoming the place where all sorts of digital criminals are waiting to attack unsuspecting visitors. pg 7D
Merry consumers
In these days of horror stories about consumers' dealings with companies, it's nice to hear nice things about companies that get things right. pg 7d
TODAY
Once upon a microbe dreary
It's the stuff of a Ben Stiller movie or a Twilight Zone episode: a creepy midnight tour of the Maryland Science Center.pg 1c
Let there be Light
Music, light and love transcend the language barrier in The Light in the Piazza, playing at the Kennedy Center. pg 1c