NATIONAL
Bush offers $2.9 trillion budget
President Bush, seeking $245 billion more for the nation's two wars, proposed a $2.9 trillion federal budget for 2008 yesterday that would significantly increase defense spending while restraining other areas of the government. pg 1a
Giuliani closer to bid
Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former New York mayor whose popularity soared after his response to the Sept. 11 attacks, moved closer yesterday to a full-fledged campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. pg 3a
MARYLAND
Bill targets credit reports
Maryland lawmakers are developing a bill that would allow state residents to block access to their credit reports, a tool that consumer advocates say is needed to protect against identity theft. pg 1a
City rowhouse battle ends
Baltimore Heritage has dropped its fierce battle to save a row of historic downtown houses, clearing the way for Mercy Medical Center's $292 million expansion. pg 1a
SPORTS
Ex-Oriole Barber dies
Steve Barber, who in 1963 became the the first pitcher in modern Orioles history to win 20 games in a season, died Sunday in Nevada of complications from pneumonia. He was 67. pg 3D
BUSINESS
DOW -- UP
+8.25
12,661.74
NASDAQ -- DOWN
-5.28
2,470.60
S&P; -- DOWN
-1.40
1,446.99
SUN INDEX -- DOWN
-1.36
370.69
Verizon, Balto. Co. strike deal
Verizon Communications Inc. has reached a deal with Baltimore County officials that for the first time would give county residents a choice of cable television providers. pg 1c
WORLD
Leaders of rival Palestinian groups Fatah and Hamas will meet today in a new venue, but they confront the same obstacles to a power-sharing arrangement that have torpedoed past talks. pg 9a
Oil magnate faces new charges
New charges filed against Russian oil magnate Mikhail Khodorkovsky make it unlikely that the prominent political enemy of President Vladimir V. Putin will be released from prison before Russia's 2008 presidential election. pg 9a
TODAY
Senator Theatre to be sold
The Senator Theatre, one of the last of the nation's once-numerous Art Deco movie palaces and the only one still showing films in Baltimore, is to be sold at a foreclosure auction Feb. 21. pg 1a