MARYLAND
Squad may pursue race crimes
Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler is exploring the creation of a cold-case squad to investigate unsolved homicides, with an emphasis on racial crimes dating back to the civil rights era. pg 1b
School at risk, critics say
At the final public hearing on a proposal to close or relocate 10 city schools, community leaders, parents and teachers testified yesterday that a plan to move another school to the Harlem Park school campus threatened progress there. pg 1b
WORLD
Rice presses Iraqi lawmakers
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made a surprise visit to Baghdad yesterday and urged Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish politicians to use a lull in violence resulting from a new security plan to reach long-delayed agreement on key political issues. pg 20a
Insurgents targeting aircraft
Documents captured from Iraqi insurgents indicate that some of the recent fatal attacks against U.S. helicopters are the result of a carefully planned strategy to focus on downing coalition aircraft, one that U.S. officials say has been carried out by coordinating assaults with machine guns, rockets and surface-to-air missiles. pg 23a
NATIONAL
Officers call reserves depleted
Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are draining the U.S. strategic military reserve, officers say, leaving combat brigades and battalions unable to respond quickly to international crises. pg 1a
Resolution fails in Senate
The Senate expressed strong, bipartisan disapproval of President Bush's policy on Iraq in a rare Saturday session, but lawmakers still failed to end their debate and pass a nonbinding resolution. pg 3a
BUSINESS
Navy turns to revved-up subs
The United States is taking another look at supercavitation, a technology first honed in Maryland more than 50 years ago that would enable mini-submarines to travel beneath the ocean's surface at more than 100 mph. pg 1c
SPORTS
Orioles, Bedard agree to deal
Three days before a scheduled arbitration hearing, the Orioles agreed to a one-year, $3.4 million contract with pitcher Erik Bedard, who more than doubled his salary from the 2006 season in which he went 15-11 with a 3.76 ERA. pg 1d
A&E; TODAY
Portraits from a patient
West Baltimore's Morgan Monceaux is a self-taught painter whose works are displayed in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington. He's struggling to complete a series of opera paintings while undergoing treatment for lung cancer. pg 1e
MODERN LIFE
Cars of youth, in middle age
Even as male baby boomers shell out large sums of money for the restored muscle cars of their youth, automakers are working on ways to accommodate that generation's increasing girth and faltering fine motor skills. pg 1n