For years, taxpayers have been underwriting the $800,000 annual cost of disposing of the household furnishings of evicted renters that landlords are allowed to pile on city streets. Proposed legislation would prohibit that practice. pg 1B
Amphibian Days in Timonium
It was all frog fanciers, tadpole lovers, terrarium enthusiasts, herpetologists and breeders of moist-skinned critters at the annual International Amphibian Days. Hundreds came, some from as far as Arizona to buy, sell and swap critters. pg 3B
SPORTS
The Orioles' two-game winning streak ended with a 9-6 loss to the Cleveland Indians before 37,464 at Camden Yards. Emergency starter Brian Burres didn't get through the fourth inning and could be headed back to the bullpen. pg 6D
NATIONAL
Insurance sold improperly
Insurance companies have used improper hard-sell tactics to persuade Medicare recipients to sign up for private health plans that cost the government far more than the traditional Medicare program, federal and state officials and consumer advocates say. pg 3A
The aftermath of the tornado
Rescue workers searched yesterday for anyone still buried in the heaps of wreckage left after a tornado obliterated most of Greensburg, a south-central Kansas town. pg 3A
WORLD
Sarkozy the new president
Nicolas Sarkozy, son of a Hungarian refugee and former protege of President Jacques Chirac, won yesterday's French presidential election, easily defeating the Socialist Party candidate Segolene Royal in a contest that will likely be remembered as a watershed in the nations political history. pg 8A
11 troops, journalist die in Iraq
The U.S. military announced yesterday the deaths of 11 U.S. troops and an embedded journalist, and Iraqi officials said scores of civilians were killed across the country. pg 8A
TODAY
Rewarded for truth in poetry
A mix of profundity, earthiness and humor has earned Lucille Clifton the 2007 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, which will be announced today. It is among the most prestigious awards that can be won by an American poet and includes a $100,000 stipend, which will be presented to her during a ceremony in Chicago on May 23. pg 1C
Love and evil collide over 'Tosca'
Operatic melodrama doesn't come any juicier than in Puccini's Tosca. The plot-fueling bursts of jealousy, lust and hatred in this work can pretty much take all the emotion you can dish out, and theres no shortage in the Baltimore Opera Company's season-ending production. pg 1C