Iraq says 6 suspected teenage bombers detained

Six teenage boys who said they were being trained as suicide bombers were detained Monday in the northern city of Mosul, Iraqi officials said.

Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf told The Associated Press that the boys were between the ages of 14 and 16 and initial investigations show they were being trained by a Saudi militant who was killed in military operations.

The soldiers were acting on tips when they found the boys in the basement of an abandoned house that was being used by insurgent groups in the Sumar area in southeastern Mosul, deputy Interior Minister Kamal Ali Hussein said later at a press conference.

He said the …

Ex-boyfriend charged with soliciting killing Alleged to have tried to get chiropractor to kill Glenview woman

As police work to solve a brutal double homicide in suburbanGlenview this week, the ex-boyfriend of one of the victims wascharged Thursday with soliciting a Chicago chiropractor months ago tokill the woman.

But in charging Steven Zirko, authorities would not say whetherthe unnamed chiropractor he approached last summer had anything to dowith the slayings of Zirko's ex-girlfriend, Mary Lacey, 38, and hermother Margaret "Dolly" Ballog, 60. Zirko has not been charged withthe murders.

Zirko, 42, of 5608 N. Richmond on the Northwest Side, is expectedto appear in bond court in Skokie today, said John Gorman, aspokesman for the Cook County state's attorney's …

Alternative collateral gaining popularity

When it comes to collateral, Todd Biltz, president of Rapid Funding, York, says there's no reason to prefer real estate to racehorses.

On the one hand, he says, "You can't drive a piece of real estate away and hide it in a barn." But on the other hand, he recalls a man who mortgaged a piece of a property based on a street address. Later, the man went to the post office, got the address changed, visited another bank and got another mortgage under the new address.

"Real property didn't stop an unscrupulous person from defrauding the bank," Biltz says. Not long ago, he met a customer who had taken a mortgage on a racehorse. "The racehorse had value."

Some may consider …

Palin rallies supporters in Ohio, Missouri

Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin offered optimism to a boisterous crowd in an Ohio Democratic stronghold and pepped up a huge rally in conservative central Missouri on an election eve dash through five contested states.

Palin played up her rural connections on her third trip in 10 days to Missouri, where polls show Republican presidential candidate John McCain is about even with Democratic candidate Barack Obama. She drew a crowd estimated by state police at more than 17,000 to the steps of the state Capitol, which is located in the Republican-leaning rural center of Missouri.

She strode down the Capitol steps in blue jeans, clapped in the …

Holliday hits first 2 HRs this spring, Cards win

Matt Holliday hit his first two home runs this spring and the St. Louis Cardinals roughed up Oliver Perez in a 9-4 win over the New York Mets on Tuesday.

The Cardinals homered three times off Perez. Ryan Ludwick hit a two-run shot in the first inning and Holliday followed with a long drive.

Brendan Ryan added a two-run homer the next inning, and Perez made it …

Kanawha City DMV office closing early Friday

The Kanawha City office of the Division of Motor Vehicles willclose for …

Malaysia, Australia hope for trade pact by 2011

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia and Australia expressed confidence Monday in completing a free trade deal next year while the Southeast Asian nation said it needed more information before taking a stance on Canberra's proposal to set up a regional detention center in East Timor to process refugees.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who arrived Sunday night for a visit lasting less than 24 hours, said both countries have "a shared commitment" to successfully completing bilateral free trade talks.

She met with Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin in place of Prime Minister Najib Razak who is ill with suspected chicken pox and has had to cancel all …