A St. Francis Hospital manager told the General Assembly's Joint Finance Committee on Wednesday the hospital needs more money for Medicaid and for care of indigent patients.

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- A military jury ignored an Air Force captain's plea for leniency today, sentencing him to 50 years in prison for raping four men and attempting to rape two others.

BEIJING -- China's population, the world's largest, grew by almost 7 million people last year, according to an official report.
China's National Bureau of Statistics said in a report released late today that the country's population was 1,314,480,000 at the end of 2006, an increase of 6.92 million people.

Following a spate of local robberies and home invasions, Milton police hosted a public safety seminar this week titled "Securing Your Home."
Hosted by Cpl. Matthew Rockwell at the Milton Public Library, the crowd at the standing-room only event Monday night consisted mainly of concerned women, many of them senior citizens.

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NEW YORK -- Republican Sen. John McCain will officially enter the presidential race -- his second run after a bitter loss to George W. Bush in 2000 -- with a formal announcement in early April after a trip to Iraq.

A 17-year-old girl is in critical condition after a head-on crash in western Kent County this afternoon.
State police said the accident between a car and a trash truck happened about 2 p.m. on Del. 10 (Willow Grove Road) west of Ironmine Road, west of Viola.

The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for New Castle County for Thursday evening through Friday evening.
The watch area also includes Cecil County in Maryland, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties in Pennsylvania, and Camden and Gloucester counties in New Jersey.

DOVER — House Majority Leader Rep. Wayne A. Smith, R-Wilmington, dropped a bomb Tuesday night, announcing that he is resigning in two weeks after 16 years in the state legislature.

Wilmington police are investigating the deaths of two people whose bodies were found in a N. Cleveland Avenue home.
The bodies, those of an 80-year-old man and an 80-year-old woman, had no obvious injuries, said New Castle County paramedics spokeswoman Sgt. Kelli Starr-Leach.

CAMBRIDGE, Md. — U.S. Coast Guard crews have made several unsuccessful attempts to set a 711-foot freighter free from the muddy Chesapeake Bay floor today.
"It's just stuck," said Coast Guard spokesman Kip Wadlow.
The Coast Guard was notified at approximately 9:15 a.m. that M.V. Montrose had "gone soft to ground" at the mouth of the Choptank River, or stuck in the mud.

HENNIKER, N.H. — Sen. Joe Biden told college students today that unlike other presidential hopefuls, he isn't afraid to get specific about Iraq.
''Why am I the only guy who's laid out a plan?'' he said echoing a question from a New England College student. ''Because it's dangerous. It's politically dangerous to do it.''

The Delaware State Fire Marshal's office says a structure fire Saturday near Laurel was arson, the fourth set fire in the area in as many days.
The fire broke out at 8:54 p.m. in the 11000 block of Taylor Mill Road, northeast of the town.
When Laurel Fire Company, assisted by the Blades and Seaford fire companies, arrived they encountered heavy smoke.

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A 45-year-old Townsend carpet installer was convicted of repeatedly raping two girls over a nine-year period.
Bruce F. Wood, of Old State Road, was convicted earlier this month of 16 counts of first-degree rape and two counts of continuous sexual abuse of a child.
Superior Court Judge Peggy L. Ableman is scheduled to sentence him on March 23.

Three female University of Delaware students were robbed at gunpoint Tuesday night while walking in a parking lot, Newark police spokesman Lt. Thomas Lemin said today.
The robbery occurred in the University Courtyard Apartment complex parking lot in the 700 block of Scholar Drive just before 10:30 p.m., Lemin said.

HAMMONTON, N.J. — Town officials have listed conditions that the Millville-based chapter of the Ku Klux Klan must meet before the group proceeds with a demonstration planned for May 12.
But the KKK is unhappy with the demands and indicated it plans to seek legal help from the American Civil Liberties Union if the town doesn't drop its demands.

CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE, N.J. — A state trooper has been indicted in an auto accident that killed two teenage sisters last fall as they drove to a convenience store to buy a gallon of milk.

Cape Gazette - The local business community has been very encouraging, said committee member Leslie Inkster of Epworth, who has talked with Carol Everhart of the Rehoboth Beach-Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce about business sponsorships of student groups. “People ...

Closing arguments to begin Monday in murder of UD student Lindsey Bonistall

Fifth-graders at St. Ann School in Wilmington today belatedly celebrated Presidents Day.
For the past 10 years, teacher Marilyn Vallejo has assigned members of her class to choose a past president and become him for one day.

If America's schools don't improve, the United States may not be able to compete in the world economy, suggests a new report from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
The paper, released today, looked at education effectiveness in all states and Washington, D.C. Delaware ranked in the middle.

TRENTON — The average property tax bill in New Jersey topped more than $6,300 last year, a 7 percent hike over what was already the nation's highest property taxes, according to new state figures.

When pollsters asked Delaware voters what they thought of Democratic state Treasurer Jack Markell, 54 percent said, "Jack who?"
But Democratic Lt. Gov. John C. Carney, who faces a possible battle royale with Markell in a race for the Democratic nod for governor in 2008, shouldn't chuckle at Markell's numbers.
Thirty-eight percent of those voters said, "John who?"

State police are looking today for a patient man with a taste for exotic coffee who robbed the 7-Eleven store at 2409 Philadelphia Pike in Claymont on Tuesday night.
The man poured a cappuccino, used the employee's restroom, then poured another cup of cappuccino as he waited for other customers to leave the store around 10:45 p.m., Cpl. Jeff Whitmarsh said.