Iraqi officials tell citizens to take arms after more than 220 die Robert H. Reid The Associated Press BAGHDAD — Prominent Shiite and Sunni politicians called on Iraqi civilians to take up arms to defend themselves after a weekend of violence that claimed more than 220 lives, including 60 who died Sunday in a surge [...]

Two men led police in pursuit near downtown ELYRIA — Police searched Sunday night for two men who led authorities on a chase before crashing a black pickup on Seventh Street and jumping from the truck, which careened up the road without a driver. Elyria Police Lt. Andy Eichenlaub said information about the suspects would [...]

Stephen Ohlemacher The Associated Press WASHINGTON — The spirit of volunteerism is thriving in the heartland, but not so much on the coasts. Midwesterners are more likely to volunteer their time than are people elsewhere in the United States, according to a government study being released today. The highest rates were in the Minneapolis-St. Paul [...]

Marc Levy and Mark Scolforo The Associated Press HARRISBURG, Pa. — Gov. Ed Rendell late Sunday ordered a range of state government services shut down and placed about a third of the state work force on indefinite unpaid furlough after frantic last-minute negotiations failed to break a budget stalemate. Rendell, appearing outside his Capitol office, [...]

District will weigh merits of uniting levies or adding tax OBERLIN — Faced with the prospect of asking voters for three school levies in two years, the Oberlin School Board will seek alternatives at a meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Unless the district combines levies, it could be seeking a new operating levy in November [...]

Company chops copper phone lines when installing new services Deborah Yao The Associated Press PHILADELPHIA — When Henry Powderly II ordered Verizon Communications Inc.’s FiOS fiber-optic service, he knew he was about to be connected to the future of telecommunications. He also got unplugged from its past. Which meant that while Powderly was gaining features, [...]