In the Nation

OKLAHOMA CITY - Long-secret security tapes showing the chaos immediately after the 1995 bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building are blank in the minutes before the blast and appear to have been edited, an attorney who obtained the recordings said Sunday.

"The real story is what's missing," said Jesse Trentadue, who obtained the recordings through the federal Freedom of Information Act. "Four cameras in four different locations going blank at basically the same time on the morning of April 19, 1995. There ain't no such thing as a coincidence," Trentadue said.

- AP

WAUSAU, Wis. - Waterways across the upper Midwest are increasingly plagued with ugly, smelly, and potentially deadly blue-green algae, bloomed by drought and fertilizer runoffs from farm fields, that's killed dozens of dogs and sickened many people.

Aquatic biologists say it's a problem that falls somewhere between a human health concern and a nuisance, but will eventually lead to more human poisoning. Officials in Wisconsin and neighboring states are telling people who live on algae-covered lakes to close their windows and keep their dogs from drinking the rank water.

- AP

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah - In letters written to her mother, the woman charged in the 2002 kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart has sought forgiveness for any pain she has caused and says she expects to spend the rest of her life in prison.

Wanda Eileen Barzee, 63, however, doesn't provide details about the nine months the girl allegedly spent with her and her now-estranged husband Brian David Mitchell.

The couple are charged with multiple felonies in state court and last year were indicted by a federal grand jury. - AP

World Bank President Robert Zoellick said the U.S. shouldn't take for granted the dollar's status as the world's main reserve currency. In remarks set for delivery today, Zoellick said the "next upheaval" was emerging nations' gaining greater influence.

The Republican race to challenge liberal stalwart Barbara Boxer for her U.S. Senate seat next year is likely to feature Carly Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard chief executive officer and John McCain confidante. She has registered a campaign committee, "Carly for California," and her team had a strong presence at this weekend's statewide party convention at a desert resort near Palm Springs.

Bill Clinton said yesterday on NBC's "Meet the Press" that a vast, right-wing conspiracy that once targeted him is now focusing on President Obama. "Sure it is," he said. "It's not as strong as it was because America has changed demographically. But it's as virulent as it was." Clinton said the focus was on Obama and "their agenda seems to be wanting him to fail."