Etc...
Compiled by staff from wire reports
No need for dog food!
The world's busiest international airport, London Heathrow, unveiled a new electronic "sniffer dog" Monday, becoming the first in the world to trial the new screening technology.
The "Sentinel II" portal "sniffs" passengers as they pass through a detection arch, analyzing air that is blown across their bodies for particles of explosives or other banned substances, according to airport operator BAA.
Alongside the sentinel, BAA is testing a new three dimensional X-ray machine. Using special glasses, operators gain an enhanced 3-D view of objects in hand luggage.
"The new technologies add yet further deterrent to anyone approaching the airport with sinister intent," said BAA's Director of Security Ian Hutcheson. "I look forward to their wider introduction across our airports."
Staff found the equipment effective and easy to use, he added.
Thieves need a Bible lesson
Pastor Stig Laegdene knows the Ten Commandments, including No. 8: "Thou shalt not steal."
Car thieves in his neighborhood, however, seemed to have skipped it.
Laegdene, a Lutheran pastor who preaches to small-time criminals and others on the streets of Tromsoe, 1,100 miles north of the capital, Oslo, had his car stolen twice last week.
"I know hundreds of criminals, but I don't know if it was 'my criminals' who stole my car this time," Laegdene told The Associated Press Sunday.
Since he started preaching in Tromsoe, his 1986 Saab 900 has been stolen seven times. It's typically returned - or someone tells him where to pick it up - the next day after word gets out about its owner.
"When they find it was my car, I get it back," he said, usually in the same condition.
The last time it was stolen, March 12, his car was returned to him with nearly everything in it, including his robe. Missing was a bottle of wine and a sheaf of his sermons.
"I hope they read them," he said of the thieves. "They were pretty good."
Web Smarts
http://www.nwhp.org/
WHAT: The National Women's History Project website provides a wealth of information related to women in history.
Best Points: This is an excellent site for students, parents, and educators who are putting together teaching units for National Women's History Month.
The site's "Learning Place" portal includes links to information on various organizations, events, museums, and programs that promote both the historic and current achievements of women.
You can also browse the online biographies of notable women - including this year's National Women's History Month nominees - or purchase resource materials from the expansive online catalog.
Be sure to check out the events calendar for workshops and promotions in your area and take the women's history IQ quiz.
What you should know: Founded in 1980 in Santa Rosa, Calif., the National Women's History Project is a nonprofit educational organization. In 1987, the NWHP led a coalition that successfully petitioned Congress to designate March as "Women's History Month."
Which states spent most on primary, secondary schools
As many states consider educational cuts as part of their efforts to address record budget deficits, a new Census Bureau report shows that recent increases in public school funding have not kept pace with mounting costs for items such as new buildings, textbooks, and computers. School-district debt jumped 13 percent to almost $202 billion in the 2000-'01 academic year, the latest for which statistics are available. That, as funding rose 7 percent to a national average of $7,284 per student. Utah was the most frugal, at $4,625. The 10 states with the highest average per-pupil spending in 2001:
1. New York $10,922
2. New Jersey 10,893
3. Washington, D.C. 10,852
4. Connecticut 9,236
5. Alaska 9,165
6. Massachusetts 9,038
7. Rhode Island 8,775
8. Vermont 8,706
9. Delaware 8,603
10. Pennsylvania 8,191 - Associated Press
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