USA

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced sweeping new US sanctions against Iran Thursday intended to punish Tehran, which is suspected of a nuclear buildup, for its support of terrorist organizations in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East. The sanctions will cut off various Iranian entities from the US financial system.

The space shuttle Discovery docked with the International Space Station Thursday, paving the way for astronauts to spend the next week-and-a-half installing a pressurized compartment that will be a docking port for European and Japanese laboratories.

The US lacks sufficient laboratories to test for radiation exposure from "dirty bombs" if they are detonated by terrorists in major cities, according to a report released Thursday by the House Committee on Science and Technology.

Tests have begun on new 3-D scanning machines, designed to speed up and simplify airport security checks. Above, a passenger sends her carry-on baggage through the explosive detection system at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. Cleveland and Manchester, N.H., are other test sites.

Bank of America, the nation's second-largest bank, said Wednesday it will cut 3,000 positions from its investment banking unit as it feels the impact of the unrest in global credit markets.

To avoid using chemical pesticides, one of New York's biggest apartment complexes (80-acre Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village) this week unleashed 72,000 ladybugs from Montana that will prey on aphids and mites that are infesting the grounds.

Autoworkers at four Detroit-area Chrysler plants with more than 9,000 union employees voted to approve a proposed contract with the manufacturer Wednesday. The backing improved the chances the deal could be ratified this week.