Nation in brief

Illness traced to state fair petting zoo

RALEIGH, N.C. - An outbreak of E. coli cases linked to last month's North Carolina State Fair is bigger than previously thought, with 31 confirmed cases and 103 others under review, health officials said Saturday.

The number of confirmed infections in the outbreak grew from 20 cases on Friday to 31 on Saturday, health investigators said.

The Department of Health and Human Services said it was investigating 103 additional cases that had not yet been confirmed as E. coli infection, up from 39 on Friday. The highly contagious bacterium can cause stomach cramps and, in some cases, death.

A department spokesman did not return calls seeking comment on the reason for the increase.

Of the 31 people with confirmed E. coli cases, 27 visited the State Fair in October. The outbreak might be linked to a petting zoo at the fair, state health authorities have said.

RALEIGH, N.C. - An apparent group of vandals attacked the North Carolina Republican Party headquarters, causing minor smoke damage, breaking windows and leaving vulgar messages, police said.

Three people were arrested.

In addition to the damage, the vandals left a burned effigy depicting President Bush and Sen. John Kerry, police said.

A police officer reported Friday night that about 100 people wearing masks and gloves were walking down a street near the headquarters, police Capt. D.S. Overman said.

Officers investigating that report found a second group "vandalizing and damaging" the GOP headquarters, said police Maj. D.R. Lane.

"This is not a political statement," police spokesman Jim Sughrue said. "A political statement is what we made Tuesday. This is a crime."

Early-morning joggers, dog-walkers and commuters enjoyed a predawn light show in the eastern sky last week.

Jupiter and Venus, the two brightest planets visible to the naked eye, converged on each other in a dramatic conjunction that will only become better this week.

"It's pretty spectacular," said Jim O'Leary, director of the Maryland Science Center's Davis Planetarium. "It reminds you of the ancients and their mythology, and how they referred to the planets as gods because they could easily wander the sky."

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