Search for serial rapist spreads fear

The hunt for a serial rapist spread fear around a college campus Sunday after police linked a 19-year-old woman's death to at least two other attacks in the area.

The woman's body was found in a field Friday, nearly a month after she vanished from a home at the edge of the University of Nevada, Reno. Police said Brianna Denison had been abducted and strangled in what they called a sexually motivated crime.

The attacks have led to expanded campus patrols and escorts, seminars on personal safety and the distribution of whistles to female students.

DNA evidence links Denison's kidnapping to two other attacks on women near the university late last year, police said. An earlier campus attack also could be related.

Wonder Lake, Ill.

Girlfriend: Gunman called to say farewell

The girlfriend of the man who killed five people and himself at Northern Illinois University said Sunday that he called her early on the day of the shooting, to say goodbye.

Steven Kazmierczak "called me at midnight and told me not to forget about him," Jessica Baty, 28, told CNN from her home. Investigators still haven't determined why Kazmierczak, 27, opened fire in a lecture hall at his and Baty's alma mater, and she shed no light on a motive Sunday.

She confirmed that he had stopped taking an antidepressant about three weeks ago because "it made him feel like a zombie," but she denied his recent behavior was unusual.

Washington

Official says racing a known problem

Despite complaints, illegal street racers have roared for more than 20 years down the straight stretch of Maryland highway where eight fans were killed this weekend, a community leader said Sunday.

Stan Fetter, president of the Indian Head Highway Area Action Council, blamed a thin police presence in the suburban Washington area.

"The police tend to get distracted by things closer to D.C., so no one's ever there," Fetter said. "They tend to forget about it."

Neighbors have complained that the late-night events block off access to Highway 210 from some side streets, he said.

Police say they are aware of reckless driving and have been working to address it.

Also

Refinery blast: Dust that collected in a piece of safety equipment caused a small explosion at a Georgia sugar refinery weeks before the blast that killed nine workers, a federal investigator said Sunday.

Space shuttle: The crews of the space shuttle and station said a teary farewell, then sealed the hatches between them Sunday after more than a week of work. The shuttle Atlantis was to undock early today.

Therapist attack: David Tarloff, 39, accused of hacking a Manhattan therapist to death, rambled and appeared agitated during his arraignment Sunday before the judge ordered him to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

Airport collision: No one was seriously injured when two U.S. Airways planes clipped each others' wings Sunday morning at Reagan National Airport in Virginia.

Seattle Times news services