FBI: Crime declined in the first half of 2008

The Nation

Crime decline: The FBI says crime declined in the first half of 2008, despite an alarming spike in small-town murders. Violent crime nationwide fell 3.5 percent, and property crime dropped 2.5 percent, according to the bureau's preliminary figures released Monday. Murders dropped 4.4 percent nationwide but rose nearly 10 percent in small towns — those with fewer than 10,000 people.

Salmonella traced: The salmonella bacteria that have sickened nearly 400 people in 42 states have been conclusively linked to King Nut peanut butter, Minnesota health officials announced Monday. Officials found a genetic match with the bacterial strain that has led to 30 illnesses in Minnesota and other states across the country.

Quarter cleaning: The New Orleans City Council has agreed on several amendments to the city's 2009 budget that will keep enhanced cleaning services in the French Quarter through October. Mayor Ray Nagin warned last week the extra pressure washing and street sweeping for the tourist-rich area would have to be cut because the city had more pressing needs, including new police and emergency vehicles.

Gamer defense rejected: Ohio Common Pleas Judge James Burge Monday rejected the defense that a teenage boy opened fire on his family because he was addicted to video games, convicting him of wounding his clergyman father and killing his mother after they fought over a game. Lawyers for Daniel Petric, 17, didn't contest that the boy shot his parents in October 2007 but insisted his youth and video-game addiction made him less responsible.

The World

Bombings as Biden visits: A series of bombings around Baghdad killed eight people and injured at least 29 others on Monday morning, a few hours before Vice President-elect Joseph Biden was reported to arrive in the Iraqi capital for talks with officials. Most of the bombs on Monday morning appeared to target Iraqi Army or Iraqi police convoys, but half of the dead and the vast majority of the wounded were civilians, according to Iraqi government officials.

Asian allies: The global financial crisis prompted the leaders of South Korea and Japan to set aside their countries' century of disputes on Monday and agree to cooperate to meet immediate economic challenges. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said medium-size Japanese companies would invest in electronics and machinery components factories in South Korea to help reduce the country's chronic trade deficit with Japan.

Odds & Ends

Pricey newspapers: Zimbabwe's central bank released a new $50 billion note Monday — enough to buy three newspapers in the nation's hyperinflated economy. The new note was worth 1.25 U.S. dollars at Monday's black-market exchange rate. A week ago, $50 billion was worth $2.20. Two weeks ago it was worth 3.30 U.S. dollars.

Passages

Retired Lt. Gen. Harry W.O. Kinnard, 93, a paratroop officer who suggested the famously defiant answer "Nuts!" to a German demand for surrender during the 1944 Battle of the Bulge, died in Arlington, Va., on Jan. 5.

Claude Berri, 74, a prominent art collector as well as the French director of the 1986 movies "Jean de Florette" and "Manon of the Spring," died Monday, his art gallery said.

Today in history

1733: James Oglethorpe and some 120 English colonists arrived at Charleston, S.C., while en route to settle in present-day Georgia.

1898: Émile Zola's famous defense of Captain Alfred Dreyfus, "J'accuse," was published in Paris.

1990: L. Douglas Wilder of Virginia became the nation's first elected black governor as he took the oath of office in Richmond.

Today's Birthdays

Actress Frances Sternhagen, 79. Comedian Rip Taylor, 75. Actor Richard Moll, 66. Actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus, 48. Country singer Trace Adkins, 47. Actress Penelope Ann Miller, 45. Actor Patrick Dempsey, 43. Actress Nicole Eggert, 37. Actor Orlando Bloom, 32.

Seattle Times news services