7-year-old chews through tape, escapes kidnappers

PHILADELPHIA -- The rumor going around 7-year-old Erica Pratt's blighted neighborhood was that her family had come into money. A lot of money.

Neighbors thought maybe that's why two men had snatched the little girl from the sidewalk in front of her home Monday night and someone had called the family demanding $150,000 in exchange for Erica's life.

Whatever the motive, the plot was foiled Tuesday night. Police said the "brave little girl" chewed through duct tape binding her hands and covering her eyes, and broke out of the locked basement in an abandoned home where she had been held for almost 24 hours. The hunt for her two abductors continued Wednesday. Police say the two men wanted for questioning -- James Burns, 29, and Edward Johnson, 23 -- are known to the girl's family.

States raid rainy-day funds to handle budgets

DENVER -- States have used up two-thirds of their cash on hand and their rainy-day funds trying to cope with budget crises, legislative leaders from across the country said Wednesday as they called for government help.

By June 30, the end of the fiscal year for 46 states, the gap between revenue and spending hit $36 billion, leaders said at the National Conference of State Legislatures annual meeting.

The difference is expected to hit $58 billion during the next fiscal year, leaving many states scrambling to pay for programs and federal mandates.

Attorneys seek delay for Moussaoui's plea

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- A day before Zacarias Moussaoui's promised guilty plea, court-appointed attorneys asserted Wednesday the accused Sept. 11 conspirator is mentally ill and his arraignment should be postponed.

Rather than let Moussaoui respond to a revised indictment today, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema should order further evaluation of his competency, the attorneys said.

Frank Dunham Jr., leading defense attorneys to whom Moussaoui will not speak, said in an interview that a report from mental health experts reinforced their earlier view of Moussaoui's illness.

Man found with millions offers help with terrorism

DETROIT -- A man charged with smuggling $12 million in bogus cashiers checks into the United States told agents the man named on the checks may belong to al-Qaida, authorities said Wednesday.

Omar Shishani, 47, also told investigators during an interview that "if you want to know about terrorism, I can help you with that," Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Straus said during a hearing.

Defense attorney Nabih Ayad denied his client ever made such statements.

Shishani, who was born in Jordan but is of Chechen descent, was arrested last week after arriving at Detroit Metropolitan Airport on a flight from Indonesia. He was jailed without bond July 17 after pleading innocent to possession of counterfeit securities and smuggling merchandise into the United States. He faces up to 15 years in prison.

Florida manatee safety program put in doubt

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration wants a federal judge to scuttle a settlement negotiated with environmentalists last year for protecting endangered manatees from boaters off Florida coast.

An assistant attorney general Thomas L. Sansonetti said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service cannot require 16 manatee sanctuaries and reduced speed zones specified in the settlement without first going through a formal regulatory process.

--From wire reports