Spanish police arrest four more in bombings

MADRID, Spain -- Spanish police arrested five more people Thursday in the Madrid terror bombings, bringing the total in custody 11. Five suspects appeared in court for the first time Thursday, as Moroccan authorities rounded up associates of the lead suspect. Also Thursday, officials reported a 22-year-old Peruvian woman died of her wounds, pushing the number of deaths in the bombings to 202. That equals the toll in the 2002 Bali bombings, the highest from terrorism since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. The fifth person arrested Thursday in connection with the March 11 railway bombings was of North African origin, the news agency Efe reported. The four others were believed to be of Moroccan origin, and news reports said one of them may have played a direct role in the attacks.

House votes to expand anti-terrorism rewards

WASHINGTON -- The House voted Thursday to expand a State Department anti-terrorist rewards program to provide cash and other benefits to those helping authorities track down drug traffickers who support terrorist activities. The measure, passed 414-0, also gives the Secretary of State the authority to double the reward offered for the capture of Osama bin Laden to $50 million. Outside of Osama, the legislation amends a 1956 law to raise the maximum amount of terrorist and narco-terrorist rewards from $5 million to $25 million.

Christie's auctions Eva Peron's silk shroud

ROME -- The blue-and-white silk shroud that covered the embalmed remains of Eva Peron sold Thursday for $158,000 -- more than three times its estimated worth -- at a disputed auction of memorabilia belonging to Argentina's most famous first lady and her husband, Juan Peron. Some Argentines had opposed the sale at Christie's auction house, saying the items were historic pieces that belonged in a museum, not a private collection. As it turned out, the chairman of Aerolineas Argentinas, Argentina's flagship carrier, put in the winning bid for the shroud through a third party and intends to donate it to the government, company spokesman Jose Luis Hirtz said.

Winter in U.S. was about average, experts say

WASHINGTON -- Don't tell the folks who dug out of 100 inches of snow in upstate New York or survived towering snowdrifts in North Dakota, but on the whole it was about an average winter in the United States. Researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported Thursday that despite some extreme conditions locally, no state was much colder or warmer than normal and, overall, snow and rainfall was near normal too. The data compiled by NOAA's National Climatic Data Center cover December through February, which is the winter season for meteorologists.

Man arrested after shots fired across Calif. road

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- A man was arrested early Thursday in the shootings of five cars along a Southern California highway. Authorities were trying to determine if a rifle found when Keith Tomlinson, 36, was arrested at his home matched the shots fired in attacks Tuesday and Wednesday along Highway 101, a California Highway Patrol spokesman said. No one was wounded in the attacks; the number of shots fired was not released. Tomlinson was booked for investigation of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon and shooting at a vehicle. He was being held without bail.

Children's book about gay princes angers parents

WILMINGTON, N.C. -- The parents of a first-grader are fuming over the book their daughter brought home from the school library: a children's story about a prince whose true love turns out to be another prince. Michael Hartsell said he and his wife, Tonya, couldn't believe it when Prince Bertie, the leading character in "King & King," waves off a bevy of eligible princes before falling for Prince Lee. Barbara Hawley, librarian and media coordinator at Freeman Elementary School, said the book has been on the library's shelves since early last year. "What might be inappropriate for one family, in another family is a totally acceptable thing," said Elizabeth Miars, Freeman's principal.

-- From wire reports