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Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Jul 7, 2008

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Postmaster: Send address changes to Mail Subscriptions, The Topeka Capital-Journal, 616 S.E. Jefferson, Topeka, KS 66607.KABUL, Afghanistan - Officials say a suicide bomber killed seven people in an attack in the center of the Afghan capital.

The bomb went off in a car during today's morning rush hour on a busy street in Kabul near the Indian Embassy, which sits across the street from Afghanistan's Interior Ministry.

Five people were killed at the scene.

Sayed Qabir, the chief of a Kabul hospital, says his staff have treated eight people wounded in the blast, but two had died.

On Sunday, Afghan officials said fighter aircraft battling militants accidentally killed up to 27 Afghans walking to a wedding ceremony in eastern Afghanistan, the second military attack in three days with reports of civilian deaths.

The U.S. military blamed the claims on militant propaganda and said its missiles only struck insurgents.

NATION

WEATHER CHANNEL SOLD FOR $3.5 BILLION: NBC Universal and two private-equity funds have purchased the Weather Channel, the companies said Sunday.

NBCU, owned by General Electric, partnered with Bain Capital and the Blackstone Group to pay about $3.5 billion for the cable channel and its associated properties from Landmark Communications, the Norfolk, Va.-based media company that launched the channel 26 years ago. The purchase price was confirmed by a source close to the deal who spoke on the condition of anonymity because terms weren't announced.

The Weather Channel is one of the most widely distributed on cable: It can be seen in 97 percent of all U.S. homes, which translates to about 85 million monthly viewers.

FOCUS ON ELK AS DISEASE PERSISTS NEAR YELLOWSTONE: Federal officials are considering a tentative proposal that calls for capturing or killing infected elk in Yellowstone National Park to eliminate a serious livestock disease carried by animals in the area.

Government agencies have killed more than 6,000 wild bison leaving Yellowstone over the past two decades in an attempt to contain brucellosis, which causes pregnant cattle to abort their young.

Cattle in parts of Wyoming and Montana where bison haven't roamed for decades are being infected, and livestock officials in both states are now targeting elk as the cause.

COOLER WEATHER HELPS CREWS BATTLE CAIFORNIA WILDFIRE: Firefighters on Sunday took advantage of cooler, damper weather to battle a vast blaze ravaging Santa Barbara County as they tried to gain a foothold against the fire before the expected return of hotter, drier conditions.

Moist air currents from the ocean cooled temperatures to the high 70s Sunday, helping fire crews keep the blaze from spreading. The fire, which has been burning since Tuesday, was less than a third contained.

CHOLESTEROL DRUGS RECOMMENDED FOR SOME 8-YEAR-OLDS: For the first time, an influential doctors group in Chicago is recommending some children as young as 8 be given cholesterol-fighting drugs to ward off future heart problems.

It is the strongest guidance ever given on the issue by the American Academy of Pediatrics, which released its new guidelines today. The academy also recommends low-fat milk for 1-year-olds and wider cholesterol testing.

Stephen Daniels, of the academy's nutrition committee, says the new advice is based on mounting evidence showing that damage leading to heart disease, the nation's leading killer, begins early in life.

WORLD

BUSH DEFENDS DECISIONS ON NORTH KOREA, OLYMPICS: President Bush on Sunday defended removing North Korea from the list of state sponsors of terrorism and attending the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics as world leaders assembled in Toyako, Japan, to address soaring gas prices, climate change and African aid.