Nation in brief

After surgery, Clinton taking it easy

WASHINGTON - Former President Bill Clinton, laid further low than he expected by heart surgery last month, will not make any more than a few cameo appearances on behalf of Democratic nominee John Kerry, and even an abbreviated schedule is far from certain, according to friends and Democratic officials.

Clinton has been recuperating from his Sept. 6 quadruple bypass surgery at his home in Chappaqua, N.Y., with a recovery regimen that has included mile-long walks. He finds himself exhausted after each walk, friends said, and he remains in considerable pain from the chest incision.

His continued fatigue, combined with continued caution from his physicians, means that a frenetic sprint of last-minute campaigning - the kind of barnstorming that was the 58-year-old Clinton's signature during his campaigns - is out of the question, friends said.

PICO RIVERA, Calif. - A freight train carrying hazardous materials derailed early Saturday, damaging at least four homes and forcing more than 200 people to evacuate, officials said. No serious injuries were reported.

Investigators were trying to identify the hazardous materials on board and determine whether any leaked when the nearly 50 freight cars and trailers left the tracks, Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy Luis Castro said. About 500 gallons of diesel fuel spilled.

WHITE MARSH, Md. - Dozens of vehicles crashed Saturday in separate accidents on Interstate 95 as a storm blew through a Baltimore suburb, injuring at least 49 people and forcing authorities to shut down the highway.

Some of the injuries were serious, but no deaths were immediately reported.

Maryland State Police Cpl. Rob Moroney said there were at least four large accidents along a five-mile stretch of I-95.

The accidents started happening about 4:30 p.m. when the sky darkened and hail and rain started falling.

ATLANTA - Dungeons & Dragons players gathered in game stores around the country Saturday to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the grandfather of fantasy role-playing games - a pop culture phenomenon that has influenced myriad video games, books and movies.

An estimated 25,000 fans in 1,200 stores celebrated the anniversary Saturday, said Charles Ryan, brand manager for role-playing games at Wizards of the Coast, a Renton, Wash., company that owns Dungeons & Dragons.

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