[Special to theTimes: Vance Jacobs]
	Lori Corcoran of Gambrills, Md., and her children. She doesn't let them get the mail.

Storm kills 5 in Cuba, drenches Bahamas
Florida is virtually unscathed, with only gusty winds and 3 to 4 inches of rain.

Veteran diplomat Dobbins named envoy to anti-Taliban forces
WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration on Monday named veteran diplomat James Dobbins, an architect of U.S. policy following the conflicts in Kosovo and Bosnia, to serve as a special envoy to anti-Taliban forces in Afghanistan.

Rebels show their muscle
JABAL SARAJ, Afghanistan -- The opposition Northern Alliance on Monday staged its largest-ever military exercise, firing dozens of rounds from tanks and armored vehicles into a wind-swept hillside here in anticipation of an offensive against Afghanistan's ruling Taliban and the possibility of a major resupply operation using a new airstrip recently inspected by U.S. officials.

8 O'Hare airport screeners suspended
CHICAGO -- A Nepalese man was indicted Monday on a federal charge of trying to carry weapons onto an airplane, after airline workers caught him boarding a flight to Omaha this weekend with several knives, a stun gun and a can of pepper spray.

Scientists hope for an early edge in battle
WASHINGTON -- Scientists have developed a DNA test that may identify anthrax spores in a letter, building or person in just 30 minutes -- and this week will begin studying whether a "smart bomb" type of medical test can diagnose inhaled anthrax well before symptoms appear.

Anthrax victim goes home as spore search widens
On the day inhalation anthrax victim Kathy Nguyen was buried, another victim went home from the hospital.

White House: Many detainees were released
WASHINGTON -- Most of the people arrested on unrelated criminal charges by investigators probing the Sept. 11 attacks have been released, the White House said Monday.

Disabled mail handlers reassured
WASHINGTON -- When Environmental Protection Agency head Christie Whitman met briefly last week with agency mail handlers, there was, amid the words of encouragement for these uncertain times with the fear of anthrax-contaminated mail, a recognition of a special responsibility: At the EPA, almost all mail room workers are disabled.

Bush steps up information war overseas
Focusing on the Islamic media, the administration balances sending different messages at home, abroad.

N.Y. mayoral campaign nasty, tight on final day
NEW YORK -- New York's mayoral contest, overshadowed for so long by the World Trade Center attacks, became embroiled in a last-minute burst of nasty campaigning Monday, with Public Advocate Mark Green and media mogul Michael Bloomberg clashing over racial and sexual politics, the influence of big money on elections and who can best lead the Big Apple in a time of crisis.

Mental health bill faces struggle
Lobbying intensifies around a bill intended to cut out limits on treatment for mental illnesses.

In Nicaragua, Sandinista head concedes defeat
MIAMI -- Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega conceded defeat Monday in hotly contested presidential elections in Nicaragua, virtually assuring the end of his leadership of the country's revolutionary movement after three consecutive electoral defeats.