USA

The FBI confirmed that it conducted a raid Saturday night of the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, where congressional lawmakers maintain offices. The agency did not indicate who or what the search targeted, but NBC reported that the offices of US Rep. William Jefferson (D) of Louisiana were entered. Jefferson is under investigation in a bribery scandal involving an alleged payoff for steering business to a Nigerian television company.

This year's death count at US coal mines rose to 31 over the weekend after five men were killed in an underground explosion in Harlan County, Ky. A sixth walked away from the blast site. Preliminary evidence pointed to a methane leak as a contributing factor.

Between 1977 and 2004, the number of women in state and federal prisons increased from 11,212 to 96,125, many on drug offenses, according to a report released Sunday by the Women's Prison Association. A separate Justice Department study indicated that 2.2 million Americans, both male and female, are behind bars in jails or state and federal prisons.

Fewer than 15,000 New York City taxpayers contributed via a tax-return checkoff box to the World Trade Center Memorial fund, records showed. But more than $400 million has been contributed by private donors and government agencies.

Despite receiving lackluster reviews, "The Da Vinci Code" was off to a solid box-office start as it opened over the weekend at more than 3,700 US theaters. The movie is based on a controversial novel that mixes fact and theories about Jesus.

First lady Laura Bush delivered the commencement address Saturday at Roger Williams University in Bristol, R.I., where she told graduates that dedicating themselves to others will help them "find happiness along the way." Three Afghan women received degrees as part of a program created after the Taliban regime was overthrown in 2001.

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