AP Top News at 3:23 p.m. EST

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Bush May Oppose Mich. Affirmative Action

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WASHINGTON (AP) _ President Bush plans to challenge a University of Michigan program that gives preference to minority students, telling the Supreme Court there are better ways to promote diversity, administration officials said Wednesday. Justice Department and White House attorneys, acting on Bush's orders, were preparing a brief arguing against programs that gave black and Hispanic students an edge when applying to the university and its law school.

Missing Texas Plague Samples Located

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) _ The FBI said Wednesday that vials containing samples of lethal plague reported missing from Texas Tech University had been located. "We have accounted for all those missing vials and we have determined that there is no danger to public safety whatsoever," FBI Agent Lupe Gonzalez said.

Iraqi Exiles Start Reporting for Training

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WASHINGTON (AP) _ Iraqi exiles who want to help the American military in a campaign against President Saddam Hussein are beginning to report for training. The Pentagon said Wednesday that the first batch of opposition members who've volunteered to serve with U.S. forces have been told to assemble at a secret location in the United States over the next several days. "The training is going to be ... real basic training so they could potentially fit in with some U.S. units and provide assistance with language skills, perhaps, or local knowledge and so forth," said Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

N. Korea Rejects U.S. Condition on Talks

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SEOUL, South Korea (AP) _ North Korea rejected as "pie in the sky" U.S. offers of talks and possible aid in exchange for abandoning its nuclear ambitions, accusing Washington on Wednesday of staging a "deceptive drama" to mislead world opinion. Keeping up a stream of anti-American invective _ even as it agreed to more high-level meetings with South Korea next week _ Pyongyang declared it would accept no U.S. offer of dialogue with conditions attached.

Man Jumps After Setting Philly Apt. Fire

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PHILADELPHIA (AP) _ A man arguing with his girlfriend set fire to two apartments Wednesday in a high-rise apartment building near Independence Hall, then plunged from a 24th-floor balcony to his death, police said. The man, whose identity wasn't immediately released, threw furniture from the apartments before lighting the fires, Capt. Thomas Quinn said.

Supreme Court Keeps Copyright Protections

WASHINGTON (AP) _ The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld lengthier copyrights protecting the profits of songs, books and cartoon characters _ a huge victory for Disney and other companies. The 7-2 ruling, while not unexpected, was a blow to Internet publishers and others who wanted to make old books available online and use the likenesses of a Mickey Mouse cartoon and other old creations without paying high royalties.

Walls Street Lower on Mixed Intel News

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NEW YORK (AP) _ Mixed earnings news from Intel jolted Wall Street Wednesday, sending stocks sharply lower as investors unloaded stocks on worries that corporate profits might not be so strong after all. By late afternoon, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 93.04, or 1.1 percent, at 8,749.58, having gained 56 points Tuesday. The Nasdaq composite index dropped 18.29, or 1.3 percent, to 1,442.70. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 11.59, or 1.2 percent, to 920.07.

49ers Fire Coach Steve Mariucci

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SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) _ Steve Mariucci was fired as coach of the San Francisco 49ers after six seasons without a trip to the Super Bowl, a team source told The Associated Press on Wednesday. Mariucci was released from the final year of his contract, the source said on condition of anonymity. Last season, Mariucci jockeyed for a contract extension but didn't get it.

Image Caption: President Bush gestures as he speaks in the East Room of the White House, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2003, on welfare reform. Bush has proposed spending $3.6 billion over two years for states to create "re-employment accounts" of up to $3,000 for about 1.2 million people collecting unemployment compensation who are having difficulty finding jobs. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)