BERKELEY — Ernest Gallo, who parlayed $5,900 and a wine recipe from a public library into the world’s largest winemaking empire, died Tuesday at his home in Modesto. He was 97.

WASHINGTON — The conviction of former White House official Lewis “Scooter” Libby on Tuesday dealt another blow to President Bush’s beleaguered administration and marked the latest chapter in a record of mistakes, missteps and setbacks growing out of an Iraq war policy that went badly awry.

BEDFORD, Ind. — The cracks in Eric and Beth Johnson’s marriage first appeared after their daughter’s birth.

WASHINGTON — Fledgling U.S.-backed democracies in Afghanistan and Iraq are failing to protect human rights, the State Department said Tuesday, despite huge flows of American aid to improve conditions after the ousters of the Taliban and Saddam Hussein.

WASHINGTON — Fired U.S. prosecutors testified Tuesday they felt “leaned on” by Republican lawmakers to seek indictments and hushed by a Justice Department official who did not want them talking about their dismissals.

SOLOK and JAKARTA, Indonesia —  A  jetliner carrying more than 130 passengers and crew caught fire Wednesday as it landed on Indonesia’s Java island, trapping a number of people inside the burning plane, the airline and witnesses said. An airport official reported that 20 people are confirmed dead.

NEW YORK — Lottery players lined up at ticket machines across the nation Tuesday, dreaming about the fat bank accounts and permanent vacations that winning the record $370 million Mega Millions jackpot would bring.

CHICAGO — The low-carb, high-fat Atkins diet gets high marks in one of the biggest, longest head-to-head studies of popular weight-loss plans, beating the Zone, the Ornish diet and even U.S. guidelines.

BERKELEY — Ernest Gallo, who parlayed $5,900 and a wine recipe from a public library into the world’s largest winemaking empire, died Tuesday at his home in Modesto. He was 97.

They appear to have little in common, these two governors.