Alan Landers, the handsome model who posed for Winston cigarette ads and later sued the tobacco industry over his health claims, has died while undergoing treatment for throat cancer. He was 68.

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The Coast Guard says it is suspending at sundown the search for two NFL players and another man whose boat capsized off Florida's Gulf Coast, saying it doesn't believe anyone is on the surface of the water.

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• Earlier: Raider, ex-49er, friend missing at sea

Tainted peanuts. Unsterilized syringes. Salmonella in tomatoes and chili peppers. Every few months, the Food and Drug Administration goes into fire-brigade mode, rushing to get control over another safety crisis.

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Officials in Washington, D.C., say that a murder warrant has been issued for an imprisoned Salvadoran immigrant in the 2001 slaying of federal intern Chandra Levy.

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• World War II hero gets out of jail after 8 years
• Husband in murder-suicide had killed before
• Stalkers turn to cell phones to 'textually harass'
• 3 face hate-crime charges in Texas gay bar attack
• Drug court lends woman $275 for abortion | Crime page

Sen. John McCain's crusade to strip more than 8,500 earmarks from the budget bill ended in defeat Tuesday, but he has rekindled the debate over whether projects sought by representatives for their home districts are wasteful or a legitimate way for to steer money to deserving projects. Zachary Coile

Chronicle Breaking News 4:00 AM

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• List of Bay Area earmarks
• President Reportedly shelving species rule

Residents began digging out a day after a raging storm blanketed parts of the East Coast with as much as 16 inches of snow and closed schools from South Carolina to New Hampshire.

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• Teens accused of attacking dad with snow shovels