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miles) north of Baghdad. Another bomb in Dibis targeted an army patrol, wounding five soldiers, according to Sarhad Qadir, a senior police officer in the area.
• In central Baghdad, police and army manned checkpoints roughly 500 meters (yards) apart, while pickup trucks with machine-guns perched on top roamed the streets. Much of the city looked deserted without the normal traffic congestion that Baghdad is notorious for. Most stores were closed.
• In Baghdad's mostly Shiite Sadr City district, for years a frequent target of bombings blamed on Sunni militants, elite counterterrorism forces were deployed and helicopters hovered above the sprawling area. Buses were used to ferry voters to polling centers.
• ___
Sluggish economic growth at start of 2014 is expected to improve as year progresses
• WASHINGTON (AP) -- The economy likely stumbled at the start of this year, but there's probably little reason to worry: Economists foresee a solid rebound with the end of a harsh winter.
• The Commerce Department on Wednesday will issue the first of three estimates of how fast the economy grew in the January-March quarter. The expectation is that growth slowed to an annual rate of around 1.1 percent, a lackluster pace that would be sharply down from a 2.6 percent annual growth rate in the previous quarter.
• Economists think the first-quarter slump, caused in large part by the severe winter, will give way to stronger growth that should endure through the rest of the year.
• Most analysts say a bounce-back in consumer spending, business investment and job growth will lift growth in the second quarter.
• In fact, many say 2014 will be the year the recovery from the Great Recession finally achieves the robust growth that's needed to accelerate hiring and reduce still-high unemployment.
• ___
Death toll hits 35; forecasters downplay dire predictions for 3rd day of severe storms
• LOUISVILLE, Miss. (AP) -- Ruth Bennett died clutching the last child left at her day care center as a tornado wiped the building off its foundation. A firefighter who came upon the body gently pulled the toddler from her arms.
• "It makes you just take a breath now," said next-door neighbor Kenneth (Continued on page 27)
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