NATION NEWS BRIEFS

ALASKA / 3 believed dead in crash

A big cargo airplane that crashed Sunday in Denali National Park was registered to an Alaskan freight company and had three people onboard who are presumed dead, the National Park Service said. The Fairchild C-123 was registered to All West Freight Inc. of Delta Junction, Alaska. It crashed into the south-facing slope of Mount Healy near the eastern edge of the park, about 180 miles north of Anchorage. The plane burst into flames on impact and started a wildland fire that was contained at about one acre, the park service said. The victims' names weren't yet released.

CALIFORNIA / Proposition 209 upheld

California's high court on Monday upheld the state's 14-year-old law barring preferential treatment of women and minorities in public school admissions, government hiring and contracting. In a 6-1 ruling, the state Supreme Court rejected arguments from the city of San Francisco and Attorney General Jerry Brown that the law, known as Proposition 209, violates federal equality protections. Opponents of the ban say it creates barriers for minorities and women that don't exist for other groups. The ruling came in response to suits filed by white contractors challenging San Francisco's affirmative action program, which was suspended in 2003. If San Francisco wants to resurrect the program, the court said it must show compelling evidence the city "purposefully or intentionally discriminated against" minority and women contractors and that such a law was the only way to fix the problem.

WASHINGTON / Anti-predators strategy

The Justice Department on Monday released its first-ever national strategy to combat child exploitation and abuse, calling for a crackdown on the most dangerous sex offenders in the country. The National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction will assess the threats that children face - including child pornography, online enticement, child sex tourism and commercial sexual exploitation - and outline ways for the federal government to quell abuse. Part of the strategy calls for the U.S. Marshals Service to launch a nationwide operation to target the 500 most dangerous, noncompliant sex offenders.

NATIONWIDE / Solar storms' light show

The sun may be about to put on a colorful light show. That's because of two minor solar storms that flared on Sunday and are shooting tons of plasma directly at Earth. Scientists said residents of northern regions - from Maine to Michigan and anywhere farther north around the globe - may see unusual northern lights. Usually only regions closer to the Arctic can see the aurora of rippling reds and greens, but solar storms pull them south. The federal Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colo., said the plasma will likely arrive late Tuesday night or early Wednesday. The storms are not much of a threat to satellites or power grids. Until recently, the sun was in a phase with few storms.