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Puerto Rico is one of the few Caribbean islands that openly accepts gay people. That's starting to pay off economically, with an increase in gay tourism.

Hundreds of thousands of people take part in a "democratic carnival" in Taiwan. They're protesting a Chinese law that threatens military action if Taiwan officially declares independence. The U.S. and European Union have reacted negatively to the law.

On the eve of the yearly session of the National People's Congress, China announces a major increase in its military budget. In Taiwan there are mounting fears, as China's parliament prepares to pass an anti-secession law aimed at blocking Taiwan from declaring independence.

Death Valley, Calif., is known as the lowest, hottest and driest place in the United States. But this winter, record rains have created a wildflower bonanza, and people are flocking to the desert to see the show. NPR's Alex Chadwick reports.

Two Russian airliners that departed from the same Moscow airport crash within minutes of each other. All 89 people aboard both flights are killed. Investigators are now discounting reports of terrorism. Hear NPR's Steve Inskeep and NPR's Lawrence Sheets.

At least 47 people are killed and scores more injured when a car bomb explodes in a crowded Baghdad marketplace. Elsewhere, 11 Iraqi policemen and their driver are killed in a drive-by shooting, and saboteurs blow up an oil pipeline. Hear NPR's Peter Kenyon.

Suspected Chechen militants seize a school in southern Russia. Reports suggest between 120 to as many as 400 people are inside, many of them children. The militants threaten to blow up the school if Russian security forces try to storm the building. Hear NPR's Lawrence Sheets.

State officials order more than a million people to evacuate Florida's east coast as Hurricane Frances heads their way. The storm is twice the size of Hurricane Charley, which battered the state three weeks ago -- and just as potent. Bobby Link of Florida Public Radio reports.

In Beslan, Russia, funerals began Sunday for the more than 330 people killed in a confrontation between Chechen separatists and Russian forces. Many of the dead were children held hostage before Friday's bloody end to the siege. NPR's Lawrence Sheets reports.

New York City marks the third anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks with moments of silence at ground zero and a light show at sunset. In Virginia, bells toll at the Pentagon for the 184 people killed there. Hear NPR's Luke Burbank.