China’s virus death toll surpasses SARS but new cases fall
By JOE McDONALD Associated Press
China’s death toll from the new virus outbreak has risen by 89 to 811, surpassing the number of fatalities in the 2002-2003 SARS epidemic, as other governments step up efforts to block the disease. Some 2,656 new cases were reported, fewer than on the previous day, something experts see as a sign the virus’s spread may be slowing. SARS killed 774 people and sickened 8,098, mainly in mainland China and Hong Kong. Elsewhere, France closed two schools after five British visitors contracted the virus at a ski resort. Malaysia, South Korea and Vietnam reported one new case each. Six more cases were reported on a quarantined cruise ship.

Police: 2nd officer shot in Bronx hours after ambush
By SOPHIA ROSENBAUM undefined
A second New York City police officer has been shot in the Bronx, hours after a gunman shot and wounded an officer in an unprovoked attack on a patrol van. Police said the shooting happened at the headquarters of the 41st precinct. An NYPD spokesperson says the injured officer is in stable condition at Lincoln Hospital. Officials say it is unclear if Sunday’s shooting is related to Saturday evening’s ambush on a patrol van in the same area. Police officials confirmed a suspect in Sunday’s shooting is in custody.

NYPD: Officer shot, wounded in ‘assassination attempt’
New York City’s police commissioner says an officer was wounded by gunfire in the Bronx in “an assassination attempt.” Commissioner Dermot Shea says two uniformed officers were sitting in a police van on Saturday night when a man engaged them in conversation and then pulled out a gun “without provocation.” The man fired multiple shots, striking one officer in the chin and neck. Shea says the officer is “lucky to be alive” and is expected to make a full recovery. The commissioner indicated that no one was in custody, but said police had a description of the shooter.

1. Robert Conrad, star of “The Wild, Wild West,” dies at 84
   Robert Conrad, the rugged, contentious actor who starred in the hugely popular 1960s television series “Hawaiian Eye” and “The Wild, Wild West,” has died. He was 84. A family spokesperson says the actor died Saturday morning in Malibu, California, from heart failure. Conrad became an overnight star after the show  “Hawaiian Eye” debuted in 1959. Conrad was known as a tough customer with a reputation for fist fights. Playing himself in a 1999 episode of the TV series “Just Shoot Me,” he lampooned his threatening, tough-guy persona.