In the Nation

MADISON, Wis. - Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, who was hailed as a hero this summer for confronting a man wielding a metal bar, announced yesterday that he would run for governor.

Barrett, a Democrat, gained national attention after being attacked in August while defending a woman outside the state fair. He needed 10 pins in his right hand and had the last two removed Friday.

Barrett said he had deferred his decision to run until he was sufficiently recovered from the attack, which left him with head and hand injuries.

His decision was a relief for the Democratic Party after Gov. Jim Doyle decided not to seek a third term. - AP

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - Authorities acted on a tip yesterday and scoured a portion of south-central North Carolina in hopes of finding a 5-year-old girl reported missing by her mother.

The girl's mother has been charged with human trafficking and other offenses.

Shaniya Davis has not been seen since Tuesday, when surveillance footage recorded a man carrying her into a hotel room. The man was arrested and charged Friday with kidnapping.

Authorities have arrested the girl's mother, Antoinette Nicole Davis, on charges of human trafficking and child abuse involving prostitution, as well as filing a false police report. - AP

LOS ANGELES - Social Security numbers and other personal data for at least 300 students who applied for admission to California State Polytechnic University six years ago were unintentionally disclosed online, the university said.

The data remained on the university server and were accessible to the public for about five years, school officials said. The applicants were notified last week and urged to contact credit-reporting agencies.

The data, which did not include financial information, were "mistakenly put in a publicly accessible folder on a university server in November 2003, and Google and other search engine companies mined the data," said university spokesman Tim Lynch.

The file was removed from the server in November 2008, when it came to the attention of university officials.

- Los Angeles Times

American charities have weathered a significant drop in giving this year, and while they are hoping for a holiday miracle, a recent survey shows they will probably see a decrease in year-end generosity. Only 38 percent of Americans say they are more likely to give a charitable gift as a holiday present this year, compared with 49 percent last year, according to a survey by Harris Interactive.

Kansas City, Mo., airport officials said a passenger jet struck a flock of birds shortly after takeoff Saturday night but returned to land safely. The Frontier Airlines flight had taken off about 7 p.m. for Denver when it hit the birds at an altitude of about 4,000 feet. Passengers said that they saw flames in one of the engines and that there was a terrible smell in the cabin.

A New Mexico man accused of hitting another man with a baseball bat in a dispute over money was arrested in Alamogordo. Jason Sheridan was charged with battery and assault. The victim was treated at a hospital and released.