The mother of a woman shot dead by police after a car chase that began when she tried to breach a barrier at the White House said her daughter suffered from post-natal depression.

A woman with a one-year-old child led the US Secret Service and police on a harrowing car chase through Washington DC, attempting to penetrate the security barriers at the White House and the Capitol before she was shot to death, police said. The child survived.

A woman driving a black Lexus tried to ram through a White House barricade then led police on a chase that ended in gunfire outside the Capitol.

Police say the U.S. Capitol has been put on a security lockdown amid reports of possible shots fired outside the building.

A MEMBER of the Garda Reserve has been nominated for a prestigious Scott Medal after helping to foil a gun incident involving a well-known criminal.

Police in the North confirmed tonight that more than 200 officers from an axed reserve unit are to be temporarily retained to help combat the dissident republican threat.

An average of 14 people have applied for each Garda Reserve job on offer this year, figures today revealed.

Valley of the Dolls (Fox Cinema Reserve, €24.99) exposed a side of Hollywood most were unaware of in the early ‘60s, drugs and exploitation.

The first class of the new Defence Forces induction scheme graduated today after 15 months of rigorous training.

President George Bush’s plan to send more troops to Iraq ran into a huge wall of criticism from the Democrat-controlled Congress as administration officials drew confrontational, sometimes mocking, challenges from all sides.

THE main garda representative body has threatened to reconsider its “forced acceptance” of the Garda Reserve if pay talks don’t deliver substantial increases for its members.

THE new Garda Reserve will bring a wealth of experience and expertise from various walks of life to An Garda Síochána, Justice Minister Michael McDowell said yesterday.

I MUST congratulate Supt Pat O’Sullivan of Tralee for his stand on late-night drinking.

The Justice Minister today issued a firm warning to gardai who block the roll-out of the controversial Garda Reserve.

The Tánaiste and Minister for Justice Mr Michael McDowell today described the recent Garda Recruitment Campaign for Trainee and Reserve Gardaí as an overwhelming success and a strong vote of confidence in An Garda Síochána.

Rank-and-file gardaí are today set to vote on a policy of non-cooperation with the proposed Garda Reserve.

RETIRED gardaí could stand as general election candidates if Justice Minister Michael McDowell does not withdraw his controversial plans for a 4,000-strong Reserve Force.

Middle ranking gardaí today voted against co-operating with the 'hobby bobbies' of the proposed Garda Reserve.

Middle-ranking gardaí said tonight they would not be breaking the law if they refused to co-operate with the proposed Garda Reserve.

Garda sergeants and inspectors will vote on the proposed Garda Reserve at their annual conference.

Garda chiefs have ordered the removal of all posters in stations advertising meetings organised to oppose the introduction of a reserve force, it was claimed tonight.

ANGERED by Shi’ite calls for a federal region, Sunni clerics urged followers yesterday to vote against the constitution if it contains measures they believe would divide the country.

DISGRUNTLED US soldiers complained to Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld yesterday about the lack of armour for their vehicles and long deployments, drawing a blunt retort from the Pentagon chief.

President George W Bush, his Vietnam-era military service the subject of dispute, today said he was proud of his stint in the Air National Guard and told members strained by today’s wars that he was trying to make their lives easier.

The US Army is preparing to notify about 5,600 retired and discharged soldiers who are not members of the National Guard or Reserve that they will be involuntarily recalled to active duty for possible service in Iraq or Afghanistan, Army officials said in Washington.

The US may have to call up large number of additional National Guard and Reserve troops for duty in Iraq, a senior general said today.

The US military forces massed in the Gulf are now ready to wage war against Iraq, America’s top soldier said today.

MORE than 10,000 part-time troops have been ordered to prepare for active duty and movement overseas beginning as early as this week to support a US military build-up near Iraq, Army officials said yesterday.

The US economy, jolted by the September 11 terrorist attacks, weakened further in October and November, the Federal Reserve reported.

More than 1,600 troops paraded through Dublin today, with President Mary McAleese taking the salute, to mark the withdrawal of Ireland's United Nations force from Lebanon.

President Bush, pouring over options for war, may call up 30,000 to 50,000 members of the National Guard and Reserve to active duty in the next few days, a defence official said.

Philippines police and US officials have seized $2 trillion in counterfeit US Federal Reserve bonds.