The death penalty was the hot topic at the various press conferences today as the Virginia authorities, in one county after another, announced charges against the sniper suspects.

Officials building a case against the Washington-area sniper suspects are using a new investigative tool to help trace their movements across the country.

The "central point," according to the Times's correction, was simply that "local and federal authorities were feuding over custody of the sniper suspects."

By midafternoon, rumors leaked out that there was no sniper suspect.

It was an important article, and plainly accurate in its central point: that local and federal authorities were feuding over custody of the sniper suspects.

As that story unfolded, Cosby secured another major first, by reporting the names and license plate numbers of the sniper suspects.

Even among teams, though, the sniper suspects were unusual because of the 24-year disparity in their ages.

The sniper suspects are particularly atypical in that the police believe they killed whites and blacks.

Little is yet known about the upbringings and inner dynamics of either of the sniper suspects.

But such questions have died down since the arrests of Mr. Malvo and the other sniper suspect, John Muhammad.