Two of North America's most celebrated female climbers are now feared to have perished on the slopes of Mount Foraker, leaving Denali National Park with a new and troubling mystery:

What happened to 36-year-old Sue Nott of Vail, Colo., and her climbing partner, 37-year-old Karen McNeill of Canmore, Alberta?

Not since the disappearance of Japanese national hero Naomi Uemura on nearby Mount McKinley in 1984 has such an intensive search been launched from the park's Kahiltna Glacier base camp with so few results. Rangers found a backpack, sleeping bag and other gear that had apparently fallen as the women climbed a route known as the Infinite Spur.

Tracks believed to be those of the women come within a thousand feet of the 17,400-foot summit.

But nine days of searching have found no other hint of the duo, who two years ago became the first women to conquer the challenging Cassin Ridge on nearby McKinley.

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Congress to vote on military spending bill

War and terrorism will take center stage in Congress next week, as both chambers vote on an emergency military spending bill and the House devotes a day to debating a resolution on Iraq and the ``war on terror.''

House Republican leaders say the decision to focus on the conflict on Iraq and the terrorism issue was made long ago. But GOP officials concede that the killing of Iraqi insurgent leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi by a U.S. airstrike earlier this week was fortuitous, making it easier for the Republicans to defend the administration's policies.

``It certainly helps the atmosphere of the debate,'' said Ron Bonjean, a press officer for House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill. ``It shows that we are fighting and winning the war on terror, and the resolution will reflect that.''

The measure is expected to assert that operations in Iraq are part of a global ``war on terror'' and to express ``resolve'' to complete the mission.

House Democratic leaders are awaiting the resolution's final wording before announcing their position on it.

LOUISIANA

Katrina, Rita expose lack of code standards

A federal buildings inspection team has found that damage from hurricanes Katrina and Rita last year was amplified by a lack of construction standards in the Gulf Coast states, as well as by shoddy building practices.

None of the states severely affected -- Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Texas -- had adopted statewide building codes before the storms, according to the team's report, released Friday by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, a unit of the Department of Commerce.

As a result, many of the collapsed brick walls in the region had not been correctly anchored or reinforced. Shingles blew off roofs because not enough fasteners had been used, or because they had been put in place incorrectly. Dozens of windows shattered on high-rise buildings, as in downtown New Orleans, because nearby buildings were roofed with gravel, forbidden in high-wind areas under standard building codes.

Though the 270-page report documents considerable building damage from the hurricanes' winds and even more from storm surge, the team found that wind speeds did not exceed levels that model codes are devised to withstand.

From Mercury News wire services