Checklist

Regional

• Silver Spring-based Choice Hotels International Inc. has denied it is liable for any injuries to four Philippine immigrants subjected to conditions of peonage, slavery, forced labor and trafficking in persons by the owners of a Comfort Inn and Suites in Oacoma, S.D. In February, U.S. District Judge Charles Kornmann sentenced owners Robert Farrell and Angelita Farrell to federal prison terms of 4 years and 2 months, and 3 years, respectively. A lawsuit seeks unspecified punitive, compensatory, general and special damages against the Farrells and Choice Hotels.

National

• Gold may fall for a fourth straight week on speculation the Federal Reserve will pause in making reductions to U.S. borrowing costs, eroding the appeal of the precious metal as an alternative to the dollar. Fifteen of 31 traders, investors and analysts surveyed in Asia, Europe and the U.S. on May 1 and May 2 advised selling gold, which dropped 3.6 percent to $858 an ounce last week in New York. Thirteen said to buy, and three were neutral.

• Mining companies have been applying for permits to drill for uranium near Grand Canyon National Park, fueled by the renewed interest in nuclear power, the Los Angeles Times said. Environmentalists are worried that the drilling so close to the park, which draws 5 million people a year, could affect tourism and wildlife, the newspaper said in an article on its Web site, citing Steve Martin, superintendent of the Grand Canyon park and an Interior Department employee.

• Service industries in the U.S. probably contracted for a fourth month and pending home resales fell, signaling the real estate slump and credit crisis continue to depress growth, economists said. The Institute for Supply Management’s non-manufacturing index, which makes up almost 90 percent of the economy, dropped to 49.1 in April from 49.6, according to the median estimate of economists in a Bloomberg News survey. A separate report may show fewer Americans signed contracts to buy previously owned homes.

International

• Dubai Ports World offered to help build and develop the seaports of the Ivory Coast, during a visit to the United Arab Emirates by Ivorian Prime Minister Guillaume Soro. Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, the president of DP World, said his company was “ready to put into place a cooperation for the construction and development of the ports” of the African nation, the Emirati news agency WAM reported. The prime minister, also quoted by WAM, said his government wanted “to benefit from the experience of Dubai at the local and international levels in the sectors of ports and free zones.”

From wire dispatches and staff reports