WASHINGTON (AP) – A battle among hackers erupted on the Internet Sunday as some factions disrupted a loosely coordinated “contest” among other groups trying to vandalize thousands of Web sites around the world.

Unknown attackers for hours knocked offline an independent security Web site, zone-h.org, that was verifying reports of online vandalism and being used by hackers to tally points for the competition. U.S. government and private technology experts warned last week that such vandalism was likely.

Three such vigilante-style attacks forced the hacker organizer, who identified himself only as “Eleonora 1/867 3/8,” to extend the contest until 6 p.m. EDT Sunday. But with continued attacks disrupting the ability of vandals to claim credit for their break-ins, some experts said it could be later this week before damage from this weekend’s hacking would be known.

By late Sunday afternoon, hackers claimed responsibility for vandalizing hundreds of mostly obscure Web sites, such as ones for Security Title Co. and the Heart of Montana Realty Services, both of Bozeman, Mont.

Flight of Mars rover delayed,

this time by battery problem

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) – NASA will attempt again to launch its latest Mars rover Monday night, after five delays in the past two weeks.

Battery problems forced the cancellation of a planned launch Sunday of the rover Opportunity. NASA officials said later in the day that the battery would be replaced.

NASA will evaluate the new battery installation Monday morning to determine if the launch is possible. Work was completed Saturday on an insulation problem with the cork that protects the aluminum skin of the rocket – an issue that caused NASA to scrap plans for its Thursday launch of Opportunity.

Woman stabs man, son,

leaves 3-mile trail of blood

MISSION VIEJO, Calif. (AP) – A woman critically wounded her former boyfriend and fatally stabbed the man’s 13-year-old son in his bedroom before fleeing and leaving a three-mile trail of blood, police said.

Jean Marc Weber, 45, head chef at the California Club, an exclusive private club in downtown Los Angeles, crawled to a neighbor’s front porch and pleaded for help after the Friday morning attack. His son Alex, who had just turned 13, was found dead in his bedroom, police said.

The woman, Tamara K. Bohler, was arrested late Saturday after a security guard spotted her, bleeding and bewildered, in front of a condominium complex about 8 miles south of the scene of the attack, Orange County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Jim Amormino said.

Bloodhounds had tracked spots of dried blood from Weber’s condominium complex to a shopping mall but then lost it.

The guard found Bohler sitting on a curb and bleeding from cuts to her hand. He called an ambulance, whose crew recognized her from flyers and contacted sheriff’s deputies.

, Amormino said.

Bohler was booked for investigation of murder and attempted murder, Amormino said.

Weber was hospitalized in critical condition and was under police guard, authorities said. The motive for the attack remained under investigation.

AP-ES-07-06-03 0129EDT

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