Need to follow the news on a topic or locality? Try Google for topics and Topix for localities.

To search news by topic, go to news.google.com and enter a search string. Click the "News Alert" option and Google will even e-mail you news items on your topic as they arise. To follow the news in a particular locality, try www.topix.net. At Topix, you can also use a search string or simply enter a zip code to get the leading stories of the day from that geographical area.