Published: Wednesday, August 2, 2006
TROPICAL STORM CHRIS APPROACHES CARIBBEAN
Tropical Storm Chris
approaches Caribbean
ST. JOHN'S, Antigua — Tropical Storm Chris strengthened Tuesday as it approached the eastern edge of the Caribbean, prompting a run on groceries and gas as people prepared for the third named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. The storm had top winds of nearly 45 mph as it passed over the Leeward Islands, and was expected to gather strength as it approached the U.S. and British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. Forecasters said it could become a minimal hurricane later in the week. Long-range forecasts put the storm anywhere from south of Cuba to Florida by late in the weekend. As skies darkened and rain began to fall, people began the familiar ritual of stocking up on gas, food and candles. Tourists at a resort just outside the Antiguan capital said they had no plans to evacuate. "I am not going to panic," said Maxwell Stevens of New Brunswick, N.J. "I will take it in stride."
British troops killed
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Suspected Taliban militants used rocket-propelled grenades to ambush a British patrol Tuesday, killing three soldiers just one day after NATO took command of southern Afghanistan. The attack in Helmand province seriously wounded a fourth soldier and marked the deadliest single attack suffered by British forces since they deployed here in late 2001 to help topple the Taliban regime for harboring Osama bin Laden. The attack followed NATO's assumption of control Monday of military operations in southern Afghanistan from the U.S.-led coalition. It also underscored the dangers faced by the 8,000-member multinational contingent to try and crush the bloodiest spate of Taliban-led violence in nearly five years.
Flooding in Texas
prompts evacuations
EL PASO, Texas — A third day of heavy rain caused widespread flooding around El Paso on Tuesday, swamping mountainside homes, forcing evacuations and closing major roads. Emergency crews juggled an onslaught of distress calls, but there were no immediate reports of any serious injuries. "We're doing OK at the moment," said police spokesman Javier Sambrano. Authorities said at least 60 people had been rescued, some standing on roofs, others atop cars. Fire officials said they were worried that boulders and other debris would fall from rocky cliffs around several El Paso neighborhoods.
Artifacts found pertaining
to 'black Paul Bunyan'
NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Archaeologists excavating the 200-year-old graves of a slave family said Tuesday that they recovered several artifacts that could shed light on the life of a man dubbed "the black Paul Bunyan." However, the scientists uncovered no genetic material from Venture Smith, who is depicted in tales as a 6-foot-1 lumberjack slave whose fabulous feats of strength helped win his freedom. They had hoped to find DNA that would trace Smith's life back to Africa, filling in the gaps of one of the earliest and most important slave biographies. "We didn't get much," Nicholas F. Bellantoni, Connecticut's state archaeologist, said about Smith's grave. "Everything had been decomposed." But teams found several items from the nearby graves of Smith's family that should help answer many questions, said Chandler Saint, president of the Beecher House Center for the Study of Equal Rights in Torrington, who is managing the excavation.
Former security guard
honored for heroism
ATLANTA — Richard Jewell, the security guard who was branded a suspect after the deadly bombing at the 1996 Olympics, was honored at the state Capitol on Tuesday, 10 years later, for saving lives by moving people out of harm's way just before the blast. The state Legislature issued a proclamation honoring Jewell in 1998, but it was not presented in person; it came in the mail. Gov. Sonny Perdue sought to change that when he invited Jewell to receive another award from the governor himself. "This is what I think is the right thing to do," Perdue declared as he handed a certificate to Jewell. Jewell said: "I never expected this day to ever happen. I'm just glad that it did." Jewell was initially hailed as a hero for spotting a suspicious backpack containing the bomb and moving people away just before it exploded. But three days after the July 27 blast killed one and wounded 111 others, an unattributed report in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution described Jewell as "the focus" of the investigation. Other news organizations also linked Jewell to the bombing investigation. He was never arrested or charged. The real bomber, it turned out, was anti-government extremist Eric Rudolph, who also planted other bombs in the Atlanta area and in Birmingham, Ala., that killed a police officer, maimed a nurse and wounded several others.
Associated Press
Wednesday, August 2, 2006
Tropical Storm Chris
approaches Caribbean
ST. JOHN'S, Antigua — Tropical Storm Chris strengthened Tuesday as it approached the eastern edge of the Caribbean, prompting a run on groceries and gas as people prepared for the third named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. The storm had top winds of nearly 45 mph as it passed over the Leeward Islands, and was expected to gather strength as it approached the U.S. and British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. Forecasters said it could become a minimal hurricane later in the week. Long-range forecasts put the storm anywhere from south of Cuba to Florida by late in the weekend. As skies darkened and rain began to fall, people began the familiar ritual of stocking up on gas, food and candles. Tourists at a resort just outside the Antiguan capital said they had no plans to evacuate. "I am not going to panic," said Maxwell Stevens of New Brunswick, N.J. "I will take it in stride."
British troops killed
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Suspected Taliban militants used rocket-propelled grenades to ambush a British patrol Tuesday, killing three soldiers just one day after NATO took command of southern Afghanistan. The attack in Helmand province seriously wounded a fourth soldier and marked the deadliest single attack suffered by British forces since they deployed here in late 2001 to help topple the Taliban regime for harboring Osama bin Laden. The attack followed NATO's assumption of control Monday of military operations in southern Afghanistan from the U.S.-led coalition. It also underscored the dangers faced by the 8,000-member multinational contingent to try and crush the bloodiest spate of Taliban-led violence in nearly five years.
Flooding in Texas
prompts evacuations
EL PASO, Texas — A third day of heavy rain caused widespread flooding around El Paso on Tuesday, swamping mountainside homes, forcing evacuations and closing major roads. Emergency crews juggled an onslaught of distress calls, but there were no immediate reports of any serious injuries. "We're doing OK at the moment," said police spokesman Javier Sambrano. Authorities said at least 60 people had been rescued, some standing on roofs, others atop cars. Fire officials said they were worried that boulders and other debris would fall from rocky cliffs around several El Paso neighborhoods.
Artifacts found pertaining
to 'black Paul Bunyan'
NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Archaeologists excavating the 200-year-old graves of a slave family said Tuesday that they recovered several artifacts that could shed light on the life of a man dubbed "the black Paul Bunyan." However, the scientists uncovered no genetic material from Venture Smith, who is depicted in tales as a 6-foot-1 lumberjack slave whose fabulous feats of strength helped win his freedom. They had hoped to find DNA that would trace Smith's life back to Africa, filling in the gaps of one of the earliest and most important slave biographies. "We didn't get much," Nicholas F. Bellantoni, Connecticut's state archaeologist, said about Smith's grave. "Everything had been decomposed." But teams found several items from the nearby graves of Smith's family that should help answer many questions, said Chandler Saint, president of the Beecher House Center for the Study of Equal Rights in Torrington, who is managing the excavation.
Former security guard
honored for heroism
ATLANTA — Richard Jewell, the security guard who was branded a suspect after the deadly bombing at the 1996 Olympics, was honored at the state Capitol on Tuesday, 10 years later, for saving lives by moving people out of harm's way just before the blast. The state Legislature issued a proclamation honoring Jewell in 1998, but it was not presented in person; it came in the mail. Gov. Sonny Perdue sought to change that when he invited Jewell to receive another award from the governor himself. "This is what I think is the right thing to do," Perdue declared as he handed a certificate to Jewell. Jewell said: "I never expected this day to ever happen. I'm just glad that it did." Jewell was initially hailed as a hero for spotting a suspicious backpack containing the bomb and moving people away just before it exploded. But three days after the July 27 blast killed one and wounded 111 others, an unattributed report in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution described Jewell as "the focus" of the investigation. Other news organizations also linked Jewell to the bombing investigation. He was never arrested or charged. The real bomber, it turned out, was anti-government extremist Eric Rudolph, who also planted other bombs in the Atlanta area and in Birmingham, Ala., that killed a police officer, maimed a nurse and wounded several others.
Associated Press
Wednesday, August 2, 2006
Tropical Storm Chris strengthened Tuesday as it approached the eastern edge of the Caribbean, prompting a run on...
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