Vindy.com
Vindy.com News, National & World Story

Published: Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Flood victim's body found

Print Story
Email to Friend
Discuss this story


Flood victim's body found

GAINESVILLE, Texas — The body of a 2-year-old girl was found in a tree Tuesday, nearly three miles downstream from where her family's mobile home was swept away a day earlier by flooding blamed for six deaths. Authorities determined all people had been accounted for after storms poured nearly a foot of rain on parts of North Texas. Aided by receding water, rescuers and search dogs scoured Pecan Creek and its banks for Makayla Marie Mollenhour. The bodies of her 5-year-old sister, Teresa Leann Arnett, and grandmother, Billie Murel Mollenhour, 60, were recovered from the flood waters Monday. At least three other people died in Monday's flooding. Gov. Rick Perry declared four counties disaster areas because of storm damage, making them eligible for emergency funds.

Fundraiser: Obama
should apologize to Sikhs

WASHINGTON — The fundraiser who held a gathering for Hillary Rodham Clinton with members of the Sikh community said Tuesday it was "unacceptable" for Barack Obama's campaign to circulate a memo critical of her financial ties to Indian-Americans. Rajwant Singh, national chairman of the Sikh Council on Religion and Education, said he welcomed "Senator Obama's regret of his campaign's misconstrued remarks." But he called on Obama to apologize directly to the Indian community. "He needs to be more specific and needs to understand the pain it has caused," he said. Obama gave an interview Monday to India Abroad, a newspaper for Indian expatriates, in which he conceded that the concerns of Indian-Americans over his campaign memo "are entirely justified." Singh said he did not consult with the Clinton campaign before issuing his statement.

Bush official resigns

WASHINGTON — White House budget director Rob Portman announced his resignation Tuesday, joining a lengthening list of senior officials heading for the exits in the final 11/2 years of President Bush's administration. Bush chose former Iowa Rep. Jim Nussle, one-time chairman of the House Budget Committee, as Portman's successor. Democrats said Nussle's nomination could run into obstacles. Portman, in a telephone interview, made it clear he might seek a return to elective office, either by running for governor of Ohio or for the Senate.

Shuttle prepares to return

HOUSTON — Hours after undocking from the international space station Tuesday, Atlantis' seven astronauts finished a final inspection of the space shuttle to make sure its heat shield was ready to re-enter Earth's atmosphere. Atlantis' 13-day mission was scheduled to end with landing at 1:54 p.m. EDT Thursday, although the weather at Kennedy Space Center looked iffy. Continuing a tradition, space station commander Fyodor Yurchikhin rang a bell and said "Atlantis departing" as the space shuttle pulled away.

NATO support eroding

KABUL, Afghanistan — Good will toward foreign forces is eroding across Afghanistan because airstrikes and botched raids by U.S. and NATO troops have killed at least 230 civilians this year, an umbrella group for aid agencies said Tuesday. The complaint followed reports of dozens of civilian deaths in recent days during fierce fighting sparked by a Taliban offensive in Uruzgan, a key southern province. Insurgents also pushed Afghan police out of a remote district in neighboring Kandahar province. Noncombatant casualties the past several days — whether caused by foreign troops or the Taliban — have fed public anger toward President Hamid Karzai's government and the foreign soldiers supporting it. Karzai has pleaded repeatedly for international forces to coordinate more closely with Afghan authorities to protect civilians in battle zones.

France's Sarkozy appoints
minority women to posts

PARIS — President Nicolas Sarkozy sent a strong signal to France's disaffected minorities Tuesday by appointing an outspoken advocate of Muslim women and a woman of Senegalese origin Tuesday to his government — among the country's most diverse ever. As junior minister for city policy, feminist activist Fadela Amara will oversee the renovation of dilapidated housing estates where many immigrants live — neighborhoods similar to the one where she grew up with her Algerian immigrant parents. Senegalese-born Rama Yade was appointed to the new post of junior minister for human rights, an area Sarkozy has identified as a priority for his month-old government. The nomination of three women with roots in Africa — his current justice minister, Rachida Dati, is of North African origin — is unprecedented in France, where previous governments had few nonwhites.

Associated Press

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Flood victim's body found

GAINESVILLE, Texas — The body of a 2-year-old girl was found in a tree Tuesday, nearly three miles downstream from where her family's mobile home was swept away a day earlier by flooding blamed for six deaths. Authorities determined all people had been accounted for after storms poured nearly a foot of rain on parts of North Texas. Aided by receding water, rescuers and search dogs scoured Pecan Creek and its banks for Makayla Marie Mollenhour. The bodies of her 5-year-old sister, Teresa Leann Arnett, and grandmother, Billie Murel Mollenhour, 60, were recovered from the flood waters Monday. At least three other people died in Monday's flooding. Gov. Rick Perry declared four counties disaster areas because of storm damage, making them eligible for emergency funds.

Fundraiser: Obama
should apologize to Sikhs

WASHINGTON — The fundraiser who held a gathering for Hillary Rodham Clinton with members of the Sikh community said Tuesday it was "unacceptable" for Barack Obama's campaign to circulate a memo critical of her financial ties to Indian-Americans. Rajwant Singh, national chairman of the Sikh Council on Religion and Education, said he welcomed "Senator Obama's regret of his campaign's misconstrued remarks." But he called on Obama to apologize directly to the Indian community. "He needs to be more specific and needs to understand the pain it has caused," he said. Obama gave an interview Monday to India Abroad, a newspaper for Indian expatriates, in which he conceded that the concerns of Indian-Americans over his campaign memo "are entirely justified." Singh said he did not consult with the Clinton campaign before issuing his statement.

Bush official resigns

WASHINGTON — White House budget director Rob Portman announced his resignation Tuesday, joining a lengthening list of senior officials heading for the exits in the final 11/2 years of President Bush's administration. Bush chose former Iowa Rep. Jim Nussle, one-time chairman of the House Budget Committee, as Portman's successor. Democrats said Nussle's nomination could run into obstacles. Portman, in a telephone interview, made it clear he might seek a return to elective office, either by running for governor of Ohio or for the Senate.

Shuttle prepares to return

HOUSTON — Hours after undocking from the international space station Tuesday, Atlantis' seven astronauts finished a final inspection of the space shuttle to make sure its heat shield was ready to re-enter Earth's atmosphere. Atlantis' 13-day mission was scheduled to end with landing at 1:54 p.m. EDT Thursday, although the weather at Kennedy Space Center looked iffy. Continuing a tradition, space station commander Fyodor Yurchikhin rang a bell and said "Atlantis departing" as the space shuttle pulled away.

NATO support eroding

KABUL, Afghanistan — Good will toward foreign forces is eroding across Afghanistan because airstrikes and botched raids by U.S. and NATO troops have killed at least 230 civilians this year, an umbrella group for aid agencies said Tuesday. The complaint followed reports of dozens of civilian deaths in recent days during fierce fighting sparked by a Taliban offensive in Uruzgan, a key southern province. Insurgents also pushed Afghan police out of a remote district in neighboring Kandahar province. Noncombatant casualties the past several days — whether caused by foreign troops or the Taliban — have fed public anger toward President Hamid Karzai's government and the foreign soldiers supporting it. Karzai has pleaded repeatedly for international forces to coordinate more closely with Afghan authorities to protect civilians in battle zones.

France's Sarkozy appoints
minority women to posts

PARIS — President Nicolas Sarkozy sent a strong signal to France's disaffected minorities Tuesday by appointing an outspoken advocate of Muslim women and a woman of Senegalese origin Tuesday to his government — among the country's most diverse ever. As junior minister for city policy, feminist activist Fadela Amara will oversee the renovation of dilapidated housing estates where many immigrants live — neighborhoods similar to the one where she grew up with her Algerian immigrant parents. Senegalese-born Rama Yade was appointed to the new post of junior minister for human rights, an area Sarkozy has identified as a priority for his month-old government. The nomination of three women with roots in Africa — his current justice minister, Rachida Dati, is of North African origin — is unprecedented in France, where previous governments had few nonwhites.

Associated Press

Wednesday, June 20, 2007
The body of a 2-year-old girl was found in a tree Tuesday, nearly three miles downstream from where her family's mobile...

Print Story
Email to Friend
Discuss this story


Vindy.com News, National & World Story