February 28, 2010 11:08 p.m. EST
(CNN) -- Police arrested a man Sunday in Escondido, California, in connection with the disappearance of a 17-year-old girl, according to the San Diego County sheriff.
Specific charges have not yet been filed against John Albert Gardner III, a 30-year-old registered sex offender, but Sheriff William Gore said at a news conference that physical evidence links Gardner to Chelsea King. He declined to elaborate.
King has been missing since Thursday when she failed to return home from an after-school run, according to CNN affiliate KGTV.
Gore said the investigation is ongoing.
"Our primary goal has been to find Chelsea King," he said. "We are continuing those efforts."
He added that authorities are holding out hope King will be found alive.
Attackers Kill 11 in Philippines
By CARLOS H. CONDE
Published: February 28, 2010
MANILA — Eleven people, at least three of them children, were killed in an attack believed to have been carried out by the militant group Abu Sayyaf in retaliation for the recent arrests and deaths of several of its members, officials said Sunday.
About 70 members of Abu Sayyaf strafed several houses early Saturday in the southern village of Tubigan, in Basilan Province, an island in Mindanao where the group got its start, the police said.
The 11 dead included a 1-year-old, and 17 others, including four children, were seriously wounded. The attackers also burned down several houses. The attack was among the worst against civilians in nearly a decade, officials said.
Lt. Steffani Cacho, an army spokeswoman, said the attack might have been a “retaliatory action” by Abu Sayyaf after several of its leaders and members were either killed or arrested in a series of military and police operations in the past two weeks.
She added, however, that it could also have been prompted by a clan feud, which is common in Mindanao, the main Muslim area in the south.
Bienvenido Latag, police chief of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, where Basilan is located, said the attackers had burned down the house of Leleng Laping, a chieftain of Tubigan village. Two of Mr. Laping’s children died in the fire.
Chief Latag said the victims had been asleep when their home was attacked.
Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner, a military spokesman, said the attack may have been a response to the killing last year of Albader Parad, the leader of Abu Sayyaf, and the arrest of others in recent weeks. One of those arrested was involved in the 2001 kidnapping and murder of dozens of tourists in a resort in Palawan, in the western Philippines, the police said.
Officials said that two Chinese citizens and a Filipino had been rescued from Abu Sayyaf in Basilan the day before the Saturday attack.
Abu Sayyaf is thought to have originated in Basilan. In 2002, as part of its campaign against terrorism, the United States sent hundreds of troops to help the Philippines vanquish the group. Although officials said the effort drastically cut Abu Sayyaf’s members from about 1,200 in 2002 to about 400 now, the group remains a threat in the province.
Published: February 28, 2010
MANILA — Eleven people, at least three of them children, were killed in an attack believed to have been carried out by the militant group Abu Sayyaf in retaliation for the recent arrests and deaths of several of its members, officials said Sunday.
About 70 members of Abu Sayyaf strafed several houses early Saturday in the southern village of Tubigan, in Basilan Province, an island in Mindanao where the group got its start, the police said.
The 11 dead included a 1-year-old, and 17 others, including four children, were seriously wounded. The attackers also burned down several houses. The attack was among the worst against civilians in nearly a decade, officials said.
Lt. Steffani Cacho, an army spokeswoman, said the attack might have been a “retaliatory action” by Abu Sayyaf after several of its leaders and members were either killed or arrested in a series of military and police operations in the past two weeks.
She added, however, that it could also have been prompted by a clan feud, which is common in Mindanao, the main Muslim area in the south.
Bienvenido Latag, police chief of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, where Basilan is located, said the attackers had burned down the house of Leleng Laping, a chieftain of Tubigan village. Two of Mr. Laping’s children died in the fire.
Chief Latag said the victims had been asleep when their home was attacked.
Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner, a military spokesman, said the attack may have been a response to the killing last year of Albader Parad, the leader of Abu Sayyaf, and the arrest of others in recent weeks. One of those arrested was involved in the 2001 kidnapping and murder of dozens of tourists in a resort in Palawan, in the western Philippines, the police said.
Officials said that two Chinese citizens and a Filipino had been rescued from Abu Sayyaf in Basilan the day before the Saturday attack.
Abu Sayyaf is thought to have originated in Basilan. In 2002, as part of its campaign against terrorism, the United States sent hundreds of troops to help the Philippines vanquish the group. Although officials said the effort drastically cut Abu Sayyaf’s members from about 1,200 in 2002 to about 400 now, the group remains a threat in the province.
No more Kennedys? Family mulls a political comeback
• Joseph P Kennedy III may stand in Massachusetts
• 29-year-old could boost ailing Democrats in state
Ewen MacAskill, Washington guardian.co.uk, Sunday 28 February 2010 20.42 GMT Article history
Reports of the end of the Kennedy era may turn out to be have been premature amid signs that one of the younger members of the clan is mulling over whether to stand for Congress at the end of the year.
An unbroken run that had seen a Kennedy in Congress since 1947 looked to be coming to an end with the death last year of Senator Ted Kennedy and the recent decision of representative Patrick J Kennedy not to seek re-election in November's mid-term elections.
But a new Kennedy is emerging. The latest, and the one most keen to maintain the family legacy, is Joseph P Kennedy III, grandson of Robert Kennedy and son of former Congressman Joseph P Kennedy II. He is the great-grandson of patriarch Joe, the multimillionaire whose ambition for his family was the driving force behind the eventual clan political dominance in Massachusetts and nationwide.
The 29-year-old Harvard law school graduate is a former member of the Peace Corps and an assistant district attorney in Massachusetts, with an office close to the family compound on Cape Cod.
According to reports, discussions are being held in private among Democrats and the Kennedy clan in Massachusetts about whether he should stand for office in the 10th district and how this could be choreographed. The incumbent, Representative William Delahunt, is widely expected to announce he will not stand for re-election in November.
Delahunt has several times over the last few years been reported to have lost interest in politics, and he, like other Democrats who have decided not to stand again, may not fancy his chances this year in the face of anti-Democratic sentiment.
One option under discussion is for Delahunt to combine his announcement with an endorsement of Kennedy. However, Kennedy may delay his entry into politics until the prospects for Democrats are more favourable. If he stands, his name alone will attract the attention of Tea Party activists and other rightwingers intent on a Kennedy scalp.
The Republican Scott Brown won a shock victory in Massachusetts in January and the state can no longer be regarded as a safe bet, even for a Kennedy. He could not even be sure of getting the Democratic nomination unopposed.
But given the prominence of the Kennedy name and the family's historical hold on Massachusetts, Kennedy would immediately be the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination. One hopeful, Massachusetts state senator Robert O'Leary, told the Boston Globe: "If Kennedy enters the race, it makes it more difficult. But it would not change my decision."
• 29-year-old could boost ailing Democrats in state
Ewen MacAskill, Washington guardian.co.uk, Sunday 28 February 2010 20.42 GMT Article history
Reports of the end of the Kennedy era may turn out to be have been premature amid signs that one of the younger members of the clan is mulling over whether to stand for Congress at the end of the year.
An unbroken run that had seen a Kennedy in Congress since 1947 looked to be coming to an end with the death last year of Senator Ted Kennedy and the recent decision of representative Patrick J Kennedy not to seek re-election in November's mid-term elections.
But a new Kennedy is emerging. The latest, and the one most keen to maintain the family legacy, is Joseph P Kennedy III, grandson of Robert Kennedy and son of former Congressman Joseph P Kennedy II. He is the great-grandson of patriarch Joe, the multimillionaire whose ambition for his family was the driving force behind the eventual clan political dominance in Massachusetts and nationwide.
The 29-year-old Harvard law school graduate is a former member of the Peace Corps and an assistant district attorney in Massachusetts, with an office close to the family compound on Cape Cod.
According to reports, discussions are being held in private among Democrats and the Kennedy clan in Massachusetts about whether he should stand for office in the 10th district and how this could be choreographed. The incumbent, Representative William Delahunt, is widely expected to announce he will not stand for re-election in November.
Delahunt has several times over the last few years been reported to have lost interest in politics, and he, like other Democrats who have decided not to stand again, may not fancy his chances this year in the face of anti-Democratic sentiment.
One option under discussion is for Delahunt to combine his announcement with an endorsement of Kennedy. However, Kennedy may delay his entry into politics until the prospects for Democrats are more favourable. If he stands, his name alone will attract the attention of Tea Party activists and other rightwingers intent on a Kennedy scalp.
The Republican Scott Brown won a shock victory in Massachusetts in January and the state can no longer be regarded as a safe bet, even for a Kennedy. He could not even be sure of getting the Democratic nomination unopposed.
But given the prominence of the Kennedy name and the family's historical hold on Massachusetts, Kennedy would immediately be the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination. One hopeful, Massachusetts state senator Robert O'Leary, told the Boston Globe: "If Kennedy enters the race, it makes it more difficult. But it would not change my decision."
Netherlands gay protest over Catholic communion snub
Image by Getty Images via Daylife
On this occasion, the church, in 's-Hertogenbosch, had already decided not to serve communion, so the protesters left, shouting and singing.
The dispute began earlier this month when a priest in a nearby town refused communion to an openly gay man.
The Netherlands was the first country to introduce gay marriage in 2001.
Most Dutch people support gay rights, but the Roman Catholic Church teaches that homosexual activity is sinful.
This dispute began during Dutch carnival celebrations earlier in February, when the man chosen to be carnival prince in nearby Reusel was refused communion because of his open homosexuality.
The refusal offended many in the local community.
The Sint-Jan church in the city of 's-Hertogenbosch, also known as Den Bosch, was prepared for the protest and so decided not to give out Holy Communion during Sunday Mass.
Several hundred demonstrators, dressed in pink wigs and clothes, left the church in protest.
The man at the centre of the row has said he just wants equal treatment - if he is regarded as a sinner, he wants the priest to refuse communion to all other sinners too.
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Iraqi PM accused of handing out guns in bid to buy tribal votes
Image via Wikipedia
A senior Iraqi spy has accused the prime minister, Nour al-Maliki, of handing out thousands of guns to tribal leaders in a bid to win votes. The claim was made by Iraqi National Intelligence Service former spokesman, Saad al-Alusi, a week before Iraq's general election, in which allegations of vote buying and exorbitant handouts have become widespread.
Maliki, who faces a bitterly contested final week of campaigning ahead of the7 March poll, has been photographed handing out guns to supporters in southern Iraq, engraved with a personal message from his office. However he denies that the delivery of weapons, along with cash payments, were improper.
Alusi, who was the INIS spokesman until he was asked to move to another ministry eight days ago, said some 8,000 guns were ordered from a Serbian supplier at the end of 2008 for use by intelligence officers. However he claimed Maliki "denied our contract at the last minute and made his own contract of 10,000 pistols, which he has used as election propaganda for himself and his party.
"This was a very important contract for the intelligence service. We have no weapons to this day," Alusi said.
A government spokesman, Ali al-Dabbagh, strongly denied the allegations: "These gifts have been given to the tribes for their contribution to security. They are not connected to the election campaign. The suggestion that anything has been taken away from other bodies to use for election purposes is wrong."
Alusi's remarks are an unprecedented challenge to the prime minister's re-election campaign from the spy service that has been considered closest to his government. Founded with CIA training and money, the INIS had been thought to be mostly independent and free of interference from Saddam Hussein's former regime, or from neighbouring states.
Tensions between Maliki's office and the INIS had been bubbling throughout last year, before boiling over in August when the INIS director, Muhammad al-Shahwani was sacked by Maliki's senior staff. Alusi claimed that around 190 employees had been sacked in recent weeks as tensions between the service and its political overlord spilled over into outright hostility.
"Those who did not implement the orders of the prime minister's office were forced out. Some of them were accused of being Ba'athists. They are 25 years old now and seven years ago they would have been 18 (and too young to be involved with the Ba'ath party). It is obvious this slur is being used to hang people by a sectarian government."
The head of Iraq's parliamentary integrity commission, Sheikh Sabah al-Sayedi, confirmed that guns have were handed out to community leaders and said his commission would ask Maliki to account for money the prime minister allegedly used from government coffers for his re-election campaign.
"He has given at least hundreds of them to tribal leaders in Amara, Nasireya, Diwaniya and many other provinces, Sayedi said. "They are American-made and arrived by the middle of 2009. It is a cheap way to buy votes. Saddam used to do the same. Maliki said he gave the guns out so that tribal leaders could protect themselves. So he wants to protect them and yet judges and lawyers die every day. What is the role of the Iraqi army and police? I hope the tribes will see through this."
Awda Ali, a member of the Nasireya council in Iraq's south confirmed that the prime minister had travelled to his area last week and handed out engraved weapons along with envelopes containing one million Iraqi dinars (£560) to leaders in the area. "He said it was in gratitude for their role in improving security."
Sheikh Nouri al-Dulaimi, a tribal leader in the restive Anbar province, which is not one of the prime minister's strongholds, said Maliki's deputy, Rafah al-Essawi, had visited the area last week with "10 million dinars". But we will not be bribed like this. I think Iraqis are more aware than they used to be."
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Further arrests over Huddersfield shopkeeper killing
Three more people have been arrested over the murder of a Huddersfield shopkeeper who was attacked with a hammer during a robbery at his store.
Gurmail Singh, 63, died in hospital after the attack at Cowcliffe Convenience Store on 20 February.
Two 17-year-old males and a 20-year-old man are being questioned.
Police said a 17-year-old male arrested on Thursday had been charged with robbery in relation to a separate incident at the shop on 18 February.
Well-loved
He is due to appear at Huddersfield Magistrates' Court on Monday.
Two other males, aged 17 and 18, who were also arrested on Thursday, have been released without charge.
A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said the new arrests were made over the weekend.
One 17-year-old was arrested in the Sheepridge area of Huddersfield on Saturday and is being held on suspicion of murder and robbery.
The other 17-year-old was detained in the Fartown area on Sunday morning as was the 20-year-old who was arrested in Crosland Moor.
Police said both were being held on suspicion of murder.
'Tremendous response'
A post-mortem examination showed Mr Singh suffered at least nine blows to the head, probably from a hammer.
Det Supt David Pervin said there had been a "tremendous response" to an appeal for information.
He added: "But once again it is imperative that the public continue to contact the police with any information they have that could assist the investigation."
Mr Singh has been described as a well-loved member of the community.
Earlier, people in the community came together for a special service to pay their respects to Mr Singh.
Residents, police and Kirklees Council leader Mehboob Khan gathered at the Guru Nanak Gurdwara Sikh temple.
One woman who attended the service said: "The shop was the heart of the community.
"Everbody knew Mr Singh, Mrs Singh, the daughter.
"He was always friendly and had a smile when you went in. Nothing was too much trouble."
Gurmail Singh, 63, died in hospital after the attack at Cowcliffe Convenience Store on 20 February.
Two 17-year-old males and a 20-year-old man are being questioned.
Police said a 17-year-old male arrested on Thursday had been charged with robbery in relation to a separate incident at the shop on 18 February.
Well-loved
He is due to appear at Huddersfield Magistrates' Court on Monday.
Two other males, aged 17 and 18, who were also arrested on Thursday, have been released without charge.
A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said the new arrests were made over the weekend.
One 17-year-old was arrested in the Sheepridge area of Huddersfield on Saturday and is being held on suspicion of murder and robbery.
The other 17-year-old was detained in the Fartown area on Sunday morning as was the 20-year-old who was arrested in Crosland Moor.
Police said both were being held on suspicion of murder.
'Tremendous response'
A post-mortem examination showed Mr Singh suffered at least nine blows to the head, probably from a hammer.
Det Supt David Pervin said there had been a "tremendous response" to an appeal for information.
He added: "But once again it is imperative that the public continue to contact the police with any information they have that could assist the investigation."
Mr Singh has been described as a well-loved member of the community.
Earlier, people in the community came together for a special service to pay their respects to Mr Singh.
Residents, police and Kirklees Council leader Mehboob Khan gathered at the Guru Nanak Gurdwara Sikh temple.
One woman who attended the service said: "The shop was the heart of the community.
"Everbody knew Mr Singh, Mrs Singh, the daughter.
"He was always friendly and had a smile when you went in. Nothing was too much trouble."
Sheriff says crime scene beyond 'heinous'
© 2010 The Associated Press
Feb. 28, 2010, 3:07PM
WHITESTOWN, Ind. — Investigators believe a teenager used a 20-inch blade to fatally stab his twin brother and stepmother as they slept, while defensive wounds in his father's body suggest he tried to resist the deadly attack, a newspaper reported Sunday.
"'Heinous' doesn't even begin to describe this. This was one of the worst scenes I've seen," 31-year law-enforcement veteran Boone County Sheriff Ken Campbell told The Indianapolis Star.
The suspect, 19-year-old Barney Jose Chamorro, was taken into custody at a rest stop near Midland, Texas, on Saturday morning, police said. An arrest warrant charges him with three counts of murder.
Police found the bodies of Judy Schindler, Alejandro Chamorro Sr. and Alejandro Chamorro Jr., the suspect's fraternal twin, on Friday in the family's home in Whitestown, a small town about 20 miles northwest of Indianapolis. Investigators believe the killings occurred a day earlier.
Whitestown Police Chief Dennis Anderson told The Star that Schindler and the younger Martinez were stabbed in their bedrooms as they slept. Investigators believe Schindler staggered to a front room, where her body was found near that of the elder Martinez, who had suffered defensive wounds.
Investigators said they found a 20-inch knife at the scene and blood spattered throughout the home.
After Schindler didn't show up to work at a Whitestown convenience story Thursday or answer her phone Friday, a co-worker went to the family's home, noticed a truck was missing and alerted police.
Anderson said the elder Martinez was a native of Nicaragua.
Sheriff Campbell said a team of investigators made plans Saturday to travel to Texas to work with law enforcement there.
"I am sure we'll be going through the extradition process in Texas as soon as we possibly and legally can," he said.
The Associated Press left a message Sunday seeking comment from a sheriff's department spokesman. A voice mailbox for Anderson was full.
Police located Chamarro after he used a credit card Friday in Mount Vernon, Texas. He remained Sunday at the Ward County Jail in Monahans, Texas.
Feb. 28, 2010, 3:07PM
WHITESTOWN, Ind. — Investigators believe a teenager used a 20-inch blade to fatally stab his twin brother and stepmother as they slept, while defensive wounds in his father's body suggest he tried to resist the deadly attack, a newspaper reported Sunday.
"'Heinous' doesn't even begin to describe this. This was one of the worst scenes I've seen," 31-year law-enforcement veteran Boone County Sheriff Ken Campbell told The Indianapolis Star.
The suspect, 19-year-old Barney Jose Chamorro, was taken into custody at a rest stop near Midland, Texas, on Saturday morning, police said. An arrest warrant charges him with three counts of murder.
Police found the bodies of Judy Schindler, Alejandro Chamorro Sr. and Alejandro Chamorro Jr., the suspect's fraternal twin, on Friday in the family's home in Whitestown, a small town about 20 miles northwest of Indianapolis. Investigators believe the killings occurred a day earlier.
Whitestown Police Chief Dennis Anderson told The Star that Schindler and the younger Martinez were stabbed in their bedrooms as they slept. Investigators believe Schindler staggered to a front room, where her body was found near that of the elder Martinez, who had suffered defensive wounds.
Investigators said they found a 20-inch knife at the scene and blood spattered throughout the home.
After Schindler didn't show up to work at a Whitestown convenience story Thursday or answer her phone Friday, a co-worker went to the family's home, noticed a truck was missing and alerted police.
Anderson said the elder Martinez was a native of Nicaragua.
Sheriff Campbell said a team of investigators made plans Saturday to travel to Texas to work with law enforcement there.
"I am sure we'll be going through the extradition process in Texas as soon as we possibly and legally can," he said.
The Associated Press left a message Sunday seeking comment from a sheriff's department spokesman. A voice mailbox for Anderson was full.
Police located Chamarro after he used a credit card Friday in Mount Vernon, Texas. He remained Sunday at the Ward County Jail in Monahans, Texas.
Reports: Khabibulin faces new charge
Image by Dan4th via Flickr
Edmonton Oilers goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin is facing an additional charge of extreme drunken driving in Arizona stemming from his arrest earlier this month, according to multiple media reports.
In Arizona, an additional charge of extreme drunken driving can be brought when a motorist's blood alcohol level exceeds 0.15 percent. The charge is a misdemeanor with a maximum jail sentence of six months.
Khabibulin's is already facing charges of drunken driving and excessive speeding in connection with the arrest.
Scottsdale police say an officer pulled over Khabibulin's Ferrari shortly after midnight on Feb. 8 after the car was clocked at 70 mph in a 45 mph zone. Police say an officer smelled alcohol on Khabibulin and he was arrested after a field sobriety test.
The 37-year-old Khabibulin played for the Phoenix Coyotes from 1996-99 and still has a home in Paradise Valley. He hasn't played since Nov. 16 because of a herniated disk in his back that required surgery last month.
Khabibulin has a 7-2-9 record with a 3.03 goals-against average this season, his first with the Oilers after signing a four-year, $15 million contract last summer. The four-time NHL All-Star has also played for Winnipeg, Chicago and Tampa Bay and helped the Lightning win the Stanley Cup in 2004.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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Reports: Jefferson charged with DWI
Image by jpellgen via Flickr
Minnesota center Al Jefferson was arrested early Sunday morning for allegedly driving drunk, according to multiple media reports.
Jefferson was charged with fourth degree driving while impaired, a misdemeanor.
He was released from the Hennepin County Jail shortly after 4 a.m. ET.
Lt. Eric Roeske told multiple media outlets Jefferson was pulled over after being clocked at driving 56 miles per hour in a 40 mph zone. The arresting trooper also saw Jefferson change lanes without signaling and his car drifted to the left, with his tires crossing the outer line.
Roeske said Jefferson was given field sobriety tests, which led to his arrest. A blood test was given and Roeske said the results are pending a Bureau of Criminal Apprehension analysis.
Roeske told KARE, a TV station in the Minneapolis-St. Paul market, that he can't report Jefferson's blood alcohol level, but it was above the legal limit of 0.08 percent.
Jefferson is scheduled for a court appearance on April 23.
Jefferson scored a team-high 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in Minnesota's 110-91 loss to Portland on Saturday night.
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Shaq to have thumb examined Sunday
Image via Wikipedia
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- Cleveland Cavaliers center Shaquille O'Neal will have his injured right thumb examined Sunday by Dr. Thomas Graham at the National Hand Center in Baltimore.
An MRI Saturday confirmed the injury was a significant sprain. O'Neal, who was hurt during a win at Boston on Thursday, will miss Monday's game against New York.
The team has not provided any timeline for his return.
With O'Neal out of the lineup, Anderson Varejao will continue to start at center. Former backup Zydrunas Ilgauskas, traded to Washington for Antawn Jamison, is now a free agent following a buyout from the Wizards. Ilgauskas is free to sign with any team, but will have to wait until March 21 under NBA rules should he elect to re-sign with the Cavaliers.
Cleveland also recalled rookie Danny Green from Erie of the NBA Development League. He was assigned to Erie on Feb. 24 and played in two games for the BayHawks.
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press
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Chile Toll at 700; 2 Million Are Displaced
By MARC LACEY and ALEXEI BARRIONUEVO
Published: February 28, 2010
LIMA, Peru — The ground underneath Chile continued shaking on Sunday as jittery residents took stock of the devastating magnitude 8.8 earthquake that flattened homes, toppled bridges and took more than 700 lives over the weekend.
Among the dead were Lurde Margarita Arias Dias, 24, and her infant child, who were crushed as a wall toppled in their Santiago home. “I tried to save them,” Adan Noe Saavedra Rios, Lurde’s husband and a member of Chile’s Peruvian community, told local reporters. He described his frantic wife rushing from the house with their daughter in her arms after the ground started moving. Before he knew it, they were covered in rubble.
More than 2 million people have been displaced by the quake, according to the National Office of Emergency. Sunday morning’s aftershock was measured at a magnitude of 6.1, the strongest of about 60 to reverberate since the quake.
The death toll, raised to about 700 at a news conference at midday Sunday by President Michelle Bachelet, could increase further. In Concepción, Chile’s second-largest metropolitan area, which appeared to be especially hard hit, the mayor said Sunday morning that 100 people were trapped under the rubble of a building that had collapsed, according to Reuters.
Power and telecommunications networks were still largely out of operation, hampering search and rescue efforts. President Bachelet said the Chilean air force would be distributing good and basic goods to the affected regions, but lack of electricity was limiting communications.
Images from Chile of toppled buildings, upturned cars and bodies being hauled from rubble resembled those of Haiti just over a month ago. But because of better building standards and an epicenter farther from populated areas, the scale of the damage from Chile’s significantly more powerful earthquake was nowhere near the devastation that Haiti suffered.
Televised images from Concepción on Sunday showed looters being detained by police as they sprinted out of a damaged supermarket carrying armloads of merchandise. But authorities said that calmness prevailed in most of the country.
The earthquake hit during Chile’s summer vacation, and that left thousands of Chileans stranded overseas. There were frantic scenes at airports throughout the region as the closing of the damaged Santiago airport prompted airlines to cancel or reroute flights away from the Chilean capital.
In Concepción, which is roughly 70 miles from the quake’s center, cars lay mangled and upended on streets littered with telephone wires and power cables. A new 14-story apartment building fell, while an older, biochemical lab at the University of Concepción caught fire.
In the nearby port of Talcahuano, a giant wave flooded the main square before receding and leaving behind a large fishing boat on the city streets.
“It was terrible, terrible,” said Adela Galaz, a 59-year-old cosmetologist who said glasses and paintings fell to the floor of her 22nd-floor apartment in Santiago, 200 miles from the quake’s center. “We are grateful to be alive.”
President Bachelet, speaking at a news conference on Saturday night, called the quake “one of the worst tragedies in the last 50 years” and declared a “state of catastrophe.”
While this earthquake was far stronger than the 7.0-magnitude one that ravaged Haiti six weeks ago, the damage and death toll in Chile are likely to be far less extensive, in part because of strict building codes put in place after devastating earthquakes.
The quake Saturday, tied for the fifth largest in the world since 1900, set off tsunami waves that swamped some nearby islands before moving across the Pacific. Hawaii began evacuations before dawn, but by early afternoon there — more than 15 hours after the earthquake first struck 6,500 miles away — the fears of a destructive wave had passed..
Chileans were only just beginning to grapple with the devastation before them, even as more than two dozen significant aftershocks struck the country.
In Santiago, the capital, residents reported having been terrified as the city shook for about 90 seconds.
Some people ran screaming from their downtown apartments, while car alarms and sirens wailed during the middle of the night.
Published: February 28, 2010
LIMA, Peru — The ground underneath Chile continued shaking on Sunday as jittery residents took stock of the devastating magnitude 8.8 earthquake that flattened homes, toppled bridges and took more than 700 lives over the weekend.
Among the dead were Lurde Margarita Arias Dias, 24, and her infant child, who were crushed as a wall toppled in their Santiago home. “I tried to save them,” Adan Noe Saavedra Rios, Lurde’s husband and a member of Chile’s Peruvian community, told local reporters. He described his frantic wife rushing from the house with their daughter in her arms after the ground started moving. Before he knew it, they were covered in rubble.
More than 2 million people have been displaced by the quake, according to the National Office of Emergency. Sunday morning’s aftershock was measured at a magnitude of 6.1, the strongest of about 60 to reverberate since the quake.
The death toll, raised to about 700 at a news conference at midday Sunday by President Michelle Bachelet, could increase further. In Concepción, Chile’s second-largest metropolitan area, which appeared to be especially hard hit, the mayor said Sunday morning that 100 people were trapped under the rubble of a building that had collapsed, according to Reuters.
Power and telecommunications networks were still largely out of operation, hampering search and rescue efforts. President Bachelet said the Chilean air force would be distributing good and basic goods to the affected regions, but lack of electricity was limiting communications.
Images from Chile of toppled buildings, upturned cars and bodies being hauled from rubble resembled those of Haiti just over a month ago. But because of better building standards and an epicenter farther from populated areas, the scale of the damage from Chile’s significantly more powerful earthquake was nowhere near the devastation that Haiti suffered.
Televised images from Concepción on Sunday showed looters being detained by police as they sprinted out of a damaged supermarket carrying armloads of merchandise. But authorities said that calmness prevailed in most of the country.
The earthquake hit during Chile’s summer vacation, and that left thousands of Chileans stranded overseas. There were frantic scenes at airports throughout the region as the closing of the damaged Santiago airport prompted airlines to cancel or reroute flights away from the Chilean capital.
In Concepción, which is roughly 70 miles from the quake’s center, cars lay mangled and upended on streets littered with telephone wires and power cables. A new 14-story apartment building fell, while an older, biochemical lab at the University of Concepción caught fire.
In the nearby port of Talcahuano, a giant wave flooded the main square before receding and leaving behind a large fishing boat on the city streets.
“It was terrible, terrible,” said Adela Galaz, a 59-year-old cosmetologist who said glasses and paintings fell to the floor of her 22nd-floor apartment in Santiago, 200 miles from the quake’s center. “We are grateful to be alive.”
President Bachelet, speaking at a news conference on Saturday night, called the quake “one of the worst tragedies in the last 50 years” and declared a “state of catastrophe.”
While this earthquake was far stronger than the 7.0-magnitude one that ravaged Haiti six weeks ago, the damage and death toll in Chile are likely to be far less extensive, in part because of strict building codes put in place after devastating earthquakes.
The quake Saturday, tied for the fifth largest in the world since 1900, set off tsunami waves that swamped some nearby islands before moving across the Pacific. Hawaii began evacuations before dawn, but by early afternoon there — more than 15 hours after the earthquake first struck 6,500 miles away — the fears of a destructive wave had passed..
Chileans were only just beginning to grapple with the devastation before them, even as more than two dozen significant aftershocks struck the country.
In Santiago, the capital, residents reported having been terrified as the city shook for about 90 seconds.
Some people ran screaming from their downtown apartments, while car alarms and sirens wailed during the middle of the night.
Storms Kill at Least 15 in France
Image by PhillipC via Flickr
Published: February 28, 2010
Filed at 8:22 a.m. ET
Frederic Girou/MaxPPP, via European Pressphoto Agency
Firefighters evacuated inhabitants of L’Aguillon sur Mer in the department of Vendée, in France, on Sunday.
PARIS (Reuters) - Violent storms swept through France over the weekend, killing at least 15 people, officials said.
Local authorities said three people died on Saturday and another 12 on Sunday and warned the toll could rise. Some drowned while others were hit by falling trees and branches.
South-west coastal regions of France, Vendee and Charente Maritime, were among those worst affected.
The storm also cut off electricity to more than 1 million residents said ErDF, the distribution arm of French energy group EDF. The cuts centered on Brittany and central France.
Weather forecasters said the storm, named Xynthia, had headed to France's north-east and would then hit Belgium and Luxembourg.
Gusts of wind reaching 100 km (60 miles) per hour had already battered France's northern regions by 1207 GMT (7:07 a.m. EST), Meteo France said on its website.
But it said the storms appeared less fierce than those that hit France in December 1999, in which 92 people were killed.
French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde on Sunday reminded insurers that multi-risk residence insurance covered damage caused by strong winds and called for the speedy processing of storm-related claims.
(Reporting by Claude Canellas, Guillaume Frouin and Astrid Wendlandt; editing by Philippa Fletcher)
A version of this article appeared in print on February 28, 2010, on 4 of the New York edition.
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Venus Williams wins the Mexican Open final
Image via Wikipedia
The defending champion, 29, triumphed 2-6 6-2 6-3 over teenager Polona Hercog to secure her second consecutive title after winning in Dubai last week.
The American's success moved her into joint 10th place with Martina Hingis in the all-time list of WTA title winners, and two ahead of Justine Henin.
"Hopefully I'll win more and more this year. I love winning titles," she said.
"I love seeing that number go up. It feels good. There is no limit. Who wants to have a limit on titles? Not me."
World number 60 Hercog was playing in her first final but could not cope with the former world number one's fightback on the Acapulco clay.
However, the 19-year-old Slovakian did win the doubles later in the day.
David Ferrer beat fellow Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-3 3-6 6-1 to win the men's title and end Ferrero's 14-match winning streak.
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Woman killed as downpours and floods hit UK
Martin Wainwright
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 28 February 2010 12.15 GMT
Article history
Emergency services were today keeping watch on scores of small rivers across much of Britain after warnings of renewed downpours.
The move comes after a woman was killed when her Land Rover was picked up and carried 200 yards in a torrent down a normally innocuous stream.
The body of 53-year-old Vanessa Robson was found after her Freelander became wedged amid debris beneath Muffles Bridge, which carries a remote farm road across Hartoft Beck on the edge of the North York Moors national park.
North Yorkshire police said the beck had been filled with debris.
Robson's body was recovered from the River Seven close to its confluence with Hartoft Beck, less than a mile downstream from the bridge. Her death focused attention on the threat of similar flash flooding and sudden surges in water levels as Britain catches the tail of a storm sweeping across continental Europe.
The Environment Agency has around 100 flood watches in place, with three flood warnings – two on the Ouse and Derwent, near York, and one on the Nene, east of Peterborough.
There are also two flood warnings in place in Scotland, on the Solway Firth between the Esk estuary and Loch Ryan, and along the North Sea coast between Berwick and Peterhead.
The Meteorological Office warned of a "prolonged spell of wet and windy weather, with heavy rain falling on already saturated ground across England."
The so-called Portuguese storm, a front which gathered strength over the Bay of Biscay before moving across France and the Low Countries, is expected to add gale force winds to the rain in southern and eastern England.
The Environment Agency warned of the unexpected strength as well as speed of flash-flooding in small rivers.
"Even a few inches of flowing water can knock people off their feet," spokesman David Beddlington said. "Often you can't see through floodwater, which is muddy and dirty and may have debris beneath the surface."
Two skiers are recovering after being caught in an avalanche in Glencoe on Saturday after heavy snowfalls across Scotland. Several hundred houses remain without power in Perthshire and Aberdeenshire after snow brought down power cables on Saturday, initially cutting off 45,000 homes. About 100 houses have also been evacuated in Aberdeenshire following landslip warnings in area of steep and sodden ground.
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 28 February 2010 12.15 GMT
Article history
Emergency services were today keeping watch on scores of small rivers across much of Britain after warnings of renewed downpours.
The move comes after a woman was killed when her Land Rover was picked up and carried 200 yards in a torrent down a normally innocuous stream.
The body of 53-year-old Vanessa Robson was found after her Freelander became wedged amid debris beneath Muffles Bridge, which carries a remote farm road across Hartoft Beck on the edge of the North York Moors national park.
North Yorkshire police said the beck had been filled with debris.
Robson's body was recovered from the River Seven close to its confluence with Hartoft Beck, less than a mile downstream from the bridge. Her death focused attention on the threat of similar flash flooding and sudden surges in water levels as Britain catches the tail of a storm sweeping across continental Europe.
The Environment Agency has around 100 flood watches in place, with three flood warnings – two on the Ouse and Derwent, near York, and one on the Nene, east of Peterborough.
There are also two flood warnings in place in Scotland, on the Solway Firth between the Esk estuary and Loch Ryan, and along the North Sea coast between Berwick and Peterhead.
The Meteorological Office warned of a "prolonged spell of wet and windy weather, with heavy rain falling on already saturated ground across England."
The so-called Portuguese storm, a front which gathered strength over the Bay of Biscay before moving across France and the Low Countries, is expected to add gale force winds to the rain in southern and eastern England.
The Environment Agency warned of the unexpected strength as well as speed of flash-flooding in small rivers.
"Even a few inches of flowing water can knock people off their feet," spokesman David Beddlington said. "Often you can't see through floodwater, which is muddy and dirty and may have debris beneath the surface."
Two skiers are recovering after being caught in an avalanche in Glencoe on Saturday after heavy snowfalls across Scotland. Several hundred houses remain without power in Perthshire and Aberdeenshire after snow brought down power cables on Saturday, initially cutting off 45,000 homes. About 100 houses have also been evacuated in Aberdeenshire following landslip warnings in area of steep and sodden ground.
Marie Osmond's teenage son dies
Marie Osmond via last.fm
Ms Osmond, 50, said in a statement that her family was "devastated and in deep shock by the tragic loss" of her son Michael Blosil.
News reports from the US suggested he committed suicide by jumping from an apartment building in Los Angeles.
Marie and her brother Donny hosted the popular TV variety programme the Donny & Marie Show in the late 1970s.
The Los Angeles coroner's office said the death was being investigated.
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Sources: Jones to become free agent
Image by Getty Images via Daylife
ESPN
Archive
New York Jets running back Thomas Jones will not restructure his contract and will be released this week, sources told ESPN on Saturday.
Jones, who will become a free agent March 5, was slated to receive a $3 million roster bonus March 9 and a $2.8 million base salary in 2010.
Jones, who has played the last three seasons for the Jets, rushed for 1,402 yards and 14 touchdowns on 331 carries last season. The Jets reached the AFC Championship Game.
Jones has 9,217 career rushing yards in 10 seasons with the Jets, Arizona Cardinals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Chicago Bears.
Adam Schefter is ESPN's NFL Insider.
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Hawaii Exhales as Tsunami Warning Is Canceled
Image via Wikipedia
By CHARLES E. ROESSLER and ERIC LIPTON
Published: February 27, 2010
KAUAI, Hawaii — Tsunami waves arrived in Hawaii on Saturday afternoon, as predicted, causing erratic surges in the sea, but the impact was not nearly as great as had been feared. The rising water did not appear to cause significant property damage, officials said, and a tsunami warning was canceled.
Austin Larson/European Pressphoto Agency
With a tsunami warning in effect, Jason Heun and Jake Fender found higher ground Saturday on top of their van in Honolulu.
Bruce Omori/European Pressphoto Agency
Police officers in Hilo, Hawaii, as residents braced for a possible tsunami generated by the quake.
“It is a reason just to be relieved,” said Gov. Linda Lingle.
The tsunami warnings were set off by an 8.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Chile. Hawaii had waited anxiously most of the morning for the arrival of the tsunami, with officials clearing the beaches of sunbathers and swimmers, rousing tourists from beachfront hotels or confining them to the upper floors and advising everyone else to head to higher ground.
Evacuation alarms first sounded in Hawaii’s vulnerable coastal areas at 6 a.m. Saturday, as the region prepared for what federal officials said could be a dangerous — but most likely not catastrophic — tsunami. Officials warned that waves could reach as high as 6 to 10 feet in the hardest hit areas, with the tsunami first hitting Hilo Bay on Hawaii Island at 11:05 a.m., Honolulu at 11:37, and Kauai at 11:42 as it moved up the island chain.
Shortly before noon, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Ewa Beach, Hawaii, announced that the first tsunami wave had indeed reached Hawaii, but live televised views of the surf at Hilo Bay — a spot traditionally hard hit in tsunamis — showed only the tide moving in and out in erratic pulses.
Tom Williamson, who lives in a relatively low-lying area east of Waikiki near Koko Crater, received a warning about the tsunami in a 4 a.m. text message from his daughter in Argentina. Expecting the coastal roads to soon be crowded, he and his family grabbed food and laptops and headed to a relative’s home on the hillside of Mt. Tantalus above Honolulu.
“We knew we had plenty of time and were not afraid,” Mr. Williamson said. “But we played it safe and got out of there.”
Later in the morning, cars packed the hillside roads above Honolulu, their passengers creating an almost festive, tailgating feeling as they cautiously made the best of the situation, eating chili and rice and sharing what they had. Local residents came out of their homes to report the latest news and to reassure those awaiting an all-clear signal, which came here about 2 p.m.
The decision of whether to evacuate coastal areas rested with state and local officials in Hawaii, a Homeland Security official said. But Hawaii did not issue a statewide evacuation order, instead leaving that decision to individual counties.
The warnings prompted many boat owners to move their boats away from the coast. Beaches were closed and evacuation zones in certain coastal areas were cleared.
Tourists at high-rise resort hotels were advised that they would be safe above the third floor.
The last Pacific-wide tsunami warning like Saturday’s was in 1964, said Brian R. Shiro, a geophysicist at the warning center.
Some regional warnings in Hawaii, including one in 1994, have passed with no tsunami impact at all. But tsunamis have also caused major damage and some loss of life in Hawaii, most recently in 1975, when two people were killed, Mr. Shiro said.
In May 1960, a 9.5-magnitude earthquake in central Chile — the largest ever recorded — set off a tsunami that hit the Hawaiian islands about 15 hours later, causing $75 million in damage and killing 61 people.
Charles E. Roessler reported from Kauai, Hawaii, and Eric Lipton from Washington. Peter Baker contributed reporting from Washington.
A version of this article appeared in print on February 28, 2010, on page A17 of the New York edition.
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Third suspect arrested in Juarez party killings
By Nick Valencia, CNN
February 28, 2010 12:51 a.m. EST
A man local authorities identified as Aldo Favio Hernandez Lozana, center, is shown on Saturday in Juarez.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Mexico: Aldo Favio Hernandez Lozano arrested in connection with killings
Most of 15 slain were students and not believed to have been involved in drugs
Suspect admitted killing at least 40 people while working as a cartel hitman, Mexico says
Documents: Suspect was a police officer in Juarez from July 2000 to October 2008
(CNN) -- A third suspect has been arrested in the massacre of 15 people at a house party last month in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, a Mexican official said Saturday.
Aldo Favio Hernandez Lozano, alias "El 18", was arrested by Mexican military Thursday, federal spokesman Enrique Torres told CNN. Lozano was a former municipal police officer in Juarez, Torres said.
According to information released to CNN by federal authorities, Lozano admitted to police investigators that he killed at least 40 people while working as a hitman for the Juarez Cartel, often referred to by its nickname "La LÃnea."
Documents obtained by CNN showed Lozano was a municipal police officer in Juarez from July 2000 to October 2008. He reportedly left the police force after failing a lie detector test, becoming a member of the drug cartel at the end of 2008. As a hitman, he was paid $2,000 a week by the cartel, documents said.
Authorities were able to link Lozano to the house party crime scene by connecting him to a .40-caliber gun used in the attack.
Investigators also told CNN Saturday that they had identified another suspect in the killings, José Guadalupe Cavazos Báez, alias "El 27."
The January 31 killings in southern Juarez of 15 people, most of whom were students with no ties to organized crime, has sparked outrage across the country. The slayings are thought to be the result of bad intelligence by a cartel and the gang that carried out the killings.
February 28, 2010 12:51 a.m. EST
A man local authorities identified as Aldo Favio Hernandez Lozana, center, is shown on Saturday in Juarez.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Mexico: Aldo Favio Hernandez Lozano arrested in connection with killings
Most of 15 slain were students and not believed to have been involved in drugs
Suspect admitted killing at least 40 people while working as a cartel hitman, Mexico says
Documents: Suspect was a police officer in Juarez from July 2000 to October 2008
(CNN) -- A third suspect has been arrested in the massacre of 15 people at a house party last month in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, a Mexican official said Saturday.
Aldo Favio Hernandez Lozano, alias "El 18", was arrested by Mexican military Thursday, federal spokesman Enrique Torres told CNN. Lozano was a former municipal police officer in Juarez, Torres said.
According to information released to CNN by federal authorities, Lozano admitted to police investigators that he killed at least 40 people while working as a hitman for the Juarez Cartel, often referred to by its nickname "La LÃnea."
Documents obtained by CNN showed Lozano was a municipal police officer in Juarez from July 2000 to October 2008. He reportedly left the police force after failing a lie detector test, becoming a member of the drug cartel at the end of 2008. As a hitman, he was paid $2,000 a week by the cartel, documents said.
Authorities were able to link Lozano to the house party crime scene by connecting him to a .40-caliber gun used in the attack.
Investigators also told CNN Saturday that they had identified another suspect in the killings, José Guadalupe Cavazos Báez, alias "El 27."
The January 31 killings in southern Juarez of 15 people, most of whom were students with no ties to organized crime, has sparked outrage across the country. The slayings are thought to be the result of bad intelligence by a cartel and the gang that carried out the killings.
Bears claim share of first conference title since 1960
Image via Wikipedia
BERKELEY, Calif. -- The students poured onto the court, the confetti rained down from the ceiling. The 50-year wait for a conference title at California had finally ended and it was time to celebrate.
The Golden Bears held Arizona State to two points in a span of more than 10 minutes late in the second half to clinch at least a share of the Pac-10 title with a 62-46 victory Saturday.
"It was crazy. We didn't expect all that to occur," senior Theo Robertson said of the raucous postgame celebration. "Being out there with the fans, your teammates and the coaches, the whole confetti, cutting down the nets. It was a crazy experience and awesome to be a part of it."
Patrick Christopher and Jamal Boykin scored 14 points each for the Bears (20-9, 12-5 Pac-10), who went on a 18-2 run in the second half to break open a close game and coast to the title.
Then came the celebration that was punctuated when second-year coach Mike Montgomery cut the last strand of the net and held it up to the cheering crowd on his 63rd birthday.
"It was very pleasing to see this group of seniors grow like they have together," said Montgomery, who won four Pac-10 titles at Stanford. "It hasn't always been all for one, one for all. But down the stretch they really came together and played to win. If we can play like this, we're pretty good."
Cal hadn't won a conference title since winning its fourth straight in 1960 under coach Pete Newell, when they played in the Athletic Association of Western Universities. The Bears last went to the Rose Bowl following the 1958 season, giving fans little to celebrate in the school's two major sports for a half-century.
The Bears can clinch the outright championship by winning at Stanford next Saturday or if Arizona State loses one of its final two games. The Sun Devils (20-9, 10-6) need to sweep and have Cal lose to the Cardinal to share their first title since joining the conference in 1978-79.
"I reminded them that we still have two games left and that needs to be our focus, not whether Cal's going to win or lose," Arizona State Herb Sendek said. "We can only represent and control ourselves, so whether Cal wins or loses is outside of our world."
While no team in the weak Pac-10 is assured of an at-large berth in the NCAA tournament, Cal improved its position for a bid if it does not win the conference tournament in Los Angeles next month. The Bears are assured of the top seed in the tournament because they swept ASU.
"It's a great feeling," Boykin said. "But we still have to win this last game I feel this team can accomplish so much. I think all the feelings will kick in when the season is over and we look back on all the things we accomplished."
Cal hadn't been this close to a conference title since 1994, when Jason Kidd and Lamond Murray had the Bears in position to tie Arizona for the championship crown on the last day of the season before losing at Washington State. The atmosphere reflected that, with raucous Haas Pavilion being sold out for the first time all season.
The Bears gave the fans plenty to cheer about in the second half. They trailed by one at the break but took control quickly after Derek Glasser missed a layup on the opening possession for Arizona State.
Jorge Gutierrez started the key run when he flipped in a layup for a three-point play that gave Cal a 47-42 lead. Robertson converted a three-point play of his own after an offensive rebound.
After a basket by Jerren Shipp and two missed free throws from Eric Boateng, Boykin hit three straight baskets to make it 59-44 with 3:45 to go.
"Against a high-octane offense like that you can't afford to have slippage, especially on the defensive end because when you're not making shots you start thinking about it on the defensive end and they really make you pay for it," guard Ty Abbott said.
The four senior starters -- Christopher, Boykin, Robertson and Jerome Randle -- got a standing ovation when they were taken out in the final minute. They then went to cut down the nets. Robertson had 13 points and Randle scored only seven.
Shipp scored 14 points to lead Arizona State. The Sun Devils scored only two points in a span of more than 10 minutes to see their chances at the conference title and tournament bid take a serious hit. Victor Rudd's dunk with 31 seconds left ended the drought and provided the final margin in the loss.
It was an emotional day for the Bears, who honored the four senior starters and backup Nikola Knezevic before their final home games of their career.
"It was real emotional when I first stepped on campus today knowing this would be the last time I'd approach this arena and play in front of this crowd," said Randle, who needs 44 points to pass Sean Lampley as Cal's all-time leading scorer. "It was great come out to end it on a great note."
Among the dignitaries on hand for the big game were former Cal point guard and current Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, Lampley and former Cal linebacker Scott Fujita, who won the Super Bowl earlier this month with New Orleans.
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Tsunami waves from Chilean quake arrive in Japan
Image via Wikipedia
Tokyo, Japan (CNN) -- Tsunami waves from the deadly 8.8-magnitude earthquake in Chile started hitting the Japanese coast Sunday, but the initial ones did not appear large enough to cause damage.
Authorities are still asking evacuated residents to stay away because a second and third round of waves could gain strength.
The first one, a 4-inch wave, hit Minami Torishima, a small island in the Pacific Ocean, according to the Japanese meteorological agency.
An 11-inch wave was later recorded in the port of Nemuro, Hokkaido. It hit the port at 1:57 p.m. local time. Another 8-inch wave hit Hamanaka-cho, Hokkaido, at 2:05 p.m. local time.
Tsunami warnings from the earthquake initially covered the entire Pacific region, but were later canceled except for Russia and Japan.
Check out the world's biggest earthquakes since 1900
Tens of thousands of residents began evacuating Sunday morning from coastal Japan in anticipation of a possible tsunami after the earthquake.
The northern part of the main island was looking at the possibility of a tsunami at least 9 feet high, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
Sunday's alert was Japan's first major tsunami warning in more than 15 years, the agency reported.
A tsunami spawned by Chile's 1960 earthquake killed 140 people in Japan.
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Rain triggers deadly floods in Haiti
Image via Wikipedia
The deaths occurred in or near the southeastern port city of Les Cayes which was swamped by more than 1.5m (5ft) of water.
Officials said buildings affected included a hospital and a prison where more than 400 inmates were evacuated.
About a million Haitians are still homeless following January's earthquake which killed up to 230,000 people.
The floods have come several weeks ahead of Haiti's traditional rainy season.
"The situation is grave... whole areas are completely flooded. People have climbed on to the roofs of their homes," local senator Francky Exius told AFP news agency.
Witnesses said some homes had collapsed and people were fleeing for safer areas.
At least two people are reported missing in the floods. One report puts the death toll at 11.
Staff at the flooded hospital in Les Cayes moved patients to the safety of higher floors, reports say, while UN peacekeepers helped police to evacuate the jail.
Les Cayes lies on a peninsula 160km (100 miles) west of the capital Port-au-Prince.
It was unaffected by the earthquake, but its 70,000 population has been swollen by survivors fleeing from earthquake-hit areas.
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Airplanes and alligators mix at remote Everglades airport
Image by fingermouse via Flickr
5:53 p.m. EST, February 27, 2010
The runway is long enough to handle the biggest airliners, even a space shuttle. But at this airport, blue herons swoop in far more frequently than JetBlue.
This is Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, which sees more animals than airplanes. Squatting in the middle of the Everglades, it is home to alligators, snakes, deer, wading birds, buzzards, bobcats and bears.
The airfield is so remote, the nearest McDonald's is 33 miles away. Other than pilots, airboat operators, all-terrain vehicle riders and hunters, few people know it's there.
At one time, it was supposed to be a gigantic jetport with 10 terminals and high-speed rail connections to all parts of the state.
Then environmental forces stymied it. Now, it's used so little that critters sometimes slink onto the runway to sun themselves.
"You can shoo a gator off. But you can't shoo a snake off. You have to pick them up," said Chris McArthur, the airport manager, adding that those snakes are sometimes boa constrictors and rattlers.
Situated halfway between Miami and Naples, the airport covers 35 square miles of pine and marshland off the Tamiami Trail and within the Big Cypress National Preserve. Only 400 acres are fenced in, to protect the 10,500-foot runway.
Pilots use the airport mainly to practice landings, rarely stopping to stretch. It has no control tower, no restaurants, no aviation companies to provide fuel and no parked aircraft. The only building on the field is a double-wide trailer.
Although most of the runway lies in Collier County, the Miami-Dade County Aviation Department owns the airfield, which this year is running on a $258,877 budget. The funding comes from airport user fees.
For the four employees who maintain it, Dade-Collier is a peaceful — and occasionally spooky — place to work, said Manuel Tamara, who handles the radio and mows the grass with a farm tractor.
Copyright © 2010, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
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Nets top Celtics for sixth win of season, third on the road
Image by Getty Images via Daylife
BOSTON -- The Boston Celtics haven't found a way to fix their defensive woes.
Forsberg: C's Better Wake Up
With 24 regular season games left, the urgency is there, but the focus isn't, writes Chris Forsberg. Story
Center Brook Lopez scored 25 points and guards Devin Harris and Courtney Lee added 23 and 21 points and the New Jersey Nets topped the Celtics 104-96 Saturday.
The Nets, who entered the game 5-52 and 2-27 on the road, took a 29-27 lead on Keyon Dooling's jumper at the end of the first quarter and never trailed again.
"Any win for us is big. There's no question," Nets coach Kiki Vandeweghe said. "But to get a win on the road, and this is one of the toughest places to play in the NBA just shows that -- it should demonstrate to our guys that if they play with effort, they can compete against anybody."
Kevin Garnett had 26 points and Marquis Daniels had 16 for the Celtics, playing their third straight game without Paul Pierce. The Celtics hope to get Pierce back for Tuesday's game against Detroit.
Net Gain
The Nets began the day with a win percentage of .088. The Celtics mark was .643. That's a difference of .555. Over the last 15 seasons, this was the fifth time that a team beat an opponent that had a win percentage at least .550 better than its own at least 50 games into a season.
Team Opp. Win Pct. Diff.
'09-10 Nets Celtics .555
'08-09 Wizards Cavaliers .601
'97-98 Warriors Sonics .551
'96-'97 Nets Bulls .583
'95-96 Raptors Bulls .638
New Jersey took 41 free throws to the Celtics' 11.
"It shows that we were aggressive," Lopez said. "A lot of the season we've been settling for jump shots at very inopportune times. Tonight we were very assertive in trying to get to the basket and get the best possible shot we could."
Celtics coach Doc Rivers blamed his team for the free throw disparity, saying "it was on us."
Rivers said one of the things he told his team yesterday, a day after a 108-88 loss against the Cleveland Cavaliers, was "It ain't the system. It's our heads. It's between our ears. And we've got to come out and play."
Garnett said he was "disgusted" at the loss and said it came down to defense. "In this league you have to get stops, it's that simple. A team gets into a rhythm, and it's hard to turn it off."
New Jersey's effort shouldn't have come as a surprise to the Celtics. On Feb. 5 in Boston, the Nets hung with the Celtics until the last couple of minutes in a 96-87 loss.
The Celtics cut an 18-point fourth-quarter deficit to six on Ray Allen's 3-pointer with 2:05 left, but Kris Humphries' layup and two foul shots by Lopez ended the rally.
The Celtics didn't hit a 3-pointer until Nate Robinson's shot late in the third quarter and finished 3 of 19 from behind the arc while the Nets hit six 3-pointers in 13 attempts.
The Nets scored 25 points off 18 Celtics turnovers. Boston shot 63 percent in the first quarter and had a 12-2 lead, but the Nets, led by Harris' 11 points, charged back to take a 29-27 lead at the end of the quarter.
Lopez continued to hurt the Celtics inside in the second quarter and the Boston bench struggled. Lopez's tip-in with four minutes left in the first half gave the Nets a 46-36 lead.
New Jersey led 74-64 after three quarters and then started to pull away in the fourth. Chris Douglas-Roberts' dunk upped the lead to 12 with 7:44 left and Dooling's 3-pointer gave Jersey an 18-point advantage with five minutes left.
Game notes
The flu has been bothering the Celtics, but Rivers dismissed it as a reason for the loss. "No, no, no. Everybody's sick right now. We just didn't play very well." ... New Jersey must win at least four of its remaining 24 games to overtake the 1972-73 76ers' 9-73 record.
Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press
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How U.S. Olympians pay the rent
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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Even Olympians have to pay the rent.
These world-class athletes are in the spotlight for two weeks every couple of years. But for the most part, they're just regular people who have to make a living as teachers, fitness instructors or market researchers, all while putting in hours of grueling sports training.
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For every Shaun White and Lindsey Vonn, two gold medalists who have scored multi-million dollar endorsement deals, there is a Tyler Jewell.
Jewell, a two-time Olympic snowboarder who's competing at this year's Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, supports himself with a patchwork of odd jobs.
"I sold sausages at a state fair in Albuquerque, New Mexico, for a bunch of years," he said. He's also worked at a golf course and as a concrete crew man, among other things.
"It's hard to hold down a full-time job," said the 33 year-old Boston College graduate. "I have 5 hours a day of training."
Jewell has also worked on and off at the Home Depot (HD, Fortune 500) since 2004 as a part of the Olympic Job Opportunities Program (OJOP), a partnership with the U.S. Olympic Committee that paid athletes full-time salaries and benefits for working part-time hours. But the retailer folded OJOP in 2009, after four years as the exclusive sponsor.
USOC spokesman, Keith Bryant, says the organization is hoping to revive the 33 year-old program, which in the past has partnered with hundreds of companies including Anheuser-Busch and J.C. Penney (JCP, Fortune 500).
"It's a shame that it's gone, but to have had it at all was an amazing thing," said Jewell. Without the Home Depot job to fall back on, he wonders: "how am I going to make it?"
Curling isn't cheap
Of course Jewell and most other Olympic athletes do receive some funding from the USOC, which relies on corporate sponsors and private donations. But that generally isn't enough to cover their travel, tournament, and equipment costs.
Those expenses pile up fast. Nicole Joraanstad, an Olympic curler, says a single season competing just to qualify for the Olympics costs as much as $150,000.
Joraanstad, 29, works full-time as a human resources recruiter at TDS Telecommunications in Madison, Wis., but she does have to take a lot of time to compete. She took almost four weeks off just to make her first Olympic appearance in Vancouver this year. In 2009 she used up all of her vacation time traveling to tournaments, and had to take a few weeks unpaid.
Balancing the day-to-day demands of both work and curling is tough too. During the height of her training, Joraanstad worked eight hour days, and trained another four hours a day. "I'm proud of myself. I think I handled it well," said Joraanstad.
Joraanstad was lucky enough to score her job independently, but the USOC also partners with staffing firms to help athletes secure flexible positions. The Adecco Group, a Zurich, Switzerland-based global staffing firm, renewed its contract with the U.S.O.C. through 2012. Since 2005, its Athletes Career Program has helped over 5,000 athletes worldwide.
In February, Adecco and Hilton Worldwide announced a partnership to provide U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes with career training and jobs in Hilton's more than 3,150 hotels and 30 corporate offices in the United States.
A tough sell
Strong work ethics and time management skills make athletes attractive to employers, says Patricia Wilson, brand director for Adecco Group North America. "Athletes know how to succeed independently, but they [also] know the importance of being a team player," she said.
Still, athlete workers, who often travel for two to three months at a time, are a hard sell in an economy with 9.7% unemployment.
Winter athletes have the hardest schedules, since their sports are more popular outside of the United States. The women's curling team, for example, had nine curling tournaments between September and January, eight of which were in Europe and Canada.
"It's definitely more challenging, especially in an economy in which companies are asking less people to do more," said the USOC's Keith Bryant.
"We're asking companies to take athletes with great transferable skills, but that need flexibility [in their schedules]. It takes a special organization to help athletes to get these assignments."
What's worse is that the United States won't host an Olympic winter or summer event for some time, pushing U.S. athletes further out of the spotlight.
"Athletes fade from attention in off-Olympic years," said Bob Dorfman, an endorsement expert and executive creative director at Baker Street advertising and marketing agency. "But they still have to support themselves."
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Harvick pulls out victory at Vegas
Image by Getty Images via Daylife
LAS VEGAS -- Kevin Harvick overcame a pair of horrendous pit stops to win the Nationwide Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Harvick led 83 of the 200 laps Saturday, but had to rally after his crew cost him several spots on pit road.
"You look like a bunch of idiots on pit road," he told his Kevin Harvick Inc. crew after their first slow stop.
Harvick had to methodically work his way back through the field, and found himself trailing leader Denny Hamlin late in the race. Once past Hamlin, Harvick coasted to his second career win at Las Vegas and 35th in the Nationwide Series.
"I get mad, and they know how I am and what I expect of them," Harvick said in Victory Lane. "But I learned a long time ago you can only gripe about it for so long, and then you've got to go back and drive the car."
Hamlin was second, followed by Carl Edwards, Brad Keselowski and Brian Vickers.
Danica Patrick finished 36th in her third and final NASCAR race before she takes a four-month hiatus to return to IndyCar racing.
She wrecked about halfway through the race when she ran into the lapped car of Michael McDowell. She had just pitted and was on fresh tires, and McDowell said he misjudged her closing rate.
"I guess she was coming out on new tires, and the closing rate was so fast," McDowell said. "I tried to give the outside, I saw her coming into it and I closed the door. It was completely 100 percent my fault. I hate it for everyone at JR Motorsports. Like I said, I take 100 percent responsibility."
Patrick, who had climbed as high as third earlier in the race, was livid on the radio and uttered a few profanities immediately after the accident. She finally asked crew chief Tony Eury Jr. where to take her battered car. The hood folded like an accordion, she complained she couldn't even see where she was going.
"It's gonna be all right, babe," Eury told her.
"I can barely see," she replied.
Once back in the garage, she was biting in her assessment of the accident.
"I guess I should have noticed the tape on his left-rear bumper. I probably shouldn't have been near his left-rear bumper," she said. "Sure enough, he turned down and took us both out. What are you going to do? It was a real bummer because I was really hooked up out there because we had new tires on it and I was probably one of the quicker cars on the track."
She also praised Harvick for pointing out the correct racing line to her early in the race.
"Kevin Harvick was great actually -- leading the race he was telling me to go high with him," she said. "That was cool and I was able to run up high and feel that line out. That's really cool to see that -- he's leading the race and taking time to help me out. I learned for sure."
Richard Childress Racing driver John Wes Townley issued a statement late in the race apologizing for a Thursday incident in which he was cited for underage possession of alcohol.
"I made a big mistake and feel terrible about it," the 20-year-old said. "I have learned a valuable lesson and will do everything I can to make it up to those I have let down."
He finished 15th.
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press
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Canada curlers clinch 13th gold medal
Image by Getty Images via Daylife
BBC Sport at the Vancouver Olympic Centre
Canada successfully defended their men's curling title after easily beating Norway 6-3 to win gold in the final at Vancouver Olympic Centre.
Kevin Martin's men were in total control of the high-calibre match, only allowing Norway to score in two ends.
Canada, hot favourites before the Games began, did not lose a match in the entire competition, an unprecedented achievement in Olympic history.
And they became the host nation's 13th gold medallists with a clinical win.
Norway, who had beaten Kevin Martin's team at the 2002 Games to gold, had to settle for silver this time and could have no complaints.
There had been those who had doubted the skip Martin's psychological toughness after he failed with the final stone in Salt Lake City and again in the 2009 World Championship final to David Murdoch's Scotland.
But it was a completely measured and calm performance by the 43-year-old in front of a packed 6,000 capacity crowd.
"Finally, it took a long time," said Martin. "But the hard work was worth it.
"I can't explain it. It's an amazing feeling and I think it will get better and better as the day goes on."
After the first end was blanked, Canada settled for one in the second and had a steal in the fourth when Norwegian skip Thomas Ulsrud's draw was short by an inch.
Canada had only lost once in more than 80 matches after going 2-0 up and they were not about to give up their grip on Olympic gold.
They took a 3-0 lead after five ends but Norway hit back with two in the sixth.
However their fightback was short-lived as Canada, with some spectacular take-outs by crowd-pleaser Johnny Morris, scored two when Ulsrud's final stone failed to dislodge the Canadian stone nearer the button.
Norway took a single in the eighth but needed more and when Canada went into a three-shot lead with just one end to go, they knew the game was up.
Skip Thomas Ulsrud said: "If you give me 10 minutes then I'll probably be happy with silver. We didn't put in a good game and Kevin's team was great.
"We had a plan coming in, as long as we could keep it tight then we would have a chance. We tried to play defensively and it didn't work. He came right back at us every time."
The crowd, including actor Donald Sutherland and many of the rival men's and women's curling teams, had already given a rendition of the national anthem as Martin drew the last stone for victory.
He was already celebrating, broom aloft, before it eased into the house. Meanwhile Morris, a firefighter by trade, bear-hugged his colleagues in sheer delight.
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Chile quake 'affects two million'
Two million people were affected by Saturday's massive quake, Chile's President Bachelet says, as the death toll rises above 300.
Chileans tell of terror
Roads destroyed in earthquake
Storm lashes Spain and Portugal
Powerful winds lash Spain, Portugal and France leaving three dead, a week after parts of Madeira were flooded.
UK passport probe police in Israel
UK police are in Israel investigating the use of fake British passports by suspects in the killing of a Hamas leader.
Chileans tell of terror
Roads destroyed in earthquake
Storm lashes Spain and Portugal
Powerful winds lash Spain, Portugal and France leaving three dead, a week after parts of Madeira were flooded.
UK passport probe police in Israel
UK police are in Israel investigating the use of fake British passports by suspects in the killing of a Hamas leader.
Page's key 3-pointers help Cowboys hand Jayhawks first Big 12 loss
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STILLWATER, Okla. -- Students rushed onto the floor, jumping up and down and hoisting Keiton Page as they celebrated a historic win for Oklahoma State.
The bottom line for the Cowboys: "We're a tournament team now," forward Obi Muonelo said.
James Anderson scored 27 points, Page was perfect on four 3-point tries at crucial times and Oklahoma State denied a bid by No. 1 Kansas to go undefeated through Big 12 play with an 85-77 victory on Saturday.
Fast Facts
• James Anderson led the Cowboys with 27 points and has scored in double figures in every game this season.
• The Cowboys shot 60.4 percent from the field and 52.6 percent from beyond the arc (10 for 19). The 60.4 mark is the team's highest since Jan. 2, 2007 (63.8 percent).
• Oklahoma State has won 11 of its last 12 conference home games.
• The loss snapped a 13-game winning streak for the Jayhawks, who were led by Sherron Collins with 22 points.
• Kansas suffered its third Big 12 loss in 30 conference games.
• With Kansas and Kentucky losing Saturday, it marks the first time No. 1 and No. 2 have lost on the same day in the regular season since Jan. 21, 2006, when No. 1 Duke lost at Georgetown and No. 2 Florida lost at Tennessee.
-- ESPN Stats & Information
The Cowboys (20-8, 8-6) moved to 3-1 against top-ranked teams all time at home and likely removed any doubt of whether they would make the NCAA tournament for a second straight season. Despite entering the game in seventh place in the Big 12, OSU had an RPI of 33.
It was OSU's first win against a No. 1 team since beating Oklahoma on Feb. 4, 1989, and the landmark victory came in the same season the program got its first road win over a top 10 team in 52 years.
Teammate Fred Gulley headed toward the safety of the scorer's table as fans spilled out of the student sections along both baselines. But Page was right in the middle of it all.
"That was a great feeling," Page said. "I was claustrophobic. I was getting hot, so when they picked me up, I got a little breather. I was pretty excited when they did that. I thought I was going to pass out there for a little while."
The Jayhawks (27-2, 13-1) had won their last 13 games since losing at Tennessee to close nonconference play and suffered their second loss of the season just hours after No. 2 Kentucky also lost to the Volunteers.
The last time the top two teams lost on the same day was Jan. 21, 2006, when No. 1 Duke lost to Georgetown and No. 2 Florida lost to Tennessee. Both of those teams were 17-0 at the time.
Sherron Collins had 22 points to lead Kansas -- moving past Kirk Hinrich, Dave Robisch and Paul Pierce into seventh place on the school's career scoring list -- but he also matched his season-high with six turnovers. Freshman Xavier Henry added 17 points and Cole Aldrich scored 11 but had little impact on the boards with only five rebounds.
The Jayhawks, who had held 101 of their previous 102 opponents below 50 percent from the field, allowed Oklahoma State to shoot 60 percent and make 10 of 19 from 3-point range.
"Obviously we weren't good offensively today by any means. We couldn't make a basket when they got their lead," coach Bill Self said. "So in those times, that's when you've got to guard. And obviously our toughness level defensively today was very, very poor and that can happen in the tournament in a one-and-done deal again.
"Hopefully we can learn from that and understand that we weren't ready to defend today."
The Cowboys used strong 3-point shooting to build a 19-point lead late in the first half and then held off a late charge by Kansas fueled by its full-court press. The Jayhawks closed within 80-74 on Henry's 3-pointer with 1:08 remaining but Anderson hit three of four free throws on the Cowboys' next two possessions and swatted Tyshawn Taylor's shot in between.
The only thing that stopped the celebration after that was a malfunction that stopped the clock as it ran down -- fittingly with all ones at 11.1.
"Our guys just played extremely hard," OSU coach Travis Ford said. "I told our team, 'You played against a team today that has a great, great chance to win the national championship.' I would pick them to win the national championship is what I would do. Today just happened to be our day."
Oklahoma State got a scare when Anderson, the nation's sixth-leading scorer and the Big 12 leader with 22.5 points per game, left practice with back pain. It wasn't much better when he arrived at the arena, and he skipped the pregame shootaround.
"I was going to play regardless," Anderson said. "I could have been with a broken leg. I was going to drag it all the way down the court."
Matt Pilgrim made all eight of his shots had 18 points after missing OSU's last game due to a suspension, Muonelo scored 17 and Page was 4-for-4 from 3-point range on his way to 15 points. Oklahoma State was 32-for-53 from the field.
Page hit 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to keep the Jayhawks at bay after they had closed within 63-50 as Anderson rested on the bench midway through the second half. That proved to be a big enough margin for the Cowboys to protect despite difficulties against pressure down the stretch.
OSU beat Kansas for the fourth time in six games at Gallagher-Iba Arena, including its last visit in 2008. That proved to be the Jayhawks' last loss on their way to the national championship.
"The last time we came down here and left here sad, it turned out OK," Self said. "So, I'm believing that we can get something out of it. But I don't think that the thing is broken but I do think we need to really evaluate our things that we must take pride in to be a good team -- especially this time of year."
Kansas hadn't trailed by more than 11 all season and led from start to finish in each of its previous two games.
The Cowboys capitalized on a brief, 42-second period when Kansas put both Collins and Aldrich on the bench to create an early spark. Anderson and Page hit back-to-back 3-pointers before Self called timeout and put Collins back in, but OSU was already on its way to a 16-2 run. Pilgrim's jumper put Oklahoma State up 23-12, and the Cowboys wouldn't trail again.
Anderson and Page hit consecutive 3s again -- with Aldrich and Collins on the bench again -- to put the Cowboys up by 12 and the lead grew to 45-26 on Marshall Moses' left-handed dunk with 1:02 left before halftime.
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NFL could change overtime format for playoffs
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AP Sports Writer
INDIANAPOLIS -- An NFL spokesman said Saturday the league could change its overtime format for playoff games at a meeting next month.
Under the new format, both teams would get the ball at least once unless the first team to get the ball scores a touchdown, Greg Aiello said. If the first team to get the ball makes a field goal and the other team ties the game, action would continue until a team scores again.
Under the current rules, the first team to score wins.
"There have been various concepts that have been discussed in recent years, but this one has never been proposed," Aiello said.
The competition committee will discuss the new concept with teams and players at league meetings March 21-24 in Orlando, Fla., when it could come to a vote. At least two thirds of the teams would need to agree to the changes for new rules to be adopted.
The competition committee met with the players' union and players on Thursday during the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. Discussion continued when the competition committee met with a general managers' advisory committee on Friday.
The debate about the rules gained steam after the NFC championship game, when New Orleans beat Minnesota 31-28 in overtime and Brett Favre's Vikings never got the ball in the extra period. Under the proposed rule, Minnesota would have gotten another possession because the Vikings didn't allow a touchdown.
Overtime was adopted for regular season games in 1974, a sudden-death format that allowed games to end in a tie if neither team scored in 15 minutes. Overtime for playoff games always has been sudden death.
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