A fast-moving "monster" fire in southeastern Georgia has blackened 10,000 acres of forest, destroyed a mobile home and was threatening the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refugee, a haven for alligators, bears and wading birds, officials said Tuesday. The fire started Monday when a tree fell on a power line near Waycross. Pushed by the winds, it forced more than 70 families from their homes and raced through drought-parched forests into the northwest corner of the Okefenokee, one of the nation's oldest and best preserved wetland areas, officials said. "It was jumping county roads and highways," said Neal Edmondson, a fire official with the Georgia Forestry Commission. "It was just a monster." As a precaution, firefighters ordered the evacuation of the Okefenokee Swamp Park, a private park east of Waycross that attracts thousands of visitors each year. Bears, reptiles and other animals in the park's zoo were also being moved to safety, Edmondson said....
http://www.usatoday.com
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Editor - 14:19:00 04-17-07
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 Resurgence of Violence: 17 Bodies Found Buried in Ramadi, 25 Dumped in Baghdad |
Police in Ramadi uncovered 17 decomposing corpses buried beneath two schoolyards in a district that until recently was under the control of al-Qaida fighters. At least 85 people were killed or found dead across the country Tuesday. The adult bodies were discovered in the Anbar provincial capital after students and teachers returned to the schools a week ago and noticed an increasingly putrid odor and stray dogs digging in the area, Police Maj. Laith al-Dulaimi said. He said one body had not yet been recovered from a separate burial site behind one of the schools because authorities feared it was booby-trapped with a bomb. Ramadi had been a stronghold of Sunni insurgents and al-Qaida fighters until recently, when the U.S. forces in the region and the Iraqi government successfully negotiated with many local tribal leaders to split them off from the more militant insurgent groups. ...
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=3049731
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Editor - 14:15:00 04-17-07
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| Murder charge dropped against Marine |
The Marines Corps said Tuesday it had dropped all charges against a sergeant in exchange for his testimony against fellow Marines accused of killing 24 civilians in Haditha, the deadliest criminal case to arise from the Iraq war.Sgt. Sanick P. Dela Cruz had been charged with unpremeditated murder in the death of five Iraq civilians.Lt. Gen. James Mattis, who announced the deal Tuesday, said the charges against Dela Cruz had been dismissed April 2. Dela Cruz was given immunity in exchange for his testimony, the Marines said.The Marine squad had suffered a fatality on Nov. 19, 2005, when its convoy was rocked by a roadside bomb blast. In the aftermath of the explosion, the troops are accused of killing 24 Iraqis in Haditha.Four enlisted Marines were charged with unpremeditated murder, and four officers were charged with failing to adequately report the deaths....
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-04-17-iraq-shootings_N.htm?csp=34
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Editor - 14:08:00 04-17-07
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| 6 indicted in Md. juvenile offender's death |
A grand jury indicted six former staff members at a school for juvenile offenders on charges of reckless endangerment in the death of a 17-year-old student, officials announced Tuesday. Isaiah Simmons died Jan. 23 while being restrained by staff at Bowling Brook Preparatory School. State's Attorney Jerry Barnes said the charges stemmed from a 41-minute period during which Simmons was unresponsive but staff at didn't call 911. "They thought he was faking," Barnes said. Medical examiners ruled his death a homicide, and the FBI has opened a civil rights investigation into the case. The school has since closed. The grand jury declined to indict the six employees on the more serious charge of involuntary manslaughter. Steven Heisler, an attorney for Simmons' family, said he disagreed with that decision and that he has asked Barnes to file manslaughter charges against the six employees....
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-04-17-juvenile-death_N.htm?csp=34
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Editor - 13:42:00 04-17-07
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| Ron Paul: More Guns Will Deter Shootings |
Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) has a simple solution to future shooting massacres such as the one that ripped apart Virginia Tech university Monday: more guns. "People are a little more cautious if somebody might have a gun there," the GOP presidential candidate told Politico reporters Tuesday. "A concealed gun carried by a responsible person -- that might have ended the problem that they had at Virginia Tech with one person being killed or two people being killed." Paul, 71, is the kind of lawmaker, and presidential candidate, gun control advocates love to hate at moments like this. And, based on public opinion polls and reader feedback at Politico.com, he's far from alone. Echoing the views of many Americans, he sees calls for restriction on guns as an affront to freedom. The libertarian-minded Texan is one of the most outspoken defenders of gun rights in Congress. Since the obstetrician was first elected to Congress in 1976, he has never voted for a bill restricting gun ownership. ...
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0407/3556.html
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Editor - 12:56:00 04-17-07
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| Mugabe critic in 'prophetic role' |
Zimbabwean Roman Catholic Archbishop Pius Ncube says he accepts that his opposition to Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe may cost him his life. "The church has a prophetic role to speak the truth when no-one else dares to," the Archbishop of Bulawayo told the UK's Daily Telegraph newspaper. Meanwhile, a crackdown on aid groups suspected of opposing the president has begun, state media reports. All non-governmental organisations must now reapply for their licences. Last month, the UN said that 1.4m Zimbabweans would need food aid this year, as harvests were only due to meet one-third of the country's requirements. Mr Mugabe blames the worsening economic crisis on a Western plot to remove him from power. Archbishop called for mass street protests in March and said people must be prepared to stand in front of "blazing guns" to force Mr Mugabe from power. ...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6562595.stm
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Editor - 09:17:00 04-17-07
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