One whooping crane’s story of survival offers hope for the endangered species’ fight for life

Plucky whooping crane gives wildlife experts hope

ARANSAS NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, Texas – After the poisonous snake slithered into the whooping crane family’s marshy grounds and sank its fangs into the chick’s neck, death seemed certain.
The bird’s head quickly turned red and swelled to the size of a basketball. He refused to eat for days and … Original article on : One whooping crane’s story of survival offers hope for the endangered species’ fight for life.

Fiji declares state of emergency after powerful cyclone lashes northern island groups

Fiji declares state of emergency for cyclone aid

SUVA, Fiji – Fiji declared a state of emergency Tuesday and ordered troops to launch relief operations in northern regions battered by a powerful cyclone that knocked out power and forced thousands of people to flee into shelters.
Cyclone Tomas’ onslaught began to weaken Tuesday, but the scope of …. Original article on Gaea Times at  : Fiji declares state of emergency after powerful cyclone lashes northern island groups.

Fiji declares a state of emergency after powerful cyclone lashes northern island groups

Fiji declares a state of emergency for cyclone aid

SUVA, Fiji – Fiji declared a state of emergency Tuesday and ordered troops to launch relief operations in northern regions battered by a powerful cyclone that knocked out power and forced thousands of people to flee into shelters.
Cyclone Tomas’ onslaught began to weaken Tuesday, but the scope [..] Read the original article: here.

Afghan government to send more police to Kandahar after deadly Taliban bombings

Afghan gov’t to send more police to Kandahar
KABUL – Afghanistan’s government will provide more than 1,000 police reinforcements to the southern province of Kandahar after Taliban attacks killed dozens of people there ahead of a coming offensive on the insurgent stronghold, an official said Tuesday.
The Ministry of Interior agreed with a provincial request …. Original article  : Afghan government to send more police to Kandahar after deadly Taliban bombings.

Tropical cyclone begins to weaken after lashing Fiji’s northern island groups

Cyclone begins to weaken after lashing Fiji

SUVA, Fiji – Cyclone Tomas’ onslaught on Fiji began to weaken Tuesday, but a state of emergency was declared in the hardest-hit areas as the storm battered the South Pacific nation’s northern outer islands, knocking out power and forcing thousands of people into shelters.
With communications cut to outer islands … Original source on Gaea Times at : Tropical cyclone begins to weaken after lashing Fiji’s northern island groups.

Haitian leaders working to finish post-earthquake reconstruction plan

Haiti leaders rush to finish post-quake proposal

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Haiti’s government and business community are finalizing details of a reconstruction plan that economists say could cost nearly $14 billion.
Haitian Chamber of Commerce President Reginald Boulos says he told the prime minister and international financiers at a meeting Monday that the private sector’s earthquake losses alone …. Source  : Gaea News Network.

Jets players travel to Haiti to assist recovery efforts following earthquake

3 Jets players travel to Haiti to assist efforts

NEW YORK – Three New York Jets players traveled to Haiti on Monday to help with the relief and recovery efforts following the earthquake that killed a government-estimated 230,000 people and made 1.3 million homeless in January.
Safety James Ihedigbo led a group of about 20 to Port-au-Prince, … Read this article on Gaea Times at : Jets players travel to Haiti to assist recovery efforts following earthquake.

Coalmine fire kills 25 in China

ZHENGZHOU – Twenty-five people were killed when a fire broke out in a coalmine in central China, Xinhua reported Tuesday.

The accident occurred at 8.30 p.m. Monday in the main pit of Dongxing Coal Mining Co. in Xinmi, in Henan provincial capital of Zhengzhou.
Thirty-one miners were working underground at the time of the accident. Six …. Original source  : Coalmine fire kills 25 in China.

Careless bus driver ticketed in girl’s 1999 death is charged in fatal crash at Pa. school

Pa. school bus driver charged in 2nd fatal crash

NORRISTOWN, Pa. – Prosecutors say surveillance video shows a sleep-deprived school bus driver running stop signs before causing a fatal crash last month outside a suburban Philadelphia middle school.
Frederick Poust III had been ticketed a decade ago for careless driving following a crash that killed a 2-year-old …. Source  : Gaea News Network.

Collision of Houston transit train, bus sends 19 people to hospitals

19 hurt when Houston transit train, bus collide

HOUSTON – Officials say a collision between a transit bus and light-rail train in downtown Houston has sent 19 people to the hospital. No serious injuries were reported.
The Metropolitan Transit Authority says the accident happened at the same intersection where five weeks earlier another bus and light-rail train … Read more : Collision of Houston transit train, bus sends 19 people to hospitals.

Murray State player’s mother killed as team about to depart for NCAA tournament

Tourney-bound Murray St player’s mom dies in crash

MURRAY, Ky. – The mother of Murray State reserve guard Picasso Simmons has been killed in a car crash on the eve of the team’s departure for the NCAA tournament.
Murray State spokesman Dave Winder says Freeda Simmons died Monday morning in the crash in Nashville, Tenn. Her son … Read : Murray State player’s mother killed as team about to depart for NCAA tournament.

More than 10,000 evacuated in Fiji cyclone

WELLINGTON – Tropical Cyclone Tomas battered Fiji for a second day as more than 10,000 people took shelter in evacuation centres Tuesday throughout the Pacific island nation.

Torrential rains and winds averaging 175 km an hour generated waves up to seven metres high on the second biggest island Vanua Levu, flooding villages, toppling trees and bringing … Read the original article on Gaea Times at : More than 10,000 evacuated in Fiji cyclone.

Historic railway in downtown Los Angeles reopens with modern brakes 9 years after deadly wreck

Tiny LA railway back on track years after crash

LOS ANGELES – The city’s beloved Angels Flight began carrying passengers up and down a steep downtown hill again Monday, nine years after a fatal accident forced an extensive overhaul of the tiny railway’s operating and safety systems.
Fans of “The Shortest Railway in the World” waited eagerly …. Source  : Gaea News Network.

Jury acquits man of vehicular homicide while DUI in 2008 crash that killed Pa. lawmaker

Acquittal in 2008 crash that killed Pa. lawmaker

STROUDSBURG, Pa. – A jury has acquitted a man of vehicular homicide while driving drunk in a 2008 crash that killed a Pennsylvania lawmaker.
Jurors in Stroudsburg decided Monday that 46-year-old Thomas Senavitis (Sehn-ah-VAI-tis’) was intoxicated but didn’t cause the crash in the Poconos that killed state Sen. James … Read this article on Gaea Times at : Jury acquits man of vehicular homicide while DUI in 2008 crash that killed Pa. lawmaker.

Collision of Houston transit train, bus sends 18 people to hospitals

18 hurt when Houston transit train, bus collide

HOUSTON – Officials say a collision between a transit bus and light-rail train in downtown Houston has sent 18 people to the hospital.
The Metropolitan Transit Authority, which runs Houston’s bus and light-rail system, says none of the injuries are reported to be life threatening.
Police say the accident happened …. Source article  : Collision of Houston transit train, bus sends 18 people to hospitals.

Trucks deliver piles of sandbags as residents in Fargo, ND, prepare for Red River flooding

Sandbags delivered ahead of expected Fargo flood

FARGO, N.D. – Marc Shannon says the prospect of using a sandbag wall to protect his Fargo home from the rising Red River doesn’t seem so alarming. Not after last year, when the city dealt with record flooding and Shannon had to maneuver around a 10-foot-high clay dike that … Read this article on Gaea Times at : Trucks deliver piles of sandbags as residents in Fargo, ND, prepare for Red River flooding.

RI official says no immediate threat from dam; dozens of businesses flooded downstream

RI official says no immediate threat from dam

WEST WARWICK, R.I. – The head of Rhode Island’s emergency management agency says there is no immediate threat that a dam on a flooded river in West Warwick will fail.
J. David Smith said Monday that officials are evaulating whether boards along the top of the private dam should … Read : RI official says no immediate threat from dam; dozens of businesses flooded downstream.

Northeast storm floods roads, topples power lines, creates headaches across Northeast

Stubborn storm darkens, floods much of Northeast

BOUND BROOK, N.J. – Torrential rains and high winds pounded the Northeast for a third day Monday, taking a heavy toll on people and property in a region that only recently restored power or finished digging out from the last of several major winter storms.
The rain and accompanying wind …. Read the original article  : Northeast storm floods roads, topples power lines, creates headaches across Northeast.

AP Enterprise: While Fla. begged for help with Haiti flights, US government reacted slowly

AP Enterprise: US botched Haiti flights to Fla.

MIAMI – As hundreds of injured survivors of the Haiti earthquake overwhelmed Florida hospitals in January, state officials pleaded with the federal government for basic information about arriving patients but got little assistance, e-mails obtained by The Associated Press show.
More than two weeks after the quake, Florida officials …. Source  : AP Enterprise: While Fla. begged for help with Haiti flights, US government reacted slowly.

Crews work to shore up Rhode Island dam that’s threatening to burst amid heavy rains

RI dam threatens to break amid heavy rains

WEST WARWICK, R.I. – Crews are using sand bags and granite blocks to shore up a Rhode Island dam that’s at risk of breaking amid heavy rains.
Officials and engineers are at the dam Monday afternoon on private land on the Pawtuxet River in West Warwick. The river has …. Source article  : Crews work to shore up Rhode Island dam that’s threatening to burst amid heavy rains.