QUETTA, PAKISTAN Cyclone Yemyin rocks coast, killing at least 10
A tropical cyclone lashed Pakistan's coastline with heavy rains and strong winds, killing at least 10 people and forcing thousands to flee to higher ground.
Navy ships and helicopters rescued 75 people from four sinking vessels and were searching for more boats caught in the rough seas caused by Cyclone Yemyin, said Lt. Cmdr. Salman Ali, a navy spokesman.
Yemyin hit parts of the coast of Baluchistan province with winds of up to 57 mph, said Qamaruz Zaman, director-general of the Pakistan Meteorological Department.
Rivers flooded several coastal districts, and four children were among the dead, said a spokesman for the provincial government.
BATON ROUGE, LA. State legislature first to OK 'partial-birth' abortion ban
The Louisiana Legislature approved a ban on a late-term abortion procedure yesterday, the first state to do so since the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a federal ban earlier this year.
The House voted unanimously to approve the measure that would allow the procedure, called "partial birth" abortion by protesters, only when failure to perform it would endanger the mother's life. The procedure would be a crime in all other cases, including situations where the pregnancy is expected to cause health problems for the mother.
The measure goes to Gov. Kathleen Blanco, who describes herself as anti-abortion but has not indicated whether she plans to sign the bill.
The bill, sponsored by Republican Rep. Gary Beard, would create fines and mandate jail terms of one to 10 years for doctors who perform the surgery. The measure matches the federal ban that President Bush signed into law in 2003, upheld in April by the U.S. Supreme Court.
LOUISVILLE, KY. Bus in fatal crash may have been overcrowded
A bus that crashed on a rural stretch of interstate, killing the driver and a passenger and injuring 65, might have been carrying more people than it was designed for, industry and safety experts said yesterday.
The driver, Abraham Parker, 63, died at Vanderbilt University Hospital in Nashville, Tenn., hospital spokesman Jerry Jones said.
A passenger, Carrie Walton, 71, died early Monday when she was thrown from the bus on I-65 in southern Kentucky.
Kentucky State Police said a preliminary investigation found that Parker had apparently dozed off, causing the bus to run off I-65 and strike an overpass support about 75 miles north of Nashville.
PORTLAND, ORE. Downed F-15 pilot lost in the Pacific Ocean
An F-15 fighter jet went down yesterday afternoon in the Pacific Ocean during a training mission, the Oregon National Guard said. There was no word on the fate of the pilot.
The Coast Guard sent two helicopters, two cutters and a C-130 aircraft to search for the jet about 40 miles west of Cannon Beach on the state's north coast.
The jet was from the 142nd Fighter Wing, Oregon Air National Guard and was on a training mission. It was based in Portland.
The cause of the accident was not known.
-- From wire reports