Pope: Church and Jews share 'inseparable bond'

AMMAN, Jordan – Pope Benedict XVI said Saturday that his visit to the Middle East was a reminder of the "inseparable bond" between theCatholic Church and the Jewish people, a relationship that has been strained at times under his leadership.

The pope spoke from Mount Nebo, the wind-swept hill overlooking the Jordan valley from where the Bible says Moses saw the Promised Land. The sun broke through the morning mist just before the pope arrived at the site on the second day of a weeklong visit to the Middle East that will also take him to Israel and the Palestinian territories.

"May our encounter today inspire in us a renewed love for the canon of sacred scripture and a desire to overcome all obstacles to the reconciliation of Christians and Jews in mutual respect and cooperation in the service of that peace to which the word of God calls us," said the German-born Benedict.

The pope sparked outrage among many Jews earlier this year when he revoked the excommunication of an ultraconservative bishop who denies the Holocaust. Benedict had lifted his excommunication along with three other ultraconservative prelates in a bid to end a church schism. But amid the uproar, the church has not allowed the bishop to resume his duties.

The pope's forceful condemnation of anti-Semitism and acknowledgment of Vatican mistakes have softened Jewish anger over the bishop. But another sore point has been World War II Pope Pius XII, whom Benedict has called a "great churchman." Jews and others say he failed to do all he could to stop the extermination of European Jews.

Despite the disputes, Jewish leaders say Benedict, who served in theHitler Youth corps as a young man in Germany and then in the army before deserting near the end of the war, has an excellent record in fighting anti-Semitism. He has already visited synagogues in Cologne, Germany, and New York and is expected at Rome's central synagoguelater this year.

The pope's visit to Mount Nebo was the first of many that Benedict will make to holy places during his first visit to the Middle East.

"The ancient tradition of pilgrimage to the holy places also reminds us of the inseparable bond between the church and the Jewish people," said Benedict. "From the beginning, the church in these lands has commemorated in her liturgy the great figures of the patriarchs and prophets, as a sign of her profound appreciation of the unity of the two testaments."

The pope has also had strained ties with Muslims that he hopes to improve during his Mideast visit. Benedict angered many in the Muslim world three years ago when he quoted a Medieval text that characterized some of Islam's Prophet Muhammad's teachings as "evil and inhuman," particularly "his command to spread by the sword the faith.

The pope expressed his "deep respect" for Islam on Friday and has said he was sorry and that the quotes did not reflect his personal views. But the comments continue to fuel criticism by some Muslims.

Jordan's hard-line Muslim Brotherhood, the country's largest opposition group, said Friday that they were boycotting the pope's visit because he did not issue a public apology ahead of time as they demanded.

Benedict is scheduled to meet with Muslim leaders Saturday at Amman's largest mosque — his second visit to a Muslim place of worship since becoming pope in 2005. Benedict's visit to Jordan is his first to an Arab country since becoming Pope.

Red Sox great Dom DiMaggio, Joe’s brother, dies

BOSTON (AP)—Dominic DiMaggio, the bespectacled Boston Red Sox center fielder who made his own mark on the major leagues despite playing in the shadow of Hall of Fame brother Joe and teammate Ted Williams, died early Friday at his Massachusetts home. He was 92.

DiMaggio died at about 1 a.m. with the Red Sox television replay of Thursday night’s game on in the background, said his son, Dominic Paul.

“He was in and out of consciousness, but he was acknowledging it. He was a Red Sox fan until the end,” his son said.

DiMaggio was surrounded by his family, according to his wife, Emily. He had been battling pneumonia, the Red Sox said in a statement.

“He was the most wonderful, warm, loving man,” his wife of 61 years said. “He adored his children, and we all adored him.”

DiMaggio was a seven-time All Star who still holds the record for the longest consecutive game hitting streak in Boston Red Sox history. Known as the “Little Professor” because of his eyeglasses and 5-foot-9, 168-pound frame, DiMaggio hit safely in 34 consecutive games in 1949.

The streak was broken on Aug. 9 when his big brother caught a sinking liner in the eighth inning of a 6-3 Red Sox win over the Yankees. Joe set the major league record with a 56-game hitting streak with the Yankees in 1941.

The Red Sox will pay tribute to DiMaggio with a moment of silence before Friday night’s home game against the Tampa Bay Rays.

The nickname was about more than just appearance, his son said. Dom DiMaggio was a mathematics whiz who was offered a scholarship to Santa Clara College. He parlayed his numbers skills into a successful post-baseball business career and loved to play the stock market.

“That was his passion,” his son said. “He’d watch the stock ticker all day and the Red Sox all night.”

The oldest of the three center field-playing DiMaggio brothers was Vince, who had a 10-year major league career with five National League teams. Vince died in October 1986, while Joe died in March 1999.

“Dad had a great deal of respect for Uncle Joe and what he did,” his son said. “But he never felt inferior. He was a competitor and a strong competitor.”

Dom DiMaggio spent his entire career with the Red Sox, 10 full seasons plus three games in 1953, and was close friends with teammates Williams, Bobby Doerr and Johnny Pesky.

“He was a great player, and most of all, a great friend,” Pesky said. “I will miss him terribly.” Doerr called him a “class guy and a great teammate.”

“His loss saddens us all, but his contributions to the glory and tradition of our ballclub will forever be etched in the annals of Red Sox history,” principal owner John Henry said in a statement.

“Dom DiMaggio was a true friend and a great person he will also be missed,” Los Angeles Dodgers manager Joe Torre said on his Twitter feed.

DiMaggio retired because he’d been relegated to the bench and didn’t want to be a part-time player, said his son, who was just 3 years old at the time.

“I remember walking out to center field with him on the day he retired. For some reason what I remember most is thinking how big the green and red ball and strike lights were on the scoreboard. But I think that was just his way of saying goodbye to Fenway.”

While Dom did not have the offensive numbers of Joe, he was generally regarded as a better defensive player with a stronger arm. The younger DiMaggio led the American League in assists three times, putouts twice and double plays twice.

He was a career .298 hitter with 87 home runs, while Joe was a .325 career hitter with 361 homers. Dom’s baseball career was interrupted for three years (1943-45) by World War II when he served in the Navy, a military obligation that may have cost him induction into the Hall of Fame, Doerr once said.

DiMaggio and Pesky “were really penalized for that, and I think it was kind of a shame in a way because when you look, they have the numbers,” Doerr said in August 2007 during an appearance at Fenway Park.

Dom played a pivotal role in Game 7 of the 1946 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, a heartbreaker for Boston fans. He batted in two runs in the eighth inning to tie the game at 3, but injured his leg while running the bases and was replaced in center field by Leon Culberson for the ninth.

It was Culberson who fielded Harry Walker’s double and threw it to Pesky during Enos Slaughter’s famous “Mad Dash” from first to home that won the series for the Cardinals.

Many argued that if DiMaggio had been in center he would have handled the play better and prevented Slaughter from scoring.

“Watching the play had been pure agony for Dominic DiMaggio…,” David Halberstam wrote in his 2003 book, “The Teammates.” “His own injury, his own pulled hamstring, Dominic now decided, had been the decisive play of the game.”

After the Red Sox finally won the World Series in 2004, their first since 1918, DiMaggio, Pesky and Doerr were on hand on opening day 2005 to raise the championship banner at Fenway Park.

After his playing career, he started a successful company that manufactured upholstery and carpeting for automobiles, which he ran until his retirement in 1983. He remained active in many charitable and civic causes, supporting medical and education institutions, and serving on the board of trustees at St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H. A scholarship for a baseball or softball player at the school is named for him.

He cared deeply for the players of his era who did not receive pensions. For years he donated all the money he made from signing autographs to the American Professional Baseball Players Association, an organization that helped support older players not covered by a retirement plan.

He also a founding partner of the Boston Patriots, now the NFL’s New England Patriots.

DiMaggio grew up in San Francisco, one of nine children born to Sicilian immigrants. His mother was a teacher and his father was a fisherman. He is survived by his wife and three children, Dominic Paul, Peter and Emily.

The Rev. Jonathan DeFelice, president of St. Anselm, has been asked to perform the funeral Mass for DiMaggio on Monday at St. Paul’s Church in Wellesley.

More than 30K ordered to flee Santa Barbara fire

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – More than 30,000 people have been ordered to flee a wildfire that burned a five-mile-long front above wealthy coastal communities by Friday, after another hot, windy night in which the fire chief said "all hell broke loose."

Towering columns of brown smoke roiled off the face of the Santa Ynez Mountains after a fierce overnight battle as the 3,500-acre blaze repeated its pattern of relative calm in daylight and explosive behavior when evening winds arrive. It had been estimated at only about 1,300 acres Thursday afternoon.

"Literally last night, all hell broke loose," Santa Barbara city Fire Chief Andrew DiMizio said. Officials predicted Friday night would bring the same destructive mix of hot weather and strong wind gusts.

It was unknown how many homes were lost overnight on top of the estimated 75 houses destroyed earlier in the week in canyon neighborhoods along the north edge of Santa Barbara. Firefighters put out roof fires and kept the blaze from spreading into Santa Barbaraproper, and many homes were saved, DiMizio said.

The blaze jumped a highway and pushed west toward neighboringGoleta and east toward tony Montecito, and evacuation orders more than doubled in less than a day.

A statement from the fire joint information center at late morning Friday estimated that more than 12,000 properties were under mandatory evacuation orders, affecting 30,500 people. It said more than 9,000 properties were under warning for potential evacuation, affecting 23,000 people.

Oscar Funez, 39, his wife, Patricia, 42, and their son, Augustin, 4, were watching the fire on television Thursday night when they noticed other tenants leaving their Santa Barbara apartment building. They packed a suitcase and fled, too.

"It's our fourth fire in Santa Barbara. We know we have to have everything — paperwork, clothes, everything — ready to go," Oscar Funez said.

The family spent the night on cots in a recreation center at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Authorities said more than 800 people were in evacuation shelters.

"Right now, if you're not evacuated in the Santa Barbara area, you are sheltering evacuees," DiMizio said.

More than 2,300 firefighters, aided by 14 air tankers and 15 helicopters, were fighting the blaze. Containment was estimated at 10 percent and the cause was under investigation.

Santa Barbara and adjacent communities, pinched between the coast on the south and the rugged mountains on the north, are subject to fierce local winds known as "sundowners" that sweep down from the slopes over this coastal city of about 90,000. In November, a wind-driven fire burned 200 houses in the area.

Santa Barbara County Fire Chief Tom Franklin predicted Friday would be a copy of Thursday's fire conditions, including low humidity and winds gusting to 50 mph or more.

Highs could hover around 100 degrees. A National Weather Service "red flag" forecast for extreme fire conditions continued.

The fire was burning along steep slopes in brush that is unusually dry so early in the fire season, Franklin said.

When the wind isn't blowing, the fire is being driven by terrain, authorities said.

Officials requested a DC-10 jumbo jet tanker capable of carrying much larger loads of retardant or water than helicopters or other aircraft, said assistant incident commander Kelley Gouette of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Officials said 11 firefighters had been injured to date, including three who were burned in a firestorm Wednesday.

They were reported in good condition at a Los Angeles burn center, but two will need skin grafts and surgery. Other injuries ranged from smoke inhalation to sprained ankles.

___

Associated Press writer Jeff Wilson contributed to this report.

Southwest Airlines Now Taking Passengers To Destinations By Shuttle Bus

Lynyrd Skynyrd bassist 'Ean' Evans dead at 48

COLUMBUS, Miss. – Bassist Donald "Ean" Evans of the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd has died after a battle with cancer.

Lowndes County Coroner Greg Merchant said Evans died Wednesday at his home in eastern Mississippi. He was 48.

In a statement posted on lynyrdskynyrd.com the band said, "It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of longtime Lynyrd Skynyrd bassist Ean Evans. Ean put up a valiant battle with an aggressive form of cancer and he will be sorely missed by family, friends and fans."

Evans was born in Atlanta, but moved to Columbus after marrying his wife, Eva. He joined Lynyrd Skynyrd in 2001 and had been touring regularly with the band until being diagnosed with cancer in 2008, when he cut back on performances with the band.

Survivors include his wife and two daughters.

Funeral arrangements are incomplete.

"He was just one of those guys who was always a dreamer and always seeing ahead. And he was the most positive person I've ever met," Mike Chain, a guitarist who was close friends with Evans, told The Commercial Dispatch in Columbus, Miss.

The Jacksonville-based band was formed in 1966 by a group of high school students — famously, it took its name from a physical education teacher they disliked, Leonard Skinner.

They released their first album, "Pronounced leh-nerd skin-nerd." It became one of the South's most popular rock groups and gained national fame with such hits as "Free Bird," "What's Your Name" and especially "Sweet Home Alabama," which reached the top 10 on the charts in 1974. The band was inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006.

The band suffered a tragic loss on Oct. 20, 1977, when their chartered plane crashed in a swamp near McComb, Miss. The crash claimed the lives of six people, including lead singer Ronnie Van Zant. Keyboard player Billy Powell survived the plane crash that killed three band members. He died in January.

In 2001, bassist Leon Wilkeson died in his sleep in a hotel room near Jacksonville, Fla., and Chain said he was with Evans the night he got hired by the band.

"We were spending New Year's Eve together when this Skynyrd thing was happening," Chain said. "It didn't look like it was going to happen. But he just set his feet in the ground ... and was ready to stand up and fly to the moon. And he did."

Police Suspect in Conn. college killing arrested

MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – A man who Connecticut police say sparked two fearful days at a university by killing a student and threatening a campus shooting spree surrendered Thursday night after seeing his photo in a newspaper.

Stephen P. Morgan, 29, was taken into custody about 9:15 p.m. after stopping at a Cumberland Farms convenience store in Meriden, about 10 miles from the Wesleyan University campus.

Clerk Sonia Rodriguez told The Associated Press that she didn't recognize Morgan when he came in and scanned the newspapers. He asked to use the phone but had trouble dialing, so he asked Rodriguez to dial the police department for him.

After he finished his call, Morgan walked outside to wait for police, Rodriguez said. She didn't realize there was anything wrong until several officers arrived and threw Morgan to the ground to arrest him.

When police told Rodriguez that Morgan was wanted for Wednesday's fatal shooting of 21-year-old Johanna Justin-Jinich in Middletown, "I got nervous and I started crying," she said. "I just got very, very scared."

Morgan is being held on $10 million bond and is due in court Friday morning.

Justin-Jinich was shot several times inside a bookstore cafe just off campus by a gunman wearing a wig. Authorities have said Morgan and Justin-Jinich have known each other since at least 2007, when Justin-Jinich filed a harassment complaint against him while they were enrolled in a summer class at New York University.

An official with knowledge of the investigation told The AP that police stopped Morgan shortly after the shooting, spoke to him and let him go, only to later realize he was a suspect.

When police confiscated Morgan's car they found a journal in which he spelled out a plan to rape and kill Justin-Jinich before going on a campus shooting spree, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the case is under investigation.

Wesleyan officials said that police told them that Morgan targeted Wesleyan students and Jews in his journals. Justin-Jinich, of Timnath, Colo., came from a Jewish family, and her grandmother was a Holocaust survivor.

Morgan's brother Greg told the AP that Morgan wasn't anti-Semitic. His family issued a statement pleading with Morgan to turn himself in "to avoid any further bloodshed."

Greg Morgan did not immediately return calls placed by The Associated Press after police announced the arrest. There was no answer at the home of Morgan's father.

A woman answering the phone for Justin-Jinich's father said the family had no comment Thursday night on Morgan's arrest. She would not identify herself.

Apparently applying the lessons of Virginia Tech, police and administrators locked down the 3,000-student campus and stepped up patrols as authorities launched a hunt for the killer.

"We are all breathing a little easier with this news," Wesleyan President Michael Roth said Thursday night.

Wesleyan officials had told students to stay indoors and staff members to stay home. Most buildings on campus, including cafeterias and the library, were locked Thursday. Normally bustling sidewalks were empty, and police cruisers patrolled the campus of the elite liberal arts school.

In dorms, students in flip-flops, gym shorts and pajama pants shuffled downstairs to pick up box lunches.

Brenna Galvin, a sophomore from Amherst, N.H., said her family was considering bringing her home. "It's hard to know what to do," she said. "Really, we're just trying to keep in touch with people at home."

The university's Usdan Center was opened briefly Thursday night so students could have dinner, but they were asked to return to their dormitories by nightfall. Officials planned to open the university library on Friday and start returning the campus to a normal schedule.

Middletown's only synagogue, Congregation Adath Israel, across the street from the bookstore, was closed Thursday and congregants were considering canceling Sabbath services Friday night and Saturday.

"It was a no-brainer to close the building until we knew more information," synagogue president Eliot Meadow said.

On Thursday afternoon, police got an arrest warrant charging Morgan with murder.

The shooting stirred memories of the Virginia Tech shootings, in which a deranged student killed 32 people and himself. A panel that investigated the 2007 massacre said university officials erred by not acting more quickly to warn students. Police had mistakenly concluded that the first two victims were shot as a result of a boyfriend-girlfriend dispute.

Sebastian Giuliano, mayor of Middletown, a city of 48,000, immediately thought of that tragedy as he saw five police cars race by Wednesday. "Don't tell me it's another Virginia Tech situation," he said.

The shooting occurred early Wednesday afternoon as several hundred students gathered for a concert held annually to allow students to blow off steam before finals. Police and university administrators moved everyone indoors and canceled the concert.

Police gave the all-clear late Wednesday afternoon and said there was no danger, but did an about-face two hours later, warning students to take immediate shelter.

Police said evidence uncovered at the scene prompted the renewed warnings, but they offered no details. Later Wednesday, they released a surveillance photo of the gunman and said they were looking for Morgan, a former Navy man who university authorities said had no connection to Wesleyan.

"Everything we did was based on information we received from Middletown police," Wesleyan spokesman David Pesci said.

There was more confusion when the university posted a photograph purportedly of Morgan on its Web site, only to use a photo of another man. It was replaced Thursday afternoon by two images supplied by police.

The last day of classes for the year was Tuesday. Final exams are scheduled to begin on Monday.

Morgan and Justin-Jinich had known each other at least since 2007. Police records show she filed a harassment complaint against Morgan when they were enrolled in the same six-week program at New York University. In a complaint filed in July 2007, Justin-Jinich said Morgan called her repeatedly and sent her insulting e-mails.

One of the e-mails warned: "You're going to have a lot more problems down the road if you can't take any (expletive) criticism, Johanna."

Both were interviewed by university police, but Justin-Jinich decided not to press charges.

In a statement read to reporters outside his parents' Marblehead, Mass., home, the Morgans said they were "shocked and sickened by the tragedy" and extended their condolences to the victim's family.

They added: "Steve, turn yourself in right now to any law enforcement agency wherever you are to avoid any further bloodshed. We love you. We will support you in every way and we don't want anyone else to get hurt."

Penny Wigglesworth, who lives in the same upper-middle-class neighborhood, called them a "model family" and described Morgan as pleasant and polite.

Justin-Jinich would have graduated next year from Wesleyan. She was a 2006 graduate of the Westtown School, a Quaker boarding school outside Philadelphia.

"It's just a tragic irony that her grandmother would survive the Holocaust and she would be gunned down in a bookstore," said Eric Mayer, a religion teacher at Westtown School who was her academic adviser.

Wesleyan officials said a memorial vigil for Justin-Jinich will be at 1 p.m. Friday in a campus courtyard.

___

Christoffersen reported from New Haven. Associated Press reporters Colleen Long in New York, Dave Collins in Hartford, Jay Lindsay in Marblehead, Mass., Patrick Walters in Philadelphia, Devlin Barrett in Washington and AP researcher Rhonda Shafner contributed to this report.

One of the last "Wizard of Oz" Munchkins Dies

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Mickey Carroll, one of the last surviving diminutive "Munchkins" in the 1939 movie "The Wizard of Oz," died of natural causes on Thursday in Missouri at age 89, a newspaper reported.

Carroll, who stopped growing at a young age, was an entertainer early in life and befriended actress Judy Garland, leading to a role alongside her in classic "The Wizard of Oz," the St. Louis Post-Dispatchreported.

He was a violin-playing Munchkin "Town Crier" in the movie, dressed in purple with a yellow flower in his vest. There were dozens of Munchkins in all.

In 2007, Carroll and a few other surviving Munchkins attended a ceremony to dedicate a Munchkin star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Born to Italian immigrants in 1919, Carroll's given name was Michael Finocchiaro, the Post-Dispatch reported. He died at a caretaker's home in Crestwood, Missouri, and he lived in the state nearly his entire life, the newspaper said.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis: Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Shirtless Biden Washes Trans Am In White House Driveway

Drew Peterson indicted in 3rd wife's death

LOCKPORT, Ill. – Authorities say former Illinois police sergeant Drew Peterson is being held on $20 million bond and faces two counts of murder in his third wife's death. Illinois State Police Captain Carl Dobrich says the 55-year-old Bolingbrook man was processed and transferred to the Will County Adult Detention Facility in Joliet.

Dobrich says officials have tracked more than 1,100 leads in Savio's death and the disappearance of Stacy Peterson, Drew Peterson's missing fourth wife.

The body of Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio, was found in an empty bathtub. Her death originally was ruled an accidental drowning, but authorities later said it was a homicide staged to look like an accident.

Stacy Peterson disappeared in October 2007.

Report: 5,335 students dead/missing in China quake

By AUDRA ANG, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 37 mins ago

BEIJING – China on Thursday released its first official tally of students who died or went missing in last year's Sichuan earthquake — 5,335 — but denied allegations of corruption and shoddy construction — a politically charged issue that has been an enduring source of grief to parents.

Tu Wentao, head of the Sichuan's provincial education department, said 5,335 schoolchildren died or went missing in the massive May 12 quake, and another 546 have been certified as disabled from injuries they sustained.

"The numbers have gone through several checks by our department," said Tu, whose remarks at a press conference in Sichuan's capital,Chengdu, were carried on a provincial government news Web site.

No reason was given for the release of the figures on Thursday — days before the one-year anniversary of the disaster, which left nearly 90,000 people dead or missing and another 5 million homeless. But some say it could be a sign that the government is attempting to stem ongoing discontent.

Authorities began a count of victims within hours after the magnitude-7.9 temblor razed a major section of the mountainous province. But they have refused until now to say how many students were killed, many of them crushed when thousands of classrooms collapsed while other buildings around them remained intact.

Officials have said that compiling and confirming the names of the students was a complicated process, and blame the sheer force of the quake as the main cause of the number of flattened schools.

"According to our investigations and samples we have taken, we have not found any case of buildings that collapsed in the earthquake zone mainly because of construction quality," Yang Hongbo, head of Sichuan's construction department, said at the news conference.

He said "once there is concrete evidence to prove that problems exist in building designs and construction, relevant departments will investigate according to law."

But parents insist the schools crumbled so easily because corruption and mismanagement led to slipshod construction methods and weak buildings that were not up to code. Some say materials meant for school construction projects were sold on the side by contractors for personal gain.

So far no one has been held responsible or punished.

The childrens' deaths have sparked national outrage and have fueled unrest among parents. Many have petitioned and protested, only to be detained or warned against speaking out. Activists sympathetic to their cause have been harassed or taken away by police.

Si-si Liu, a Hong Kong researcher with Amnesty International, said the rights group welcomed the release of the new figures, but added that fundamental questions such as why so many schools collapsed have not been answered.

"We hope that the government will make public, explain to the public what efforts they have made and what's the progress of the investigation," Liu said. "They need to be a government that is accountable to its people. Authorities have to make these efforts transparent."

The London-based group released a report last week chronicling instances in which dozens of parents were questioned or detained by police while seeking answers from courts and local officials.

Grieving parents took little solace and were skeptical of the toll.

"Announcing the numbers won't bring us any consolation," said Liu Xiaobin, whose 11-year-old son was killed when the three-story Fuxin No. 2 Primary School sank into the ground and the rest of the neighborhood remained standing.

"We want the government to investigate the situation at the schools ... or we will petition again because that is our legal right," said Liu, who traveled to Beijing last week to take his case to the central government — only to be sent home by local officials.

Ai Weiwei, an avant garde artist and high-profile critic of Beijing's policies, said Thursday's disclosure was an empty gesture.

"There's no significance to this announcement because it didn't give any names or any other information on where they died, which schools or which classes they were in," Ai said in a telephone interview. "This is nonsense."

In his blog, Ai has confirmed almost 5,000 student names and estimates that the toll could reach 8,000. At least 20 of his helpers have been detained by local authorities, he said.

Tan Zuoren, another activist who conducted his own investigation into 64 schools in the quake zone, estimated that more than 5,600 students died or were missing. Tan, who has since been detained on suspicion of subversion, said that number was incomplete.

In Beichuan, a valley town so shattered it is being rebuilt in a new location, Liang Sifa insists "the government's number is definitely smaller than the actual figure."

"In Beichuan Middle School alone, the estimated student deaths are about 2,000," said Liang, whose 18-year-old son was killed in a school collapse. "I feel uneasy because the government is still lying."

Maine to allow same-sex marriage

Gay marriage is to be permitted in the US state of Maine after a bill was passed by both houses of the state's legislature and signed by the governor.

Maine will be the fifth US state to allow gay marriage, after Connecticut, Masschusettes, Iowa and Vermont.

A number of other states, including New Hampshire and New York, are also due to consider proposals to legalise it.

Earlier this week, Washington DC's city council passed a law to recognise gay marriages performed in other states.

'Careful decision'

The issue is a controversial topic in the US, and many states have passed bills and constitutional amendments banning gay marriage.

But in the north-eastern US, momentum has begun to favour supporters of gay marriage.

I did not come to this decision lightly or in haste  John Baldacci Maine governor

Maine's lower house approved the gay marriage bill by 89 votes to 57, and the state senate voted 21-13 in favour.

Maine's governor, Democrat John Baldacci, had previously been opposed to gay marriage, but changed his mind when faced with the bill.

"I have read many of the notes and letters sent to my office, and I have weighed my decision carefully," he said in a statement.

"I did not come to this decision lightly or in haste."

New Hampshire's governor is set to face a similar decision shortly.

Both houses of the state's legislature have approved a bill granting gay couples the right to marry.

In California, a similar bill was passed in 2005, but was blocked by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Last year, California voters backed a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage in a referendum, although the constitutionality of the vote is still being fought over in court.

Mindless Banter AKA Updates!

Syndicate is now allowed to use content from hulu.com. Receive in-depth details from Dino and he is also looking for producers who will be able to stream the movies, television shows and documentaries that are offered on the site. If you would like to be apart of this please contact the head lawn nigger in charge at Dino@syndicateradio.tv

Death toll from Brazil floods increase to 30

By CAROLINA ESCALERA, Associated Press Writer – 14 mins ago

SAO PAULO – Authorities struggled Wednesday to reach dozens of small cities in northern Brazil after floods and mudslides washed out roads and highways. The death toll from the flooding rose to at least 30 people.

Months of heavy rains extending from the Amazon jungle to the Atlantic coast have dislodged nearly 200,000 people from their homes and stranded thousands more in 10 states, according to civil defense officials.

"We are having difficulties getting help to people because many roads have been swept away with the floods," said Abner Ferreira, the civil defense official in the hardest-hit state, Maranhao, where at least eight people have died. Ferreira said at least six highways were shut down.

"We have two helicopters from the air force," Ferreira said. "We are using trucks and boats to get people help."

Television footage showed the rooftops of houses poking out of water in flooded towns and people using boats to move around.

Brazilian army Lt. Ivar Araujo said the water level of a river in one of the most affected regions in Maranhao has been rising about 1 foot (30 centimeters) per day. He said two bridges have been destroyed.

"There are some places that the water is so high that not even a boat can get to people," Araujo said. "Some people don't want to leave their homes but the houses have at least a meter and a half (5 feet) of water or more."

Araujo said the Brazilian army has sent more than 500 soldiers to aid the victims over the past two weeks. He said shelters are full, including a school holding more than 1,000 people.

"I didn't have time to get my things from the house," Francisca Antonia Gomes told Globo's G1 Web site in the state of Piaui. "I lost everything."

The flooding forced owners to close their shops and classes have been canceled in many schools in the affected areas.

"In only three hours it rained as much as we are used to seeing in two months," Odileida Sampaio, the mayor of the Para state city of Altamira, was quoted by the official Agencia Brasil news agency as saying. "It's a complicated situation that is affecting mainly the poor and the business owners."

The rains also interrupted the transfer of iron ore from the Carajas mine. Iron ore, the main ingredient in steel, is shipped overseas from Sao Luis, the state capital of Maranhao. The railway also transports 1,300 people per day. Vale is the world's second-largest mining company and the planet's biggest iron ore producer.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva flew over the hardest-hit areas on Tuesday, delivering food baskets to shelters and meeting with local officials. Silva promised aid to repair infrastructure, while voicing concerns that global climate change could be responsible for the unusually heavy rains and destruction.

Floods and mudslides late last year in the southern state of Santa Catarina killed more than 100 people, displaced 80,000 and set off a round of brutal looting in a devastated port city by people desperate for drinking water and food.

More rain is expected in the north in coming weeks, officials said.

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Associated Press Writer Tales Azzoni contributed to this repor

Relatives grieve for Texas woman with flu who died

By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN, Associated Press Writer – Wed May 6, 8:38 am ET

HARLINGEN, Texas – This week should have been a joyous time for Judy Trunnell, a 33-year-old schoolteacher who had just given birth to a healthy baby girl.

But the friends and relatives whose cars lined the quiet street in front of her home in a quiet subdivision Tuesday instead were mourning her, the first American with swine flu to die.

"We're grieving now," said a woman with tear-streaked eyes who declined to give her name.

In Maryland, her cousin told WMAR-TV in Baltimore that Trunnell had died after spending two weeks in the hospital. She slipped into a coma, and her baby was delivered by Cesarean section, Mario Zamora said.

"She was just a beautiful person, warm at heart. She worked withdisabled children as a teacher," Zamora said. "Those that knew her will always remember her."

Texas health officials stopped short of saying that swine flu caused Trunnell's death. State health department spokeswoman Carrie Williams said the schoolteacher had "chronic underlying health conditions" but wouldn't give any more details.

She died early Tuesday after being hospitalized since April 19, said Leonel Lopez, Cameron County epidemiologist.

Trunnell's death came as life in the areas hardest hit by the outbreak began returning to normal. In Mexico, where the current strain is thought to have originated, stores, restaurants and factories were officially allowed to reopen Tuesday. And U.S. health officials withdrew their recommendation that schools with suspected swine flu cases shut down for two weeks.

The only other swine flu death in the U.S. was that of a Mexico City toddler who also had other health problems and had been visiting relatives in Brownsville, near Harlingen. He died last week at a Houston children's hospital.

There have been 29 other confirmed swine flu deaths, all in Mexico. Hundreds of cases of the disease have been confirmed in several countries, but mostly in Mexico and the U.S.

Trunnell was from Harlingen, a city of about 63,000 near the U.S.-Mexico border, and taught in the Mercedes Independent School District about 15 miles west of her hometown.

She was first seen by a physician April 14 and was hospitalized on the April 19. Zamora said she had complained of difficulty breathing and was put on life support.

Doctors knew she had a flu when she came in, but did not know what kind, Lopez said. The area is undergoing a Type A influenza epidemic right now, and swine flu is one variety of that, he said. She was confirmed to have swine flu shortly before she died, he said.

Dr. Joseph McCormick, regional dean of the University of Texas School of Public Health's Brownsville campus, said the woman was extremely ill when she was hospitalized.

Mercedes school district officials announced that it would close its schools for the rest of the week and reopen Monday.

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Associated Press writers Alicia A. Caldwell in El Paso and Jamie Stengle in Dallas contributed to this report.