Everett, Wash.
Published: Saturday, November 15, 2008

Nation, World Briefs: Clinton, Richardson vie for secretary of state

 WASHINGTON -- President-elect Barack Obama has interviewed primary election rivals Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., and Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico for secretary of state, according to Democratic officials who revealed his secret meetings with both as he weighed the decision on folding former foes into his new administration. Obama met with Richardson Friday, a day after conferring one-on-one with Clinton at his Chicago office, said several Democratic officials. One senior Obama adviser said the president-elect has given no evidence whom he is favoring for the post.

N. Carolina: Emergency landing

An airport official says a Virgin Atlantic Airbus jet carrying nearly 350 people made an emergency landing at Wilmington International Airport after crew members felt heat coming from the plane's floor. But the airport's director said it turned out to be coming from an overheated toilet pump, not a fire. Officials said the 331 passengers and 18 crew members on the Miami-to-London flight were taken to hotels early Friday.

Alaska: Democrat takes the lead

Republican Sen. Ted Stevens, a stalwart of Alaska politics who was convicted of felony charges last month, fell further behind his Democratic rival Friday, and most remaining ballots come from parts of the state that have favored the challenger. Mark Begich, the two-term mayor of Anchorage, increased his lead from 814 votes to 1,022 as state election workers counted 17,100 ballots. Begich had 47.4 percent of the vote to Stevens' 47.0 percent.

Nebraska: Safe haven law debate

Lawmakers got to work Friday in a rare special legislative session designed to repair a unique "safe haven" law that has unintentionally allowed parents to abandon nearly three dozen children as old as 17. Even as the session to correct the law approached, a 5-year-old boy was dropped off at an Omaha hospital on Thursday night. Earlier in the day, a woman dropped off two teenagers at another Omaha hospital, but one of them, a 17-year-old girl, fled. Authorities have not found her yet.

Texas: Dogfighting ring charges

Law enforcement officials say they've cracked down on one of the nation's largest dogfighting operations. They filed charges against 55 people and seized more than 100 dogs. The Texas Department of Public Safety said Harris County fights would be staged weekly or twice a month at one of eight secluded sites. The fights were attended by crowds of up to 100 spectators who bet on the outcomes. Officials said 41 felony charges were filed.

Hawaii: Maui pot activist arrested

A Maui medical marijuana advocate and six other Valley Isle residents have been arrested and charged with running a drug trafficking ring. Maui police allege the group led by Brian Murphy of Paia exploited state medical marijuana laws to sell the drug to hundreds of people. The 53-year-old Murphy is the founder and director of Patients Without Time. Police said Thursday they seized 335 marijuana plants and clones, nearly 16 pounds of marijuana, over $14,000 in cash, and drug paraphernalia from several homes and businesses.

Mexico: Turbulence gets blame

The turbulent wake of a Boeing 767-300 likely caused the fatal crash of a government jet carrying Mexico's second most powerful official, the transportation secretary said Friday. The Learjet 45 and the commercial flight from were 4.15 nautical miles apart. International standards recommend at least five nautical miles to avoid dangerous wake turbulence -- unstable air that can make it very difficult to control a plane, especially when landing. The seven-ton Learjet would be especially vulnerable to wake turbulence produced by a 175-ton Boeing jet, he said. Wake turbulence was the most "solid theory," he said.

France: Air France pilots strike

Nearly half of Air France's flights were grounded Friday by a pilots' strike expected to last through the weekend. The carrier said that half its short- and medium-haul flights were canceled along with 40 percent of its long-haul flights. Some flights were canceled at the last minute, Air France said. Only Air France flights were affected by the walkout, which is expected to last until Monday. Pilots are protesting a plan to push the retirement age for some pilots from the current 60 to 65 starting in 2010.

China: Pirates seize Chinese boat

Somali pirates early Friday captured a Chinese fishing boat and its multinational crew, Xinhua News Agency reported. The Tianyu No. 8 was seized at about 2 a.m. Beijing time while fishing off the coast of Kenya, Xinhua said, citing a source with the Transport Ministry. The pirates ordered the crew to sail north toward the Somali coast, it said. Pirate attacks aimed at collecting ransoms are common off Somalia, which has had no functioning government since 1991. China's navy is mainly intended for coastal defense and has little experience operating away from its home ports.

From Herald news services
© 2009The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA