Everett, Wash.
Published: Thursday, June 25, 2009

Nation, World Briefs: Problems found on D.C. Metro tracks

 WASHINGTON -- Investigators are looking more closely at a stretch of track near the site of a deadly Metro commuter train crash after finding abnormalities Wednesday in equipment that senses trains and transmits speed commands. Equipment along a 740-foot stretch of track failed to recognize a device that simulates the presence of a train during the tests, said the National Transportation Safety Board, which is leading the investigation into the crash that killed nine people. Five other stretches of track, or circuits, near the Maryland state line showed no problems.

Group cites ethics problems

A watchdog group alleged Wednesday that Sen. John Ensign violated the Senate's ethics rules by engaging in an affair with a campaign aide who was married to his administrative assistant, then terminating their employment. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington also said Ensign, R-Nev., violated ethics and campaign finance rules by failing to report a severance payment to the woman as an in-kind contribution from his campaign or leadership political action committee. Ensign acknowledged last week that he had a consensual affair with the staffer from December 2007 through August 2008. A director of the group said the ethics committee needs to investigate whether sexual harassment had occurred.

New York: Water on moon

Scientists have found new evidence that one of Saturn's moons has an ocean beneath its surface. That's important because liquid water is a key ingredient for life. The moon is an icy body called Enceladus. It gives off huge plumes of water vapor and ice grains, and scientists used the Cassini spacecraft to sample material from those jets. They found particles containing sodium salts, which indicates that the plumes arise from liquid water.

Michigan: Ecstasy sentence

A Canadian man who tried to drive nearly 200 pounds of the drug Ecstasy, worth an estimated $6.5 million, into the United States has been sentenced to 71/2 years in prison. A federal judge in Detroit sentenced Joseph Bennett of Scarborough, Ontario, on Wednesday. Bennett had pleaded guilty March 9 to charges of importing Ecstasy and possession with intent to deliver. Authorities said Bennett was arrested last year at a bridge in Port Huron.

Georgia: Fewer rabies shots

People exposed to rabies need only four vaccinations, not the five currently recommended, a vaccine advisory committee said Wednesday. In the past, rabies shots were dreaded almost as much as the disease itself. Until the 1970s, an encounter with a rabid animal led to at least 14 shots in the abdomen. But vaccines have improved, and five shots in the arm or thigh have been the U.S. standard for more than 20 years. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted unanimously that four shots -- all given within the first 14 days after exposure to rabies -- are sufficient.

Ohio: Squad explodes pickles

An airport summoned a bomb squad to detonate a suspicious item that turned out to be pickled mangoes. X-ray equipment used by security screeners in Columbus could not detect what was inside a sealed canister in luggage being inspected around 7 p.m. Tuesday. The container was labeled "baby food," but authorities said security personnel became suspicious when the woman who owned the suitcase claimed the canister held pickles. The bomb squad detonated the item, discovering the mangoes.

Indonesia: Elephants killed

At least 15 endangered Sumatran elephants have been shot or poisoned to death with cyanide-laced fruit this year in Indonesia, marking a sharp rise over the previous year, a government official said Wednesday. The giant mammals were mostly killed by poachers for their ivory, a conservation director at the Forest Ministry said. The number killed in the past six months is equal to the total for the whole of 2008, he said.

India: Bus plunge kills 25

A passenger bus plunged into a gorge early Wednesday, killing at least 25 people. An additional 40 people were injured in the accident near Panthal, a town about 30 miles north of Jammu in Jammu-Kashmir state, a police official said. He said the bus plunged 200 feet into the gorge after the driver lost control while negotiating a steep turn on a mountainous road. The injured were taken to a government hospital.

From Herald news services
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