Published: Saturday, November 7, 2009
Nation, World Briefs: 11 million new doses of swine flu vaccine
ATLANTA — More than 38 million doses of vaccine against pandemic H1N1 influenza are now available, 11 million more than were available last week and double the number available two weeks ago, officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday. Another 8 million doses are expected to arrive next week “if everything goes well,” said THE director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. “That is progress. ... As supplies increase, things should go better.” Widespread influenza activity is being seen in 48 states “and virtually everything is H1N1,” she noted.
Louisiana: Probe of ACORN
Investigators are searching the New Orleans offices of the activist group ACORN in connection with embezzlement and tax fraud allegations. Assistant Attorney General David Caldwell said a warrant was obtained to seize computers, hard drives and other documents Friday. Caldwell said investigators will copy records and hard drives, then return them to the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. He said the allegations of embezzlement were made last year by ACORN board members who were fired after they asked to look at the group’s books.
New York: 777 part falls off
An engine tailcone fell off a Delta Air Lines jet shortly after takeoff Thursday and plummeted thousands of feet before landing harmlessly on a lawn in a Long Island residential neighborhood. Apparently, neither the pilots nor anyone on the ground immediately noticed the mishap when it happened. The aircraft, a Boeing 777, doesn’t need the part to fly and carried on safely to its destination, Tokyo, aviation officials said. The 20-pound cone, measuring 4 feet long and 3 feet in diameter at its widest spot was big enough to kill someone if it hit them from a great height.
Sentence for mom in freezer
An upstate man has been sentenced to six months in jail for hiding his dead 98-year-old mother in a freezer and cashing her Social Security checks. Rosland Auslander stuffed Herta Auslander’s body in the freezer at their home in Cooks Falls after she died of natural causes. He then cashed her checks for at least 18 months. Police found the body in October 2008. Auslander pleaded guilty in July to grand larceny and forgery charges.
California: Cat declawing
The Los Angeles City Council has given preliminary approval to an ordinance that would ban the declawing of cats. The unanimous vote Friday follows a similar action by the Beverly Hills City Council a day earlier. A final vote in both cities is expected Nov. 17. Council members described the procedure as unnecessary and abject animal cruelty. The cities of Santa Monica and San Francisco also have given preliminary approval to declawing bans.
Arizona: White House tree
An 85-foot blue spruce soon will embark on a long journey from the mountains of northeastern Arizona to Washington, D.C., to stand as the Capitol Christmas tree. The 7,000-pound tree is taller than a 7-story building and will be harvested today. From Alpine, it will go on a statewide tour before arriving on Capitol Hill on Nov. 30. This is the first year that the Capitol Christmas tree will come from Arizona.
Canada: Out of Afghanistan
Canada has begun preparations to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan in 2011. A spokeswoman said Friday that the chief of defense staff has ordered preparations to get under way that would see Canada’s 2,800 troops removed from southern Afghanistan in the summer of 2011. Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government has said it will not extend Canada’s military mission even if President Barack Obama asks. Since 2002, 133 Canadian soldiers and one diplomat have died. Parliament has mandated that the military mission must end in 2011.
France: Driver takes millions
French police conducted a nationwide search Friday for a security driver who vanished with about $7.4 million in cash from a bank in Lyon, authorities said. A Lyon prosecutor said the 39-year-old suspect appeared to have acted alone and prepared his escape in advance. Police were on the lookout at major airports Friday as well as border points for the suspect, a single man with no children. While his coworkers were inside another bank, the driver made off with the cash. The stolen money was new bills and investigators have no record of the numbers which could make it easier to disperse them, the prosecutor said.
From Herald news services
Louisiana: Probe of ACORN
Investigators are searching the New Orleans offices of the activist group ACORN in connection with embezzlement and tax fraud allegations. Assistant Attorney General David Caldwell said a warrant was obtained to seize computers, hard drives and other documents Friday. Caldwell said investigators will copy records and hard drives, then return them to the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. He said the allegations of embezzlement were made last year by ACORN board members who were fired after they asked to look at the group’s books.
New York: 777 part falls off
An engine tailcone fell off a Delta Air Lines jet shortly after takeoff Thursday and plummeted thousands of feet before landing harmlessly on a lawn in a Long Island residential neighborhood. Apparently, neither the pilots nor anyone on the ground immediately noticed the mishap when it happened. The aircraft, a Boeing 777, doesn’t need the part to fly and carried on safely to its destination, Tokyo, aviation officials said. The 20-pound cone, measuring 4 feet long and 3 feet in diameter at its widest spot was big enough to kill someone if it hit them from a great height.
Sentence for mom in freezer
An upstate man has been sentenced to six months in jail for hiding his dead 98-year-old mother in a freezer and cashing her Social Security checks. Rosland Auslander stuffed Herta Auslander’s body in the freezer at their home in Cooks Falls after she died of natural causes. He then cashed her checks for at least 18 months. Police found the body in October 2008. Auslander pleaded guilty in July to grand larceny and forgery charges.
California: Cat declawing
The Los Angeles City Council has given preliminary approval to an ordinance that would ban the declawing of cats. The unanimous vote Friday follows a similar action by the Beverly Hills City Council a day earlier. A final vote in both cities is expected Nov. 17. Council members described the procedure as unnecessary and abject animal cruelty. The cities of Santa Monica and San Francisco also have given preliminary approval to declawing bans.
Arizona: White House tree
An 85-foot blue spruce soon will embark on a long journey from the mountains of northeastern Arizona to Washington, D.C., to stand as the Capitol Christmas tree. The 7,000-pound tree is taller than a 7-story building and will be harvested today. From Alpine, it will go on a statewide tour before arriving on Capitol Hill on Nov. 30. This is the first year that the Capitol Christmas tree will come from Arizona.
Canada: Out of Afghanistan
Canada has begun preparations to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan in 2011. A spokeswoman said Friday that the chief of defense staff has ordered preparations to get under way that would see Canada’s 2,800 troops removed from southern Afghanistan in the summer of 2011. Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government has said it will not extend Canada’s military mission even if President Barack Obama asks. Since 2002, 133 Canadian soldiers and one diplomat have died. Parliament has mandated that the military mission must end in 2011.
France: Driver takes millions
French police conducted a nationwide search Friday for a security driver who vanished with about $7.4 million in cash from a bank in Lyon, authorities said. A Lyon prosecutor said the 39-year-old suspect appeared to have acted alone and prepared his escape in advance. Police were on the lookout at major airports Friday as well as border points for the suspect, a single man with no children. While his coworkers were inside another bank, the driver made off with the cash. The stolen money was new bills and investigators have no record of the numbers which could make it easier to disperse them, the prosecutor said.
From Herald news services
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