ST. PAUL, Minn. — Health officials said the death of a Minnesota woman has been linked to the nationwide salmonella outbreak and now the infection may have contributed to seven deaths. Officials said the woman was in her 80s and lived at a long-term car facility. Most of the other deaths that salmonella may have contributed to also involved the elderly. Their exact causes of death haven’t been determined, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the salmonella may have played a role. Almost 500 people have been sickened in the outbreak.
D.C.: Recovered engine damaged
The battered, dented left engine of the US Airways jetliner that landed in the Hudson River shows evidence of hitting a soft body, federal safety investigators said Saturday night. But no evidence of organic material was detected in a visual inspection by National Transportation Safety Board investigators after the engine was finally pulled 65 feet from the river bottom on Friday. The safety board said the left engine had dents on its inlet lip and broken and missing guide vanes. The pilot reported the plane hit a flock of birds shortly after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport which shut down both his engines.
Obama’s approval ratings strong
Barack Obama is enjoying about a two-thirds approval rating for his first days as president, a poll released Saturday found. The Gallup Organization survey found 68 percent of Americans approve of Obama’s performance as the nation’s chief executive. That’s a number near the high end for new presidents, but short of President John F. Kennedy’s 72 percent in 1961.
Texas: Officials warn of fire danger
Officials warned of a continuing fire threat created by high wind and dry weather Saturday across Texas, where wildfires have destroyed six houses, killed a man and blackened more than 4,500 acres of grassland. A spokesman for the Texas Forest Service said the low humidity and extremely high wind were creating hazardous conditions in south-central Texas and the Hill Country. “We’re critically dry across the state,” he said.
Girl playing on tracks loses leg
Authorities in Texas say an 11-year-old girl was run over by a train that severed one of her legs and seriously injured the other. Officers said the accident happened when the girl was playing with friends on railroad tracks behind their homes east of Houston on Friday. Officers said the children would grab the side of a slow-moving railroad car and let it pull them along. They said the girl slipped and fell under the train.
Michigan: Charged in mom’s death
A man accused of allowing his 73-year-old mother to die of malnutrition and dehydration while he spent her pension checks has been charged with murder. Christopher Mukdsi, 50, of Flint Township, was arraigned Friday on felony murder and second-degree vulnerable adult abuse in the death of Katherine Mukdsi on June 3. Prosecutors said the 5-foot-4 woman weighed 63 pounds when she died, and her son washed her body with an outdoor hose and dressed her in a clean nightgown before calling 911. He was denied bond and is being held in the Genesee County Jail.
Indiana: Litter crew finds $100,000
Three state highway workers cleaning up litter near Mount Comfort picked up an abandoned tire — and found about $100,000 inside. Indiana state police suspect the cash, in denominations of $5 to $100, — may be drug money. A spokesman said a drug-sniffing dog found the scent of drugs on the bills. Detective Sgt. Keith O’Donnell commended the workers for their “honesty and professionalism” in contacting police.
China: Bird flu kills woman, 31
A woman in China’s far west has died from the H5N1 strain of bird flu, the Health Ministry said Saturday, the country’s fourth death from the virus this year. The victim, a 31-year-old woman from Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang region, had been to a live poultry market before she fell ill on Jan. 10, Xinhua News Agency reported. She died Friday.
Vatican: Abortion decision assailed
Vatican officials said Saturday they were disappointed by President Barack Obama’s decision to end a ban on federal funding for international groups that perform abortions or provide information on them. Monsignor Rino Fisichella, who heads the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy for Life, urged Obama to listen to all voices in America without “the arrogance of those who, being in power, believe they can decide of life and death.” Obama signed an executive order that ended the ban on Friday.
Somalia: Pirates release tanker
Somali pirates have freed a Liberian-flagged chemical tanker and its 28 crew members, a diplomat said Saturday. The MT Biscaglia was released in the early hours of Friday, the diplomat said. He said he did not know whether a ransom had been paid. The ship was seized in the Gulf of Aden on Nov. 28 with 25 Indians and 3 Bangladeshis on board.
From Herald news services
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