Nation, World Briefs: Spring storm spurs pileups on highway
Published 9:29 pm Thursday, March 26, 2009
DENVER — A major spring snowstorm dumped more than a foot of snow across the Colorado-Wyoming state line on Thursday, canceling hundreds of flights, shutting down schools and making roads treacherous. At least 15 people were treated at Cheyenne Regional Medical Center for injuries from three pileups involving about 50 vehicles on Interstate 25 just south of the state line, a hospital spokeswoman said. The crashes led Colorado officials to close more than 40 miles of the road south of Cheyenne and a 45-mile stretch between Pueblo and Walsenburg. Forecasters predicted up to 2 feet of snow south and east of Denver by today and up to 15 inches in the city itself.
Massachusetts: Last Monitor
As the final daily issue of the 100-year-old Christian Science Monitor was put to bed Thursday, the newspaper was planning its rebirth as a spruced-up weekly. Meanwhile, the Monitor’s free Web site, www.csmonitor.com, will get more frequent updates from dozens of its reporters, who will be expected to quickly post material to the site and take video and gather audio. The editor hopes these changes will help the seven-time Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper boost its $12.5 million in annual revenue, even with the recession.
California: Tire pressure rule
Officials have decided to require auto repair shops to check tire pressure, a move they say will save millions of gallons of gasoline. The state Air Resources Board on Thursday adopted a resolution requiring repair shops to check tire pressure whenever they perform maintenance, oil changes and smog tests, beginning in July 2010. The U.S. Department of Energy has estimated that proper tire inflation can boost gas mileage by about 3.3 percent.
Pennsylvania: Sense of smell
Police officers who lose their sense of smell also risk losing their jobs, a state appeals court ruled Thursday. A suburban Pittsburgh township had the right to terminate Officer David Agostino after he lost his sense of smell in an off-duty motorcycle accident, because officers must be able to detect drugs, alcohol, hazardous materials, natural gas and other substances, the Commonwealth Court panel ruled.
New Jersey: MySpace porn
A 14-year-old New Jersey girl has been accused of child pornography after posting nearly 30 explicit nude pictures of herself on MySpace.com — charges that could force her to register as a sex offender if convicted. Legal experts could not recall another case of a child porn charge resulting from a teen’s posting to a social networking site. If convicted of the distribution charge, she would be forced to register with the state as a sex offender under Megan’s Law, the state attorney general said. She also could face up to 17 years in jail.
Wisconsin: 3 DUIs in 3 days
A Washington state woman arrested for drunken driving three times in three days while vacationing in Wisconsin has been sentenced to a month in jail. Jo A. Trilling, 60, of Spokane, was arrested on March 11, 2008. She had a blood-alcohol level of 0.21, authorities said. Twenty-four hours later, she was arrested after her car got stuck in snow in a campground. She told an officer she had four or six cups of wine. Trilling spent 12 hours in jail. After her release she was arrested a short time later after someone reported her driving “all over the road,” according to a police report.
Iraq: Car bomb kills 20
A car bomb exploded Thursday along a bustling commercial street in a mostly Shiite area of north Baghdad, killing at least 20 people in the third major attack in the capital this month. Recent high-profile blasts suggest that Sunni insurgents are trying to mount a comeback as the U.S. prepares to leave Iraqi cities in three months and hand over responsibility for security in the capital to the Iraqis. Shaken survivors voiced fears that the blast heralded a return to violence that swept the Iraqi capital before U.S. and Iraqi forces turned the tide in late 2007.
China: Death penalty upheld
A court Thursday reaffirmed death sentences of three people for their roles in contaminating milk that sickened tens of thousands of babies, making it almost certain they will be executed in one of China’s worst food safety scandals. The Hebei Province People’s High Court’s support for the sentences underscores China’s resolve in tackling its recurring food safety problems and an eagerness by the leadership to move past the embarrassing scandal. Six children died and nearly 300,000 were sickened by baby formula tainted with melamine, which can cause kidney stones and kidney failure.
From Herald news services
