Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/14844
8B – Daily News – Monday, August 16, 2010 WORLD BRIEFING Truck kills 8 at off-road Calif. race LUCERNE VALLEY (AP) — An off-road truck sailed off a jump and hur- tled into a crowd at a race in the California desert, pinning bodies beneath it and sending others flying into a chaotic cloud of dust in a crash that killed eight people, authorities and witnesses said Sun- day. Twelve people were injured in the crash that came shortly after the twi- light start of the Califor- nia 200 Saturday night in the Mojave Desert, said San Bernardino County sheriff’s spokeswoman Cindy Bachman. Witnesses said the dri- ver — identified by authorities as 28-year-old Brett M. Sloppy of San Marcos — took a jump in an area known as ‘‘the rockpile’’ at high speed, hit his brakes on landing and rolled sideways into a crowd of hundreds of people standing with no barriers next to the course. ‘‘He hit the rock and just lost control and tum- bled,’’ said Matt March, 24, of Wildomar, who was standing next to the jump. ‘‘Bodies went every- where.’’ March said he and sev- eral other fans lifted the truck, a modified Ford Ranger that came to rest with its oversized wheels pointing toward the sky, Mark's Fitness -Private Personal Training -Public Fitness Classes (Spin & other classes TBD) Opening Sept. 1st WANTED: Fitness Instructors Call: (530) 941-2832 821 Walnut St. and found four people lying unconscious under- neath. Gulf driller to finish plug NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The man with pinpoint accuracy who is drilling the relief well meant to plug BP’s run- away well is looking forward to finishing his mission and celebrating with a cigar, a dinner party with his crew and a trip somewhere quiet to unwind with his wife. John Wright has never missed his target over the years, success- fully drilling 40 relief wells that were used to plug leaks around the world. People along the Gulf Coast aren’t the only ones hoping he can make it 41-for-41. ‘‘Anyone who has ever worked extremely hard on a long project wants to see it success- fully finished, as long as it serves its intended purpose,’’ Wright, 56, who is leading the team drilling the primary relief well, said in a lengthy e-mail exchange with The Associated Press from the Develop- ment Driller III vessel. ‘‘That is where my job satisfaction is derived.’’ BP began work on its primary relief well in early May to perma- nently seal the ruptured well. But about two weeks ago, around the time the company had done a successful static kill pumping mud and cement into the top of the well, executives began signaling that the bottom kill procedure might not be needed. Even the government’s point man on the spill response, retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, suggested that was possible. the death toll of 1,500 is rel- atively small, the scale of the flooding and number of people whose lives have been disrupted is stagger- ing. Obamas’ trip to Gulf wraps PANAMA CITY Pakistan flood disaster ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — U.N. Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon said Sunday he has never seen anything like the flood dis- aster in Pakistan after sur- veying the devastation and urged foreign donors to speed up assistance to the 20 million people affected. Ban’s comments reflect the concern of the interna- tional community about the unfolding disaster in Pak- istan, which is battling al- Qaida and Taliban militants, has a weak and unpopular government, and an anemic economy propped up by international assistance. ‘‘This has been a heart- wrenching day for me,’’ Ban said after flying over the hard-hit areas with Pres- ident Asif Ali Zardari. ‘‘I will never forget the destruction and suffering I have witnessed today. In the past I have witnessed many natural disasters around the world, but nothing like this.’’ Ban visited Myanmar after Cyclone Nargis devas- tated the country in May 2008, killing an estimated 138,000 people. He also flew to China’s Sichuan province just days after an earthquake killed nearly 90,000 people in March 2008. The floods that began more than two weeks ago in Pakistan’s mountainous northwest have now hit about one-quarter of the country, especially its agri- cultural heartland. While China Buffet CHINESE RESTAURANT Open 7 Days A Week Sunday Buffet Special $ 9.99 COUPON China Buffet Lunch Dinner $9.99 $6.99 Monday - Saturday 343 S. Main St. Red Bluff 530-529-5888 (No Checks) 10 % off COUPON on dinner only (everyday) Expires 8-31-10 COUPON BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Pres- ident Barack Obama and his family cruised the waters off their Florida Pan- handle hotel on Sunday, offering a portrait of a fami- ly on vacation to boost a region struggling with the economic damage wrought by the nation’s worst oil spill. The Obamas boarded the 50-foot Bay Point Lady on a rainy, overcast morning, the second and final day of a weekend getaway during which the president assured residents that his adminis- tration would not forget the region even after oil stopped spewing from a broken oil well in the Gulf of Mexico. The family returned to Washington on Sunday afternoon. With first lady Michelle Obama and 9-year-old daughter Sasha beside him, Obama leaned over the bow of the Bay Point Lady to watch porpoises as their boat cut through the calm waters of St. Andrews Bay. Back on shore, the family stopped for treats — mint chocolate chip ice cream for the president, Oreo ice cream for Sasha, and a hot fudge sundae without whipped cream for the first lady — before heading home. The Obamas’ 12-year- old daughter, Malia, didn’t make the trip because she’s away at summer camp. Obama’s 27-hour trip to the Gulf region was his fifth since oil started fouling Gulf waters following an April 20 explosion on an offshore rig operated by oil giant BP. Though the well is no longer leaking, he emphasized that the govern- ment’s work in the region is far from over. Tea party activists rally on border HEREFORD, Ariz. (AP) — Tea party groups converged on a remote sec- tion of the U.S.-Mexico border on Sunday to show support for Arizona’s con- troversial new immigration law. The group was gathered about 70 miles west of Nogales on a private ranch where 15-foot steel posts are set closely together to prevent people from cross- ing the border. Demonstrators attached hundreds of U.S. flags with messages about curbing illegal immigration to the posts and chanted, ‘‘U-S- A,’’ after a handful of spec- tators gathered on the Mex- ico side of the border. One of the messages posted on the border wall read, ‘‘Mister President ... Secure This Border For America.’’ A federal judge has put on hold the most con- tentious provisions of the law, including a section that would require officers to check a person’s immigra- tion status while enforcing other laws if they had ‘‘rea- sonable suspicion’’ that the person was in the country illegally. Soldiers tagged with personality disorder may bear stigma WASHINGTON (AP) — At the height of the Iraq war, the Army routinely dis- missed hundreds of soldiers for having a personality dis- order when they were more likely suffering from the traumatic stresses of war, discharge data suggests. Under pressure from Congress and the public, the Army later acknowledged the problem and drastically cut the number of soldiers given the designation. But advocates for veterans say Barber Shop $ Cheers 600 Open 6 days 570-2304 259 S. Main St. Tractor Supply Center Senior Cuts Recently expanded and moved near Bidwell Elementary License # 525405817 (530) My qualifications include: B.A. in Elementary Education and experience teaching grades K-8. Accepting state pay programs & cash pay, etc. 209-8743 an unknown number of troops still unfairly bear the stigma of a personality dis- order, making them ineligi- ble for military health care and other benefits. ‘‘We really have an obligation to go back and make sure troops weren’t misdiagnosed,’’ said Dr. Barbara Van Dahlen, a clin- ical psychologist whose nonprofit ‘‘Give an Hour’’ connects troops with volun- teer mental health profes- sionals. The Army denies that any soldier was misdiag- nosed before 2008, when it drastically cut the number of discharges due to person- ality disorders and diag- noses of post-traumatic stress disorders skyrocket- ed. Unlike PTSD, which the Army regards as a treatable mental disability caused by the acute stresses of war, the military designation of a personality disorder can have devastating conse- quences for soldiers. Charges dropped against man in shooting that killed 4 BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — A prosecutor said the evidence didn’t back up murder charges against a parolee who had been accused of opening fire outside a downtown restau- rant, killing four people and wounding four others, and had the counts dis- missed Sunday. Keith Johnson, 25, of Buffalo, was still being held in jail on a parole vio- lation. He could be rear- rested if authorities change their minds, but Erie Coun- ty District Attorney Frank A. Sedita III cited photo evidence and witness state- ments in seeking dismissal. ‘‘I’m not going to prose- cute someone for a quadru- ple homicide unless I’m sure he did it,’’ Sedita told City Court Judge Patrick Carney, with Johnson sit- ting handcuffed next to him, ‘‘and I’m not sure he did it.’’ ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●● We now serve beer & wine