Saturday, October 24, 2015
3 dead, 34 injured when vehicle crashes into Oklahoma State homecoming parade; driver arrested
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — A woman suspected of driving under the influence plowed into a crowd Saturday during the Oklahoma State University homecoming parade, killing three people and injuring dozens more after a collision that sent some spectators flying through the air.
Stillwater police Capt. Kyle Gibbs said the woman's Hyundai Elantra struck an unoccupied motorcycle of an officer who was working security at the parade, then went into the crowd. She was taken into custody on a DUI charge, and Gibbs said investigators were awaiting the results of blood tests to determine if she was impaired by drugs or alcohol.
Gibbs said three people were killed and 34 were injured in the crash Saturday morning, including eight who were airlifted to hospitals with critical injuries.
Police said Adacia Chambers, 25, of Stillwater, was taken into custody on the DUI charge.
"We treat these like we would any homicide investigation," Gibbs said. "It'll probably take several days to get additional information as to the cause of the accident."
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Once a megastorm, Patricia inflicts little damage on Mexican coast, weakens and moves inland
CHAMELA, Mexico (AP) — Only a day after menacing Mexico as one of history's strongest storms, Hurricane Patricia left surprisingly little damage in its wake Saturday and quickly dissipated into an ordinary low-pressure system that that posed little threat beyond heavy rain.
The hurricane's most powerful punch hit a sparsely populated stretch of Mexico's Pacific Coast before the system crashed into mountains that sapped its potentially catastrophic force. The popular beach city of Puerto Vallarta and the port of Manzanillo were spared the brunt of the violent weather.
There were no reports of deaths or injuries, said Roberto Lopez Lara, interior secretary for the state of Jalisco. It was a remarkable outcome, considering that Patricia had been a Category 5 hurricane with winds up to 200 mph (325 kph) before it came ashore with slightly less power in an area dotted with a few upscale hotels.
Hours later, as the storm spun inland, it collapsed into fast-moving bands of rain aimed at already sodden Texas.
Officials were still trying to reach some of the hardest-hit areas that were blocked by downed trees, and residents of towns nearest the strike said they had endured a terrifying night.
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Kerry says video monitoring of Jerusalem holy site to ease tensions that sparked violence
JERUSALEM (AP) — Looking to reduce tensions at a Jerusalem holy site that set off weeks of Mideast violence, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced Saturday that Israel and Jordan had agreed on steps, including round-the-clock video monitoring, to bring an end to the unrest.
But the announcement contained few details on how the monitoring system would work, and it was not immediately clear whether it would be enough to calm the unrest that has raised fears that the region is on the brink of a new round of heavy fighting. As of late Saturday, neither Israel nor the Palestinians had officially commented on the plan.
Capping days of meetings with leaders from both sides, Kerry said King Abdullah II of Jordan suggested the monitoring and that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accepted.
"All the violence and the incitement to violence must stop. Leaders must lead," Kerry told reporters in the Jordanian capital after meeting with the king and with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.
Clashes erupted at the holy site last month over rumors that Israel was expanding its presence at the sensitive Jerusalem shrine, revered by both Muslims and Jews. The violence quickly spread across Israel, and into the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In the past five weeks, 10 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks, mostly stabbings, while 49 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, including 28 said by Israel to be attackers and the rest in clashes.
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Trump jabs Bush in home-state Florida: Ex-governor can't run campaign, shouldn't run country
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump mocked former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in his own state on Saturday, saying recent campaign cuts show he's not ready to be president.
"Here's a guy who wants to run our country, and he can't even run his own campaign. And you know what? He's cutting back big," Trump told a raucous crowd of thousands gathered along the riverfront of one of Florida's most conservative cities.
The comment came the day after the Bush campaign said it was cutting payroll by 40 percent by trimming staff and requiring an across the board pay cut for those remaining.
Trump said Bush, the son and brother for former presidents, is "losing badly and embarrassing his family."
"Bush has no money. He's cutting. He's meeting today with mommy and daddy and they're working on their campaign," Trump said.
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Laser treatments may ease pain for 'napalm girl' decades after attack captured in AP photo
MIAMI (AP) — In the photograph that made Kim Phuc a living symbol of the Vietnam War, her burns aren't visible — only her agony as she runs wailing toward the camera, her arms flung away from her body, naked because she has ripped off her burning clothes.
More than 40 years later she can hide the scars beneath long sleeves, but a single tear down her otherwise radiant face betrays the pain she has endured since that errant napalm strike in 1972.
Now she has a new chance to heal — a prospect she once thought possible only in a life after death.
"So many years I thought that I have no more scars, no more pain when I'm in heaven. But now — heaven on earth for me!" Phuc says upon her arrival in Miami to see a dermatologist who specializes in laser treatments for burn patients.
Late last month, Phuc, 52, began a series of laser treatments that her doctor, Jill Waibel of the Miami Dermatology and Laser Institute, says will smooth and soften the pale, thick scar tissue that ripples from her left hand up her arm, up her neck to her hairline and down almost all of her back.
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Catholic bishops call for a more welcoming church, discernment for individual cases
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Catholic bishops called Saturday for a more welcoming church for cohabitating couples and Catholics who have divorced and civilly remarried, endorsing Pope Francis' call for a more merciful and less judgmental church.
Bishops from around the world adopted a final document at the end of a divisive, three-week synod that exposed the split in the church between conservatives and progressives over how to better minister to Catholic families today.
In a win for the progressive camp, the document emphasized the role of discernment and individual conscience in dealing with difficult family situations, especially the vexing issue of whether civilly remarried Catholics can receive Communion.
Conservatives had resisted offering any wiggle room on the issue, since church teaching holds that such Catholics are committing adultery and are therefore barred from receiving the sacraments. While the document doesn't chart any specific path to receiving Communion as originally sought by the liberals, it opens the door to case-by-case exceptions.
"We are so happy that we could give this to the pope," said German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, who spearheaded the progressive camp on the issue. He called the document a "historic step."
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Backed by activist moms and Bloomberg's money, gun-safety group expands influence in states
A gun-control organization backed by billionaire Michael Bloomberg that enlists mothers to speak out against gun violence is racking up some modest victories around the U.S., employing the state-by-state strategy used so effectively to fight drunken driving and expand gay rights.
Everytown for Gun Safety and its subsidiary, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, have helped push six states since 2013 to adopt more background checks on gun sales — what they consider the single most important measure to prevent shootings. They have also helped thwart legislation in several states that would make it easier to obtain firearms and carry them in more places such as schools.
The mighty National Rifle Association still has the upper hand in many places in the U.S. But Everytown, which aspires to become the NRA's counterweight, has certain advantages over prior gun-control campaigns, namely more money, strategic support from the former mayor of New York, and a well-organized network of activist moms whose numbers are growing in reaction to recent mass shootings.
"We merged the head and the heart," said Everytown president John Feinblatt, who was a top mayoral aide to Bloomberg. "We have the smartest lawyers in the country working on this issue, but we also have people who will do anything to make sure their families are protected."
Everytown grew out of the merger last year of the Bloomberg-backed Mayors Against Illegal Guns and Moms Demand Action, which was formed by public relations executive Shannon Watts after the 2012 killing of 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
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Nigeria experts: Support for trafficking victims equally important as fight against vice
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — In a Lagos suburb, 22-year-old Omo huddles over her battered cell phone, scrolling through text messages to find the name of the Russian city where she was coerced into prostitution.
It was two years ago and she had just finished her exams to enter university when her mother introduced her to an agent promising a sales job in Russia. She agreed to go hoping for a better future. "I wanted to assist myself and my family, because I really wanted to go to school," she said.
When she arrived in Pyatigorsk, a mountain city with a renowned health resort, her travel documents were taken from her and she was told she would be selling her body.
"They said if I don't do it they will kill me," she said, staring at the floor. "It was hell."
Nigeria, Africa's most populous country with 170 million people, is a regional hub for human trafficking, and more assistance is needed to help those who escape the exploitation to find a stable place back in Nigeria, say experts who work with survivors.
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Maureen O'Hara, spirited star of 'Miracle on 34th Street,' 'The Quiet Man,' dies at 95
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Fiery-haired and feisty, Maureen O'Hara could handle anything the world and Hollywood threw at her. Director John Ford punched her in the jaw at a party and John Wayne dragged her through sheep dung — real sheep dung — in "The Quiet Man." In "Miracle on 34th Street" she learned to believe in Santa Claus.
But first and foremost, she always believed in herself.
"I do like to get my own way," she said in a 1991 interview with The Associated Press. "There have been crushing disappointments. But when that happens, I say, 'Find another hill to climb.'"
The Irish-born beauty was 95 when she died Saturday in her sleep at her home in Boise, Idaho, said Johnny Nicoletti, her longtime manager.
In her heyday, O'Hara was known as the Queen of Technicolor because of the camera's love affair with her vivid hair, bright green eyes and pale complexion.
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Serving up a tasty World Series: Plucky Royals vs. pitching-rich Mets, plus BBQ and bagels
Yoenis Cespedes launching long drives, Lorenzo Cain dashing to catch them. Noah Syndergaard zinging 100 mph heat, Alcides Escobar trying to catch up.
The pitching-rich New York Mets, boosted by Daniel Murphy's power surge. The plucky Kansas City Royals, constantly pressuring opponents and aiming to atone for last year's near-miss.
A tasty World Series, served up with some BBQ and bagels. A dead even one, too, beginning Tuesday night at Kauffman Stadium.
"I opened it as a pick," Johnny Avello, head oddsmaker at the Wynn Las Vegas, said Saturday. "I don't remember doing that before in the World Series."
"The Mets, they have that pitching staff that's been unbelievable in the postseason and they can set up their rotation," he said. "The Royals have the home field and all that experience. They were glad to make it there last time, and now they're looking for the W."
