Seven people injured in accident on fair ride

Seven people injuredin accident on fair ride
MIAMI -- An amusement ride broke open and ejected several passengers at a county fair, injuring seven people including a teenage girl who was in critical condition.
A piece of paneling came off "The Gravitron" while it was running late Friday, Miami-Dade police spokesman Juan DelCastillo said Saturday. The ride spins at high speed to generate centrifugal force that pins seated passengers against its interior wall.
A bolt that held the panel in place sheared, said Liz Compton, a Department of Agriculture spokeswoman.
About 40 to 45 people were on the ride when the accident happened, said Phil Clark, chief executive of the Miami-Dade County Fair and Exposition.
A 16-year-old girl who suffered head and upper body injuries was in critical condition at Jackson Memorial Hospital, DelCastillo said. Six other people suffered injuries that weren't life threatening.
Protesting welfare cuts
BERLIN -- Germans turned out in force Saturday to protest their government's drive to trim the welfare state, heeding labor unions' call to "stand up and be counted" as leaders across Europe struggle to reform creaking social programs.
More than 200,000 protesters, blowing whistles and waving union flags, gathered in front of Berlin's Brandenburg Gate for the biggest rally yet against Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's year-old reform drive. Organizers said turnout nationwide topped 500,000, with big rallies also held in Cologne and Stuttgart.
Germany and other European nations are trying to reform generous, and expensive, welfare systems as the average age of their populations rise. But those efforts have attracted widespread resistance, along with complaints that pensioners and the jobless are bearing an unfair share of the pain.
Evacuees return home
LAPORTE, Colo. -- Cool, wet weather Saturday helped firefighters trying to contain an 8,700-acre wildfire that has burned for five days, and most of the scores of evacuated residents were being allowed to return home.
The state's first significant wildfire of the season has destroyed a house and a garage, and threatened other homes and outbuildings.
The fire west of Fort Collins in northern Colorado was 30 percent contained Saturday afternoon. It began Tuesday when a yard fire got out of control.
MacArthur action figure
NORFOLK, Va. -- When Gen. Douglas MacArthur uttered his famous "I shall return" in 1942, he didn't expect to be coming back more than 60 years later as an action figure.
A limited-edition toy version of the five-star general will soon invade store shelves around the country. The foot-tall figures go on sale today at the MacArthur Memorial in Norfolk.
With MacArthur's signature sunglasses, combed-over hair and distinctive nose, the G.I. Joe doll bears an unmistakable resemblance to the general. It lacks the wrinkles and expanded waistline that MacArthur, who liberated the Philippines from Japan during World War II, had during the latter years of his service.
Associated Press