Monday, August 29, 2005
hRide 'em, cowboy!
RHINEBECK, N.Y. -- Wyatt Keck, 4, competes in the bronco riding competition at the Stick Pony Rodeo during the Dutchess County Fair. He was enjoying his Sunday afternoon ride.
Wildfires burn 5 homes,1,600 acres in Oregon
SELMA, Ore. -- Matt and Kristy McMahan fell in love with rural southwestern Oregon while driving through the area five years ago. They finally moved last December, buying a home with 10 acres of forest. On Saturday, all that remained of that house after a wildfire was its brick shell, with ashes and twisted metal heaped in the basement. The fire started Thursday and destroyed four homes, including the McMahans' residence. A fifth home burned Friday.The fire has burned more than 1,600 acres, said Oregon Department of Forestry spokesman Chris Friend. The cause remains under investigation.
Girl, 14, gives birth;husband, 22, charged
LINCOLN, Neb. -- A 14-year-old girl whose 22-year-old husband is charged with sexually assaulting a minor has given birth to their daughter, and the man said he plans to plead innocent in the case. The girl became pregnant when she was 13, and her mother gave permission in May for Matthew Koso to take her daughter to Kansas to marry. Nebraska requires people to be at least 17 before they can marry. Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning has charged Koso with first-degree sexual assault, punishable by up to 50 years in prison if convicted.
2 senators detainedin plane in Russia
MOSCOW -- A plane carrying two U.S. senators was detained for several hours Sunday while trying to leave Russia, before being permitted to leave the country for Ukraine, according to spokesmen for the lawmakers. Sens. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., and Barack Obama, D-Ill., who had been visiting storage sites for weapons of mass destruction, were held at an airport in the Ural Mountain city of Perm for several hours but were allowed to leave after talks between U.S. and Russian officials. "I am in Ukraine with Sen. Lugar," Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Lugar's spokesman, Andy Fisher, said in a message sent from a personal messaging device Sunday afternoon. He said Russian officials refused to let the plane take off for three hours and insisted on boarding it. The senators and their aides spent three days in Russia visiting sites where warheads are stored before destruction under the U.S.-funded Comprehensive Threat Reduction program.
1 journalist killed, 1 hurtwhen caught in crossfire
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A Reuters television sound technician was killed and a cameraman was injured Sunday while trying to cover a Baghdad gunbattle involving insurgents and U.S. troops. Police said the men were fired on by American forces. Waleed Khaled, 35, was killed and cameraman Haider Khadem was wounded while driving to the scene of the clash in the western Baghdad district of Adil, said Alastair MacDonald, Reuters' chief correspondent in Baghdad. The two appear to have been targeted by a sniper, and Khadem was detained by U.S. troops after being shot, MacDonald said. Maj. Mousa Abdul Karim of the Ghazaliyah police said U.S. soldiers opened fire on the two men near Umm al-Qura mosque.
Forces sweep Sinaiin search for militants
CAIRO, Egypt -- Army sappers joined a 5,000-strong security force Sunday in a sweep through the Sinai, as authorities stepped up their search for militants behind recent bombings of tourist centers on the rugged peninsula. Security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because the operation was still under way, said at least two army units responsible for clearing mines and one border-guard unit had joined the hunt, which entered its second week Sunday. The force was focused on Halal mountain, a 5,900-foot peak near the Israeli border that is full of caves and deep ravines.
Associated Press