hSanta on snowboard

hSanta on snowboard
Dressed as Santa Claus, Ethan Mueller flies through the air while grabbing his snowboard. Mueller is the director of operations at Crested Butte Mountain Resort in Crested Butte, Colo.
Booming auto salesget economy moving
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. economy grew at the fastest pace in 1 1/2 years in the summer as booming auto sales offset the adverse effects of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. But the year is expected to end with much slower growth. The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that the gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic health, grew at a 4.1 percent annual rate from July through September. That was down from a 4.3 percent estimate made a month ago but it was still the fastest pace since early 2004. The gain was even more remarkable considering that the country was hit by devastating hurricanes and gasoline prices that topped $3 per gallon.
Rape suspect escapesby using ceiling vent, roof
MIAMI -- A man accused of raping seven girls and women in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood escaped from jail by crawling through a ceiling vent and then climbing down from the roof using tied-together bed sheets, police said. Police searched neighborhoods, airports, rail stations and ports for Reynaldo E. Rapalo, 34, who broke out of a Miami-Dade County jail Tuesday night, police said. A man who tried to escape with him was caught after he jumped and broke his legs.
Caretaker charged
DANIELSON, Conn. -- A property caretaker was charged with murder Wednesday in the death of a jogger whose battered and bound body was found in a shed owned by the "Sesame Street" actor who plays Big Bird. Under the capital murder count, prosecutors can seek the death penalty or life in prison without parole for Scott Deojay, 36. Deojay told police he accidentally hit Judith Nilan with his car Dec. 12 and panicked, according to a sworn statement. Deojay hid her body on puppeteer Caroll Spinney's property, where he worked as a caretaker, according to state police, who said Spinney had no involvement. But state police said Nilan's injuries were not consistent with being hit by a car, and authorities ruled her death a homicide.
Mayor lifts curfew
NEW ORLEANS -- For the first time since Hurricane Katrina, the city's celebrated Bourbon Street bars and other businesses will be allowed starting this weekend to stay open all night. Mayor Ray Nagin announced Wednesday that he was lifting the city's 2 a.m. curfew for all areas west of the Industrial Canal, beginning Friday. The canal runs north and south through New Orleans, a few miles east of downtown. Nagin also announced that residents would be officially allowed to stay overnight in more areas of the city that have been deemed safe for rebuilding.
Election fraud charge
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Sunni Arab and secular political groups joined forces Wednesday to decide whether to call for a repeat of parliamentary elections that gave the Shiite religious bloc a larger than expected lead. The main Sunni coalition has said the elections were tainted by fraud, including voting centers failing to open, shortages in election materials, reports of multiple voting and forgery. The election commission, known as the IECI, has said it received 1,250 complaints about violations during the Dec. 15 elections, 25 of which it described as serious.
Village attack condemned
KHARTOUM, Sudan -- The United Nations and the African Union on Wednesday condemned an attack on a village in Darfur in western Sudan in which camel and horse-riding assailants killed 20 civilians and burned their huts. The 500 men, suspected Arab militiamen known as the Janjaweed, swept through the village of Abu Sorouj in the Darfur region Monday, killing the villagers and destroying and looting their houses, U.N. spokeswoman Radhia Achouri told reporters.
Associated Press