h 11 die in apartment fire
h 11 die in apartment fire
MARRERO, La. -- Eleven family members died in their suburban apartment after a mattress caught fire and got stuck in a door as they tried to drag it out, authorities said.
The fire was started by candles the family had been using because they moved in just hours earlier and did not yet have electricity, Sheriff Harry Lee said. Four family members escaped. The dead ranged in age from 6 months to 42 years.
"The mattress actually blocked the only means of escape," Lee said. Some of the victims apparently died of smoke inhalation, and others from burns, authorities said. The building was engulfed in flames when rescue workers arrived shortly before 5 a.m. Part of the second-story wall appeared to have been blown out or knocked in, and was covered with soot.
Neighbors reported hearing screams and cries for help. David Jarriet said he called 911 after going outside to get his newspaper. "I heard windows popping," he said. "I saw flames. They were rolling."
Survivor Ireone Wilson, 18, told The Times-Picayune she grabbed a 7-month-old son and, with an uncle, escaped along a back stairway. She said her boyfriend escaped by jumping from a back window. All the bodies were found on the second floor, where the fire started.
Agent Orange suit tossed
NEW YORK -- A federal judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit filed on behalf of some 4 million Vietnamese claiming that U.S. chemical companies committed war crimes by making Agent Orange for use during the Vietnam War. U.S. District Judge Jack B. Weinstein disagreed that the allegedly toxic defoliant and similar U.S. herbicides should be considered poisons banned under international rules of war, even though they may have had comparable effects on people and land.
The Brooklyn judge also found that the plaintiffs could not prove that Agent Orange had caused their illnesses, largely because of a lack of large-scale research. Plaintiffs' lawyers said an appeal was planned. The lawsuit was the first attempt by Vietnamese plaintiffs to seek compensation for the effects of Agent Orange, which is laden with the highly toxic chemical dioxin and has been linked to cancer, diabetes and birth defects among Vietnamese soldiers, civilians and American veterans. U.S. aircraft sprayed more than 21 million gallons of the chemical between 1962 to 1971 in attempts to destroy crops and remove foliage used as cover by communist forces.
Overseas trips questioned
WASHINGTON -- At least eight House members and 15 House aides accepted trips to South Korea from a registered foreign agent despite rules prohibiting the practice, government documents showed Thursday. Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, and an aide to Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., were among those traveling at the expense of the Korea-United States Exchange Council since the group registered as a foreign agent on Aug. 22, 2001.
The organization describes itself as a nonpartisan, not-for-profit group that provides insight on the national security, cultural, historical and economic interests of the United States and South Korea.
The council registered on behalf of the South Korean government and received $103,637 before its registration. In public filings through 2002 with the Justice Department, the council listed no other amounts received. Lawmakers who took the trips said either that the travel was approved in advance by the House ethics committee or that they relied on information provided by the council.
National Anthem Project
WASHINGTON -- "Oh say can you" remember the rest of the words? A lot of Americans can't, so there's a national effort under way to get people to learn the lyrics to "The Star-Spangled Banner." "I don't even want to try to say it because I don't want to mess it up," said Sandy Sexton, 40, of Capitol Heights, Md., adding she has great respect for the song.
Called the National Anthem Project, various workshops, in-school programs and public-service announcements are geared toward instilling in people the significance of the national anthem and its role in U.S. history. An emphasis will be placed on learning the lyrics to "The Star-Spangled Banner." On the Internet, visit the National Anthem Project at www.thenationalanthemproject.org
From Vindicator wire reports