Thousands in shelters after Hurricane Beta

Thousands in sheltersafter Hurricane Beta
MANAGUA, Nicaragua -- Thousands of people remained in shelters in Nicaragua and Honduras on Monday after Hurricane Beta swept across the Central American nations, flooding rivers, downing trees and destroying houses, churches, medical centers and schools. The remnants of Beta drifted over the eastern Pacific on Monday, and forecasters said there was a slight chance the storm could reform over the ocean. Packing winds up to 105 mph, Beta dumped as much as 15 inches of rain in Nicaragua and neighboring Honduras, where its outer bands of rain caused four rivers to overflow, isolated communities and damaged crops. Nicaraguan Civil Defense Chief Col. Mario Perez Cassar said 80 percent of the buildings on the central coast were heavily damaged or destroyed. "But miraculously, only four people were reported missing and only one was injured," Perez said. No serious injuries or deaths were reported in Honduras.
Eunice Kennedy Shrivertreated for minor stroke
LOS ANGELES -- Eunice Kennedy Shriver, 84, the mother of California first lady Maria Shriver, was hospitalized during the weekend after suffering a minor stroke, according to a UCLA Medical Center statement issued Monday. Eunice Kennedy Shriver was also being treated for a recent stress fracture of the left hip, the statement said. She was brought to the hospital Saturday. "Doctors anticipate a short hospital stay," the statement said. Medical center spokesman Dan Page said he had no information beyond the prepared statement. Shriver has been an activist in the field of mental retardation and founded the Special Olympics for mentally disabled athletes. She is a sister of President Kennedy and Sens. Robert and Edward Kennedy.
Teen cancer patientreturned to parents
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas -- A 13-year-old cancer patient who was put into foster care after her parents refused to allow radiation treatment will be reunited with her family, a judge ruled Monday. Faced with her deteriorating health, state district Judge Jack Hunter said Katie Wernecke would be better off with her family in Corpus Christi than in the custody of the foster parents she was assigned by Child Protective Services. "CPS and the Werneckes are never, ever going to agree," Hunter said. Child Protective Services removed Katie from her family after her parents stopped her cancer treatment. Her father, Edward Wernecke, worried that a move to radiation treatment could put his daughter at a heightened risk for breast cancer, stunt her growth and cause learning problems.
Putin raises questionswith remark on '08 vote
MOSCOW -- President Vladimir Putin said Monday he won't seek a third term in 2008, but vowed not to allow "destabilization" in Russia after the vote. In an interview with Dutch media on the eve of a visit to the Netherlands, Putin reiterated that he opposes changing the constitution to prolong his time in power -- a possibility that has been widely discussed because of his popularity and control over parliament. But Putin said that the 2008 presidential election will be a "serious, difficult test for Russia" and stressed that full power and responsibility for the fate of the country will remain in his hands until the new president is sworn in. "I will not allow any destabilization in Russia," Putin said in the interview with Dutch broadcaster Netwerk and financial newspaper NRC Handelsblad. He did not elaborate, but the statement raised the possibility that Putin could take unpredictable measures in the event of unrest or a political crisis in the weeks between the election and the new president's inauguration.
Affirmative-action foeswin appeals-court victory
LANSING, Mich. -- A proposal to end some affirmative action programs in Michigan should be allowed on the November 2006 ballot, the state appeals court ruled Monday. The ruling is a victory for the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, which backs the proposed constitutional amendment to ban racial and gender preferences in government hiring and university admissions. The group filed the lawsuit after the Board of State Canvassers failed to approve or reject its ballot petitions this summer. In its ruling Monday, a three-judge panel of the appeals court said the elections board was obligated to certify the petitions. There is no dispute that the petitions are proper and that enough signatures were collected, the court said. An opposition group said it plans to appeal to the state Supreme Court. A federal lawsuit also is planned by The Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration & amp; Immigrant Rights and Fight for Equality by Any Means Necessary (BAMN).
Associated Press