Thursday, August 24, 2006
Police say driver failedto brake in fatal crash
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Investigators found no signs that the driver of a freight truck ever braked before crashing into a van that was trailing a group of police officers bicycling to raise money for fallen comrades, killing two of the riders.
State Police Sgt. Joe Watts declined to discuss what the driver told investigators, saying details would be revealed when their report was sent to the Vermillion County prosecutor to weigh possible criminal charges. Authorities said it could take several weeks for investigators to complete their review and submit a report on whether charges should be filed.
Meanwhile, hearses took the bodies of Indiana State Police Lt. Gary Dudley and retired Lake County Sheriff's Department Chief Gary Martin to funeral homes.
The two were among 10 riders traveling south on Indiana 63 in a rural area about 70 miles northwest of Indianapolis when their support van spun into the group after being hit from behind by a box truck, police said. The van was marked with a banner that read, "Caution Cyclists Ahead."
Sentenced for treason,Russian man gets 12 years
MOSCOW -- A Moscow court sentenced a Russian man Wednesday to 12 years in prison after he was convicted of trying to pass information on new rocket technology to Germany, a federal security official said. Andrei Dumenkov, 42, was convicted of charges of high treason in the form of espionage by the Moscow City Court, said a duty officer with the Federal Security Service, known by its Russian acronym FSB. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity in accord with agency policy.
Dumenkov pleaded guilty in court, Russian press reported. Phone calls to the court seeking more information went unanswered.
Security agents began investigating Dumenkov in 2004 as he allegedly tried to gather state secrets on unnamed rocket technology with the intention of selling them to German agents, Russian news reports said. RIA-Novosti said FSB agents detained Dumenkov on Aug. 3, 2005, at a Moscow railway station and that he had intended to flee the country once the secrets had been passed along.
Canada confirms caseof mad-cow disease
TORONTO -- Canada confirmed mad-cow disease in an animal on an Alberta farm Wednesday, the country's eighth case of a terminal ailment that has roiled its livestock industry.
The latest case was found in a dairy cow between eight and 10 years of age, Canada's Food Inspection Agency said.
The agency says exposure to the terminal disease likely occurred before or during the introduction of new feed regulations that were supposed to stop the spread of the disease.
Shipments of cattle to the United States were halted in 2003 after the first reported cases of mad cow in Canada. Trade in cows younger than 30 months resumed last year.
Last month, the U.S. suspended plans to increase imports of beef and cattle from Canada over concerns about an infected cow born in 2002, five years after Canada enacted safeguards against mad cow disease.
At issue is a ban on using cattle remains in cattle feed, the primary firewall against the spread of mad-cow disease. The only known way for cattle to get the disease is by eating feed containing diseased cattle tissue, a practice largely outlawed in Canada and the United States in 1997.
3 affiliates cut tieswith Christian Coalition
Three disgruntled Alabama affiliates have severed ties with the Christian Coalition of America, one of the nation's most powerful conservative groups during the 1990s but now buffeted by complaints over finances, leadership and its plans to veer into nontraditional policy areas.
"It's a very sad day for our people, but a liberating day," said John Giles, president of the coalition's Alabama chapter, which announced Wednesday that it was renaming itself and splitting from the national organization. The Iowa and Ohio chapters took similar steps this year.
Giles said he and his Alabama colleagues have "a dozen hard reasons" for the action but would elaborate on only one -- a perception that the coalition's leadership was diverting itself from traditional concerns such as abortion and same-sex marriage to address other issues ranging from the environment to Internet access.
Giles predicted further defections and said the coalition was now left with only a half-dozen strong state chapters and a weak presence in Washington.
"In our prime, we were rated the seventh-most powerful lobbying organization in the country," he said. "Now, there's not even any blip on the radar screen."
Associated Press