Monday, December 18, 2006
Yul Kwon wins 'Survivor'
NEW YORK -- Brains won over brawn. It's an age-old competition, and it was on stark display as the CBS game "Survivor: Cook Island" reached its conclusion in a two-hour finale Sunday. Yul Kwon, 31, the brain with degrees from Stanford University and Yale Law School on his r & eacute;sum & eacute; won over Oscar "Ozzy" Lusth, 25, the effortless athlete who dominated athletic challenges as the game neared its end. Rebekah "Becky" Lee, a 28-year-old attorney in Washington, D.C., was also among the finalists but didn't receive any votes. It was the first time in "Survivor" history that the finale included three finalists.
Ex-senator from S.C. dies
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Former state Sen. Verne Smith, whose 2001 party switch to the GOP gave Republicans control of the state Senate for the first time since Reconstruction, died Sunday morning, his son said. He was 81. Smith died Sunday after a long illness that prevented his bone marrow from fighting infections, said his son, Jeff.
100 are poisonedby carbon monoxide
SEATTLE -- About 100 people have been poisoned by carbon monoxide produced by generators and charcoal grills used for warmth and light during the widespread power outages caused by a major storm in western Washington state. One man died of inhaling the colorless, odorless gas. At least six other people were treated for carbon monoxide poisoning in Oregon.
"We're dealing with a carbon-monoxide epidemic in western Washington," said Dr. Neil Hampson of Virginia Mason Medical Center, which treated more than 55 people in its hyperbaric chamber, where pressure is used to force oxygen into the blood.
Family members signbeam for Freedom Tower
NEW YORK -- Sept. 11 victims' family members and others signed a 53.5-ton steel beam Sunday that is to form part of the base of the Freedom Tower at the World Trade Center site. The steel beam, which is to be put in place at ground zero this week, was on display in Battery Park City a few blocks from the trade center site Sunday. Karen Miller signed in memory of her brother, firefighter John Santore. Others wrote personal notes to lost loved ones -- "Uncle Peter, my hero" and "Big Ed -- Always thinking of you. You would be proud of the job Mary has done with the kids. Love, Wild Bill."
7 found dead in duplex
KIRKSVILLE, Mo. -- Seven people were found dead Sunday in a duplex in northeast Missouri, police said. Police Chief Jim Hughes confirmed the deaths but would not discuss a suspected cause or release details about the victims. Police were trying to make positive identifications and notify relatives.
Gas prices inch back up
CAMARILLO, Calif. -- The price of gas inched up just over 2 cents a gallon around the nation in the past two weeks.
The national average for self-serve regular was 2.29 a gallon, industry analyst Trilby Lundberg said Sunday. The average for midgrade was 2.40, while premium was 2.50 a gallon, according to Lundberg's latest survey of 7,000 gas stations across the country.
Earthquake hits Sumatra
JAKARTA, Indonesia -- A moderate earthquake struck early today off the coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island, killing four people, officials and witnesses said. The 5.8-magnitude tremor was centered about 45 miles southwest of Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province, the U.S. Geological Survey said on its Web site.
Castro does not havecancer, officials declare
HAVANA -- Cuban officials told a group of visiting U.S. lawmakers that Fidel Castro does not have cancer or a terminal illness in the most comprehensive denial yet of rampant rumors about the ailing leader's health, members of a U.S. delegation said Sunday. U.S. Rep. Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican, said Cuban officials did not provide further details on the 80-year-old leader's health.
Suspect drug boss nabbed
MEXICO CITY -- Mexican soldiers have captured a suspected drug cartel boss in the most significant arrest since President Felipe Calderon sent thousands of troops to restore order in a western state terrorized by drug gangs, the military said Sunday. Elias Valencia, a suspected head of the Valencia cartel, was arrested along with four other people Friday at a ranch near the town of Aguililla in Michoacan state, said Gen. Cornelio Casio, an official in charge of the offensive.
Associated Press
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