POWERFUL STORMS SLAM THE SOUTHEAST

Powerful stormsslam the Southeast
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Powerful storms damaged at least three dozen homes as heavy rain and strong wind swept across the Southeast on Monday. Tornado warnings were issued in parts of Florida and South Carolina. The worst damage was in Florida, between Tampa and the Georgia border, where three people were injured and three homes were destroyed. Above, firefighters inspect an apartment complex in Daytona Beach that was heavily damaged Monday. The weather service issued tornado warnings on Monday for parts of Columbia, Hardee, Lake, Levy, Manatee and Volusia counties across central Florida.
Nuclear power industryseeks tougher standards
WASHINGTON -- The nuclear power industry wants the government to require companies to design new nuclear reactors that would better withstand large fires and explosions, such as those that could be caused by a terrorist attack using hijacked aircraft. "If you need to change the design to accommodate greater security, particularly for large fires and explosions, you want to do that up front in the design process, not after you build the plant" as the government requires, said Scott Peterson, a spokesman for the Nuclear Energy Institute. The industry's position, set out in a Dec. 8 letter, runs counter to the government's.
Search for U.S. climbersnarrows to one mountain
BEIJING -- The search for two U.S. climbers missing for more than a month has narrowed to a single mountain in southwestern China after their last known contact -- a local driver -- said they planned to climb the peak. Christine Boskoff, a top female climber, and Charlie Fowler, apparently took their climbing equipment and left their luggage with the driver, who dropped them off in a small, remote town not far from the Sichuan province border with Tibet on Nov. 11.
Analysis: Oil industryin Iran could be crippled
WASHINGTON -- Iran is suffering a staggering decline in revenue from its oil exports, and if the trend continues, income could virtually disappear by 2015, according to an analysis published Monday in a journal of the National Academy of Sciences. Iran's economic woes could make the country unstable and vulnerable, with its oil industry crippled, Roger Stern, an economic geographer at Johns Hopkins University, said in the report and in an interview. Iran earns about 50 billion a year in oil exports. The decline is estimated at 10 percent to 12 percent annually. In less than five years exports could be halved and then disappear by 2015, Stern predicted.
Department store fire killsat least 24 in Philippines
MANILA, Philippines -- At least 24 people died in a fire that engulfed a one-story department store in the central Philippines on Christmas Day, police said today.
The charred remains of the 24 victims were found inside a bathroom, where they tried to escape from the blaze, said Chief Superintendent Eliseo dela Paz. At least five people were injured, two of them critically, police said.
He said the fire started from firecrackers and pyrotechnics that ignited near the entrance door of the Unitop Commercial store. The fire swept through the store in Ormoc city, 340 miles southeast of Manila, acting provincial police director Senior Superintendent Manuel Cobillo said. Customers, vendors and store employees were among those killed.
Car bombing in Pakistan
PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- A car bomb exploded near the entrance of the airport in northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar today, wounding at least three people, police said. The explosion went off at around 7:10 a.m. when the airport was crowded with people for the arrival of a flight from Dubai, said Iftikhar Khan, a senior police officer. Police have cordoned off the area, he said.
Associated Press