ROOF IN POLAND COLLAPSES, KILLING AT LEAST 26 PEOPLE

Roof in Poland collapses,killing at least 26 people
KATOWICE, Poland -- Police officers help a schoolboy to a rescue center after the snow-covered roof of a convention hall in southern Poland collapsed Saturday with as many as 500 people inside for a racing pigeon exhibition. At least 26 people were killed and at least 130 were injured. A priest outside the building's entrance prayed over the bodies of an adult and a child covered by a blanket and a tarp as rescue crews worked frantically to save the estimated 100 people trapped inside. Witnesses said people beneath the wreckage were calling family or emergency services on their cell phones for help. Franciszek Kowal escaped onto a terrace when he saw the roof starting to fall, then jumped about 15 feet to safety. "People tried to break windows in order to get out," Kowal told The Associated Press. "People were hitting the panes with chairs, but the windows were unbreakable. One of the panes finally broke, and they started to get out by the window." The weight of snow likely caused the roof to cave in at about 5:30 p.m., less than two hours before the event was scheduled to close for the evening, Katowice fire brigade spokesman Jaroslaw Wojtasik said.
Iranian nuclear crisis
TEHRAN, Iran -- Tehran and Moscow have agreed to expand the number of countries participating in the plan to enrich Iranian uranium in Russia, Iran said Saturday, describing a compromise that could satisfy U.S. concerns about the nuclear program. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, U.S. and British leaders vowed to exhaust all diplomatic options before turning to sanctions or military action. The nuclear standoff and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's recent calls for Israel to be wiped off the map have deepened Iran's isolation and reawakened hostilities between Iran and the West. Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki refused to say which other countries would be included. However, a top Iranian nuclear official was just in Beijing to discuss the Russian plan, which is designed to ensure that Tehran does not attempt to produce fuel for nuclear weapons.
Greenspan to step down
WASHINGTON -- It will be business as usual when Alan Greenspan wraps up nearly two decades at the Federal Reserve on Tuesday. He probably will raise interest rates one last time as he presides over the Federal Open Market Committee. Afterward, there will be a low-key luncheon with his colleagues and a reception for Fed staffers. Greenspan will be leaving on top -- rare in Washington -- when he walks out the door of the Fed's imposing marble building on Constitution Avenue. Widely viewed as the most successful chairman in the Fed's 92-year history, Greenspan presided over an era of low inflation rates, low unemployment and the longest economic expansion in U.S. history -- a decade of uninterrupted growth from March 1991 to March 2001. Greenspan was a master in handling not only the economy but also the treacherous shoals of politics. He won nominations for the Fed job from four presidents -- three Republicans and one Democrat.
Frozen methane foundin ocean off Calif. coast
LOS ANGELES -- Scientists have discovered an undersea deposit of frozen methane just off the Southern California coast, but whether it can be harnessed as a potential energy source is unknown. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in tapping methane hydrates, ice-like crystals that form at low temperatures and high pressure in seabeds and in Arctic permafrost. Scientists estimate that the methane trapped in previously known frozen reservoirs around the globe could power the world for centuries. But finding the technology to mine such deposits has proved elusive. The newly discovered deposit, believed to be substantial in size, was found about 15 miles off the coast at a depth of about 2,600 feet, at the summit of an undersea mud volcano. Scientists were conducting an unrelated study when they came across the volcano, which sits on top of an active fault zone in the Santa Monica Basin.
Jessica Lynch's rescuersreceive an award for valor
SAVANNAH, Ga. -- The Army unit that helped rescue prisoner of war Jessica Lynch from an Iraqi hospital during a nighttime raid has been given an award for valor. The 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, based in Savannah, received the Valorous Unit Award during a ceremony Friday. It is the Army's third-highest unit citation. "Being a special operator, a Ranger, is not a job. It's who you are," said Lt. Robert W. Wagner, special operations commander. A convoy from Lynch's company took a wrong turn and was attacked in Nasiriyah in March 2003. Eleven U.S. soldiers were killed and six captured, including Lynch. She suffered spinal fractures, nerve damage and a shattered right arm, right foot and left leg when her humvee crashed. The Rangers helped rescue her and dug up the bodies of eight soldiers who had been killed in fighting with her unit, the 507th Maintenance Company.
Boys Town suit dismissed
OMAHA, Neb. -- A federal judge has thrown out one of the lawsuits claiming sexual abuse at the home for wayward children made famous in the 1938 movie "Boys Town." James Duffy's claims against Girls and Boys Town and the Rev. James Kelly were dismissed earlier this week. Duffy's attorney last month withdrew his client's claim of repressed memory. Without being able to allege repressed memories of abuse, Duffy had exceeded the time limit for bringing such a lawsuit. He had sought unspecified damages. Many plaintiffs take one of two paths when they sue years after alleged abuse: a mental illness kept them from acting, or they repressed the memories of the abuse.
Associated Press