AS PEOPLE OF CONGO VOTE, FEARS OF WAR REMAIN

As people of Congovote, fears of war remain
KINSHASA, Congo -- Millions of Congolese voted in the country's first multiparty election in four decades Sunday, the culmination of years of postwar transition that many pray will herald stability for the tumultuous central African region that Congo anchors. But with militia fighters still raping and looting in the lawless east, former rebel leaders on the ballot and a leading politician boycotting the vote, persuading all parties to accept the results may be the toughest task of all. Voters, including many casting ballots for the first time in their lives, feared wars that set central Africa ablaze could flare anew if Congo's democratic experiment fails. Vote counting began after polls closed Sunday evening, but final results were not expected for weeks. Results will be hand tabulated and transported to Kinshasa by plane, truck and boat. "Some say Africa is shaped like a pistol and Congo is the trigger," said Jean Kaseke, a 38-year old pastor heading up a line that formed before dawn at a polling station in the capital, Kinshasa. "If Congo can succeed, all of Africa can do it."
Violence in New Orleansfuels bad reputation
NEW ORLEANS -- City leaders and people who make a living in the tourism industry fear New Orleans is building a national reputation that could harm its fragile recovery from last August's Hurricane Katrina. That reputation was fostered by the June deaths of five teenagers gunned down while sitting in a sport utility vehicle, the subsequent assignment of state police and National Guard troops to help keep the peace in the city, and then this weekend's six gunshot killings in 24 hours. "It dampens the progress we are making since the hurricane," said City Councilwoman Shelley Midura. "This is not what most people in New Orleans encounter. Most people in New Orleans do not experience any type of violence. But this is the image that is being formed of the city, and it will hurt us if it continues."
Boy's plight makesmedical device case
TRENTON, N.J. -- For eight months during his infancy, Sean Van Duyn gagged, retched and vomited daily. Now 6, the Winter Haven, Fla., boy still can't eat or drink by mouth, instead being fed by a permanent tube in his belly. Beset by multiple medical problems in his first months, the boy had to have a breathing tube inserted through a hole cut in his neck. The gagging began and continued until his mother, Susan, discovered the tube was misshaped at the end and had been poking the back of his throat the whole time. The tube was replaced, but by then Sean's developing brain was programmed not to swallow; he still cannot. The family alleged the injury occurred because the plastic breathing tube's tip had been bent during "reprocessing" -- cleaning and heat sterilization -- done at an Orlando hospital even though the tube was labeled for single use only. They won a confidential settlement from the hospital. The case has fueled the debate over the safety of reusing surgical blades, forceps and other medical devices. The practice was routine until a couple decades ago, when stronger plastics enabled manufacturers to start making devices designed for single use to cut costs and prevent infection spread in the era of AIDS. Then hospitals, and eventually specialized companies, started "reprocessing" single-use devices, cutting device costs about in half -- without patients' knowledge.
Promising young modeldies in fiery crash
TRENTON, N.J. -- A young woman killed in a fiery crash on the New Jersey Turnpike was a promising 19-year-old fashion model who recently appeared on the cover of Italian Vogue. New Jersey State Police confirmed Sunday that Heather Bratton died at the scene of a three-car collision July 22. A statement on the Web site of her booking agency, Women Management, said she was en route to Newark International Airport. Her stepfather, Tim Kerrigan, told The New York Post she had been in New York for a magazine photo shoot. Bratton, of Wesley Chapel, Fla., was photographed by noted fashion photographer Steven Meisel for a recent Italian Vogue cover. She also appeared this summer in shows in Milan and Paris. "Heather was a sweet, gentle and thoughtful girl who achieved a remarkable level of success during her first year modeling, which is a credit to her distinct beauty and spirit," said the Women Management statement. Police said the hired car in which she was a passenger had broken down in the center lane of the turnpike, and was rear-ended by a sport utility vehicle. Bratton's sedan then struck another car. The SUV and the sedan both caught fire and Bratton was trapped inside. The accident remained under investigation. The sedan driver remained in intensive care Sunday with burns over his entire body.
Associated Press