HEAD FLIES OUT OF TRUCK AFTER SLAYING AND CRASH

Head flies out of truckafter slaying and crash
BOISE, Idaho -- An unidentified person, above, reacts to the news of Theresa N. Time's death near her home in Nampa, Idaho. The severed head of a man's wife flew from his pickup truck Thursday when he crashed into an oncoming car, killing the driver and her child, police said. The investigation of the deadly wreck and the head, which was tossed onto the road by the impact, led police to the decapitated body of 47-year-old Theresa Time in the garage of the home she shared with her husband, Alofa Time, said Nampa police Lt. LeRoy Forsman. A Boise police officer was driving behind Alofa Time's truck when he noticed the man's erratic driving and saw him slam into the car, said police spokeswoman Lynn Hightower. Time, who was not injured, told officers that he was involved in his wife's death, officials said. An autopsy was scheduled next week to determine Theresa Time's cause of death. Time was being held on two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of Samantha Nina Murphy, 36, and her 4-year-old daughter, Jae Lynne Grimes, both of Boise. Murphy's other daughter was injured and was in stable condition. "It was one of the more horrific and complex crime scenes on memory," Hightower said. "A woman and her child killed in a crash, and a severed head from an earlier homicide."
House Dems vote to oustJefferson from committee
WASHINGTON -- House Democrats, determined to make an election-year point about ethics, voted to strip Rep. William Jefferson of his committee assignment Thursday night while a federal bribery investigation continues. Members of the rank and file approved the move after Jefferson refused for weeks to step aside on his own, and despite claims by some members of the Congressional Black Caucus that he was being treated unfairly. Officials said the vote was 99-58. The action must be ratified by the full House, and Jefferson left open the possibility that he might at long last surrender the seat.
Fla. fund gets approvalto borrow for disaster
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund received approval Thursday to borrow $2.8 billion in case it has to back up insurers during the hurricane season. The fund was created after Hurricane Andrew and provides reinsurance -- basically insurance for insurance companies. Gov. Jeb Bush and other members of the fund's board approved the borrowing, saying it needs cash because private insurance is too hard for property insurance companies to buy in Florida.
U.S. sites unpreparedfor disaster, analysis finds
WASHINGTON -- Most American cities and states remain unprepared for catastrophes, a government analysis concludes, calling the shortcomings in emergency planning a cause "for significant national concern." Nearly five years after the Sept. 11 attacks and 10 months after Hurricane Katrina, the Homeland Security Department concluded that local response plans for major disasters are often antiquated and uncoordinated. Although emergency plans appear to be stronger in 18 states along the nation's "Hurricane Belt," the analysis cited preparedness gaps in 131 state and city emergency response plans. Planning for evacuations, too, remain "an area of profound concern," the review found. "We rely to a troubling extent on plans that are created in isolation, are insufficiently detailed and are not subject to adequate review," concluded the department's 160-page review of findings and annexes that was delivered to Congress on Thursday evening.
2 men who sought shelterfrom volcano found dead
MOUNT MERAPI, Indonesia -- Two men who sought shelter from an erupting volcano in an underground bunker were found dead from burns Friday, officials said. The men fled to the steel shelter Wednesday while evacuating villagers during a burst of volcanic activity on Mount Merapi, and the bunker was later covered with up to 6 feet of fiery debris. Rescuers found the two bodies after opening the bunker early today, said Widi Sutikono, head volcano relief operations.
Associated Press