Saturday, May 27, 2006
Aquarium reopens
NEW ORLEANS -- The Audubon Aquarium of the Americas reopened for the first time since Hurricane Katrina on Friday. Tom Dyer, senior aviculturist, above, was on hand, kissing his friend, Patience, an African penguin. The 19 penguins were evacuated and just recently returned to their home. The refurbishing of the aquarium cost $5 million.
2 buses collide; 40 hurt
DUNN, N.C. -- More than 40 people were injured Friday when two tour buses carrying high school students home to New Jersey collided on Interstate 95, authorities said. The accident happened when one bus developed mechanical problems and slowed down to pull over, according to Trooper B.O. Johnson of the North Carolina Highway Patrol. A trailing bus struck it from behind, he said.
Muhammad says he wasframed in sniper slayings
ROCKVILLE, Md. -- Wild-eyed and sometimes shouting in his closing argument, John Allen Muhammad said Friday that he had been framed for the Washington area sniper slayings, alleging faked evidence ranging from DNA and ballistic tests to maps on his laptop computer that marked shooting scenes with skull-and-crossbones icons. "They are just nothing but hackers. They just happen to work for the FBI or the CIA," Muhammad said of investigators who examined the computer. They were just a few of the people Muhammad accused of lying in a rambling, three-hour-and-20-minute statement.
Plague death in N. Mexico
ALBUQUERQUE -- New Mexico reported Friday its first death from the plague in 12 years. The state Department of Health confirmed that a Bernalillo County woman died from septicemic plague early last week. The agency does not release details on plague victims.
Prank makes 18 sick,brings charges for 2
DALLAS -- Two students have been charged with giving a high school's employees marijuana-spiked muffins in a senior prank that sent 18 people to the hospital and triggered an FBI and terrorism investigation. "I had no idea of the scope of my actions," Ian Walker, 18, said Friday, a day after he and friend Joseph Tellini surrendered to police. They could receive 10 years in prison or more if convicted of felony charges. Walker is accused of delivering adulterated bran muffins to the teachers lounge of Tellini's suburban school May 16 and claiming they were part of an Eagle Scout project. When Lake Highlands High School employees ate the muffins, they began complaining of nausea, lightheadedness and headaches.
Graduation sendoff
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Some of the 980 members of the 2006 graduating class of the U.S. Naval Academy, above, react as the Navy Blue Angels fly over the graduation ceremony.
Knife attack wounds 19
BERLIN -- A knife-wielding man went on a rampage and attacked pedestrians as they left a Berlin celebration early Saturday, wounding 19, four seriously, police said. The 17-year-old suspected attacker was arrested, police told The Associated Press.
Indonesia quake claims 10
YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia -- A powerful earthquake rocked Indonesia's Central Java province early Saturday, damaging buildings and killing at least 10 people, state media and witnesses said.
Associated Press