Volcano offerings nixed

Volcano offerings nixed
HAWAII VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK, Hawaii -- Rangers at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park are launching a program to stop people from leaving religious offerings at the summit of Mount Kilauea -- including food they say attracts rats and cockroaches. Visitors leave 45 pounds of offerings from Halemaumau Crater each week, including flowers, bottles, money, incense, candles and crystals, park rangers say. But food offerings are the most problematic, they say. "The accumulation of rotting food and foliage attracts rats, flies, ants and cockroaches," a park statement said. One ranger recently found a whole, cooked piglet replete with a papaya, orange and apple in a cardboard box, the park service said. The rotting offerings pose a hazard to the endangered nene goose, the state bird endemic to the islands, the park service said. People also burn fake money which in Chinese culture is meant to aid people in the afterlife. Such fires are illegal, the park statement said. Park Superintendent Cindy Orlando said the park must preserve the summit area, which has special significance in Hawaiian culture.
Grueling therapy in offing
TRENTON, N.J. -- It will be agonizing, emotional and draining. Most of all, it will be painful. New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine faces months of intensive therapy to recover from serious injuries suffered in an April 12 crash on the Garden State Parkway. Corzine has been in intensive care since breaking 11 ribs, his sternum, a leg, his collarbone and a vertebra in the crash. Dr. Steven Ross at Cooper University Hospital said Saturday the governor has started talking with family members and doctors and is drinking some clear liquids. Corzine showed signs of bronchitis and was being treated with antibiotics, Ross said. Doctors removed a breathing tube Friday. Physical therapists said Corzine may face his toughest tests after he leaves the hospital. The 60-year-old man faces excruciating daily exercises designed to rebuild his strength, but they'll also make it difficult for him to initially devote much time to being governor.
Seoul to give rice to North
SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korea said today it agreed to give 400,000 tons of rice to North Korea despite Pyongyang's failure to meet a deadline to shut down its nuclear reactor. There was no precondition in Seoul's aid to the North, according to an agreement issued after overnight marathon negotiations in Pyongyang. The move was seen as a setback in South Korea's attempt to use food aid as leverage to pressure the North to honor its pledge under the Feb. 13 nuclear disarmament deal with the U.S. and its regional partners.
Nigerian election chaos
KANO, Nigeria -- Nigerians hoping for an honest leader to fight endemic corruption voted in presidential elections Saturday, but disarray at the polls and a failed truck bombing caused unease in a country trying to solidify democratic rule. Africa's largest oil producer is seeking its first transfer of power between elected civilian leaders since gaining independence from Britain in 1960. Other attempts have been overturned by annulments or military coups. Voting started despite the attack, but many polling centers opened late -- some not at all -- and opposition leaders complained of irregularities. Ballots in many parts of the country lacked serial numbers or any other distinguishing marks that would guard against fraud. Maurice Iwu, chairman of Nigeria's electoral commission, said there was no time to print serialized ballots.
1 dies in Blue Angel crash
BEAUFORT, S.C. -- A Navy Blue Angel jet crashed during an air show Saturday, plunging into a neighborhood of small homes and trailers and killing the pilot, the county coroner said. Witnesses said the planes were flying in formation during the show at the Marine Corps Air Station and one dropped below the trees and crashed, sending up clouds of smoke. At least one home was on fire. County Coroner Curt Copeland said the pilot was killed, but did not release an identification. Copeland said there was a lot of debris at the crash site and described the scene as horrific.
Associated Press