FAMILY OF NINE KILLED IN U.S.-LED COALITION STRIKE

Family of nine killed inU.S.-led coalition strike
JABAR, Afghanistan -- A coalition airstrike destroyed a mud-brick home after a rocket attack on a U.S. base, killing nine people from four generations of an Afghan family including a 6-month-old, officials and relatives said Monday -- one of the latest in a string of civilian deaths that threaten to undermine the government. It was the third report in two days of U.S. forces killing civilians. The airstrike took place late Sunday in Kapisa province north of the capital, some 12 hours after U.S. Marines opened fire on civilian cars and pedestrians after a suicide bombing in eastern Nangahar province. In the other episode, an American convoy in the southern city of Kandahar -- where suicide attacks have become commonplace over the past year -- opened fire Monday on a vehicle that drove too close, killing the driver, said Noor Ahmad, a Kandahar police officer who said he witnessed the shooting.
Surveillance programsreceive board's approval
WASHINGTON -- A White House privacy board is giving its stamp of approval to two of the Bush administration's controversial surveillance programs -- electronic eavesdropping and financial tracking -- and says they do not violate citizens' civil liberties. Democrats newly in charge of Congress quickly criticized the findings, which they said were questionable given some of the board members' close ties with the Bush administration. "Their current findings and any additional conclusions they reach will be taken with a grain of salt until they become fully independent," said Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee. After operating mostly in secret for a year, the five-member Privacy and Civil Liberties Board is preparing to release its first report to Congress next week.
Pilot crashes plane intoex-mother-in-law's house
INDIANAPOLIS -- A pilot and his 8-year-old daughter were killed Monday when their small plane crashed into his former mother-in-law's house near a southern Indiana airport, authorities said. A preliminary crash investigation leads "us to believe that this was an intentional act," Indiana State Police spokesman 1st Sgt. Dave Bursten said. The crash in Bedford, about 20 miles south of Bloomington, killed Eric Johnson, 47, of Bedford, and his daughter Emily, Bursten said. Emily did not go to school Monday, and Johnson's ex-wife, Beth Johnson, went to Bedford police headquarters about 11:30 a.m. to say she believed he might have abducted the girl, Bursten said. That was about 45 minutes after the Cessna crashed into the residence of Eric Johnson's former mother-in-law, Vivian Pace, Bursten said.
Community begins buryingstudents killed by tornado
FORT RUCKER, Ala. -- Bandaged and bruised teenagers wiped at tears Monday as a southeast Alabama community began burying the eight students killed when a tornado tore apart their high school. Friends and relatives said Michael Bowen was found with his arms around Katie Strunk, which they took to mean he was trying to protect her when they died. "He was always our rock," Bowen's stepfather, LaVaughn Steward, said before a coffin draped in white. "I know today who my hero is. My hero is Michael." He spoke to more than 600 people inside a chapel at Fort Rucker, the Army's helicopter flight training base that borders Enterprise. Five of the eight killed, including Bowen, have parents who either serve in the military at Fort Rucker or work as contractors there. School remained canceled, and services were planned today for at least three more teenagers killed in a hallway at Enterprise High School when a wall and concrete roof collapsed in Thursday's storm.
Blood clot discoveredin vice president's leg
WASHINGTON -- Doctors discovered a blood clot in Vice President Dick Cheney's left leg Monday, a condition that could be fatal if left untreated. The 66-year-old Cheney, who has a history of heart problems, will be treated with blood-thinning medication for several months, said spokeswoman Lea Anne McBride. She said Cheney visited his doctor's office in Washington after feeling minor discomfort in his calf. An ultrasound showed the blood clot -- called a deep venous thrombosis -- in his left lower leg. Blood clots that form deep in the legs can become killers if they break off and float into the lungs. This is called a pulmonary embolism. Deep vein thrombosis strikes an estimated 2 million Americans each year, killing 60,000. Many people suffer DVT after spending long periods without moving, such as passengers on long-haul airline flights. Cheney spent about 65 hours on a plane on a nine-day, round-the-world trip that ended last week.
Associated Press