Aftershocks hit Mexico-US border

Aftershocks hit Mexico-US border

MEXICALI, Mexico

Aftershocks rattled the southwest Mexico-U.S. border Monday morning in the aftermath of a major earthquake that killed two people, blacked out cities and forced the evacuation of hospitals and nursing homes.

Sunday’s 7.2-magnitude quake, centered just south of the U.S. border near Mexicali, was one of the strongest earthquakes to hit the region in decades, shaking at least 20 million people.

It had a shallow depth of 6 miles. But the human toll was minimal, in large part because the energy from the quake moved northwest of Mexicali toward a less-populated area, said Jessica Sigala, a geophysicist from the U.S. Geological Survey.

Quakes occurring at Alaska volcano

ANCHORAGE, Alaska

A swarm of small earthquakes began Monday at a volcano near Anchorage in what scientists said was a warning that Mount Redoubt could be waking from its slumber.

“It is reminding us that it is an active volcano,” said Rick Wessels, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Anchorage.

The swarm of small quakes started early in the day near the summit of Mount Redoubt, about 100 miles southwest of Anchorage, with a regular pattern often seen when magma is moving inside a volcano, Wessels said.

Newborn baboon killed at SC zoo

COLUMBIA, S.C.

Officials at a South Carolina zoo say a newborn baboon died after being attacked by its father in front of nearly 50 people who had gathered after the baby’s birth just minutes earlier.

Riverbanks Zoo officials said Monday’s birth and attack happened while the animals were in their exhibit and within public view.

Zoo staff knew about the impending birth and were observing when the male picked up the infant and threw it.

Mammal curator John Davis says about 50 people had gathered after the birth and saw the attack.

hTaliban attack US consulate

ISLAMABAD

PESHAWAR, Pakistan

Islamist militants unleashed a car bomb and grenade attack against a U.S. consulate in northwestern Pakistan on Monday, killing four people and striking back after months of American missile strikes against Taliban and al-Qaida fighters in the region.

Hours earlier, a suicide bomber killed 45 people and wounded more than 70 at a rally by a secular political party in the northwest that has supported recent Pakistani army offensives in the region close to Afghanistan, where the United States is battling a related insurgency.

The attacks follow a lull in violence since the beginning of the year, illustrating the militants’ resilience.

Murray’s case assigned to judge

LOS ANGELES

With Michael Jackson’s mother, father and three siblings looking on, Dr. Conrad Murray began a slow process toward trial Monday with the appointment of a judge and the setting of another hearing to handle pending matters in his involuntary-manslaughter case.

Murray made quick back-to-back appearances in separate courtrooms.

Associated Press