Nation & World Digest

First lady in Mexico

MEXICO CITY

Michelle Obama has arrived in Mexico on her first solo visit to the country as first lady.

Mrs. Obama is spending today and Thursday in the capital of Mexico City on a visit that is part goodwill tour and in part to roll out an international agenda centered on engaging young people around the world.

She will spend all of her public time in Mexico in the company of children. She also plans to meet privately with her counterpart, Margarita Zavala, the wife of Mexican President Felipe Calderon.

Independent probe in mine explosion

CHARLESTON, W.Va

Gov. Joe Manchin on Tuesday asked a former top federal mine-safety official to independently investigate an explosion that killed 29 West Virginia miners, and also called for more scrutiny of mines with a history of safety violations.

Manchin told The Associated Press that J. Davitt McAteer, who headed the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration during the Clinton administration, will probe the blast at Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch mine and be his special adviser on the matter.

McAteer’s probe will be independent of separate state and federal investigations.

Missing girl found alive in swamp

tampa, Fla.

A missing 11-year-old central Florida girl with an autism-related disorder was found alive by a family acquaintance Tuesday, four days after she disappeared into an alligator-infested swamp a half-mile from her suburban home.

Fifth-grader Nadia Bloom was taken to a hospital where she was evaluated and treated for dehydration and insect bites, said Winter Springs Police Chief Kevin Brunelle.

It took nearly two hours for rescuers to carry Nadia out of the thick brush and swamp.

Quake hits China

BEIJING

A series of strong earthquakes struck China’s western Qinghai province today, the U.S. Geological Survey said. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

The USGS reported on its Web site that a magnitude- 6.9 temblor struck an area in southern Qinghai, near Tibet, at 7:50 a.m. local time (8:50 p.m. EDT Tuesday), and was followed by two quakes in the same region.

Voinovich sides with Dems on jobless aid

WASHINGTON

A top Senate Democrat proposed Tuesday to give unemployed people jobless benefits through Memorial Day instead of risking another cutoff in just three weeks.

Max Baucus, D-Mont., proposed the additional time as the Senate officially began debate on legislation to revive a federal unemployment- insurance program for people who have been out of a job for more than six months.

Ohio Republican George Voinovich emerged as a key figure as Democrats and Republicans continued to quarrel over whether federal jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed should be paid for with borrowed money. Voinovich signaled he will side with Democrats to provide a crucial vote that would ensure the measure’s speedy advance into law.

Man awarded $1.4M in Scout abuse case

PORTLAND, Ore.

A jury delivered an embarrassing rebuke to the Boy Scouts of America on Tuesday when it found that the organization failed to protect a man who was molested by an assistant Scoutmaster in the early 1980s.

Jurors awarded $1.4 million to the former Portland man and decided that the Irving, Texas-based organization was liable for up to $25 million in punitive damages that will be decided in a separate phase of the trial.

Associated Press