349 die in stampede

349 die in stampede

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia

Thousands of people stampeded during a festival in the Cambodian capital, leaving at least 349 dead and hundreds injured in what the prime minister called the country’s biggest tragedy since the 1970s reign of terror by the Khmer Rouge.

A panic-stricken crowd — celebrating the end of the rainy season on an island in a river — tried to flee over a bridge and many people were crushed underfoot or fell over its sides into the water.

NHTSA weighs probe into Honda

DETROIT

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will decide whether to open a full-fledged investigation into possible acceleration problems with the Honda Accord gas-electric hybrid, according to documents posted on the federal agency’s website Monday.

A woman, who was not identified, filed a complaint seeking an investigation and recall of the 2005 Accord Hybrid after a crash in July 2005 that left her injured and a passenger dead.

Miller files suit over Alaska election

ANCHORAGE, Alaska

Alaska’s bitterly contested Senate election went to state court Monday when Republican Joe Miller sued the state over the way write-in ballots for his GOP rival have been counted.

Miller is trying to stop the state from using discretion in determining voter intent on write-in ballots cast for Sen. Lisa Murkowski.

The Associated Press last week called the race for Murkowski, who had a 10,328-vote lead over Miller. Her total includes 8,159 ballots contested by Miller observers. Excluding those, she had a 2,169-vote lead.

US: Premiums must go to medical care

WASHINGTON

Health-insurance premiums should go for actual medical care — not insurers’ overhead and profits — the Obama administration said Monday in rules that for the first time require the companies to give consumers a rebate.

The regulation unveiled by the Health and Human Services department calls for insurance companies to spend at least 80 cents of the premium dollar on medical care and quality. For employer plans covering more than 50 people, the requirement is 85 cents. Insurers that fall short of the mark will have to issue their customers a rebate.

Mexico: Migrants should form convoys

MEXICO CITY

Mexico’s government is telling migrants driving home for the holidays from the United States that they should form convoys for their own safety while traveling through Mexico, and an official said Monday that police will accompany convoys on the most-dangerous stretches of highway.

A seemingly intractable wave of drug-cartel violence has made some border highways, especially in the states of Tamaulipas, Sonora and Sinaloa, so dangerous that the U.S. State Department urges travelers to avoid driving on some of the roads.

Mine rescue hits another snag

GREYMOUTH, New Zealand

The bid to rescue 29 New Zealand coal miners trapped underground by a massive gas explosion ran into more problems today as a mechanical robot broke down inside a tunnel and hard rock layers slowed progress on drilling to test the air.

Police superintendent Gary Knowles said the army robot sent in to transmit pictures and assess toxic gas levels was damaged by water and out of commission. Authorities were urgently seeking other such robots from West Australia and the United States to replace the broken one, Knowles said.

Associated Press