US shipmates await word on 7 missing

US shipmates await word on 7 missing

san felipe, mexico

They are fathers, fianc s and experienced fishermen.

The seven U.S. tourists still missing two days after their boat capsized off Mexico’s coast went to sea as they had for several years on the U.S. Independence Day holiday: They wanted to fish and have a good time.

At least one American tourist, besides the seven missing, has been confirmed dead and identified by Mexican officials as Leslie Yee of Ceres, California.

On Tuesday, the shipmates who survived the wreck awaited word as the Mexican navy and the U.S. Coast Guard expanded their search in the Gulf of California.

Senate postpones vote on Libya

washington

Senate Democratic leaders abandoned plans for a test vote Tuesday on authorizing the U.S. military operation against Libya as Republicans insisted they should instead focus on government spending and the nation’s borrowing limit.

Hours before the vote, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., announced the change in plans, leaving the fate of the resolution in doubt. One after another, GOP senators had stood on the Senate floor and signaled they would oppose any effort to move ahead on the Libya measure, arguing that dealing with the debt was far more important than working on a resolution with no practical impact.

Report: 197 migrants feared drowned

khartoum, sudan

Nearly 200 African migrants were feared drowned Tuesday after a boat carrying them to Saudi Arabia caught fire off Sudan’s northeastern coast, a semiofficial news agency reported.

The Sudan Media Center said three migrants were rescued. The boat had launched from Red Sea State, one of Sudan’s 26 states, and sailed for four hours in Sudanese territorial waters before the blaze broke out, according to the news agency.

Local authorities were still searching for possible survivors, it said. The report could not be independently confirmed.

Colon-cancer deaths drop, except in Miss.

atlanta

Colon-cancer deaths continue to drop across America — except in Mississippi, health officials said Tuesday.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a report that echoes earlier findings of a national decline in colon-cancer deaths. Rates fell by as much as 6 percent in a few states — Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island.

Mississippi was the only state that saw no real decline, according to the CDC report.

From 2003-07, the colon- and rectal-cancer death rate in the U.S. fell from 19 to 17 per 100,000 people. That represents nearly 32,000 fewer deaths, the CDC found.

Storms may delay last shuttle launch

cape canaveral, fla.

NASA’s last space shuttle countdown is under way, but lousy weather may delay Friday’s launch attempt.

There’s a 60 percent chance that rain or thunderstorms will postpone the liftoff of Atlantis, shuttle weather officer Kathy Winters said Tuesday. The weather improves with each passing day, as the launch time gets slightly earlier.

Friday’s launch time is 11:26 a.m.

Atlantis is making one final supply run to the International Space Station before retiring.

As many as 1 million spectators are expected to jam the Cape Canaveral area for the historic send-off.

Associated Press