Teen survives second plane crash
hTeen survives second plane crash
INDIANAPOLIS
The Indiana high-school basketball coach for a standout player who is fighting for his life after surviving his second plane crash says the next 24 to 48 hours are going to be critical.
Dan Kline is the basketball coach at Canterbury School in Fort Wayne, Ind. One of his players, 16-year-old Austin Hatch, was in critical condition Saturday in a Michigan hospital after the Friday evening crash that killed his father and his stepmother. Austin and his father previously had survived a 2003 crash that killed Austin’s mother and two siblings.
Kline told The Associated Press the team is “stunned” and is trying to stick together through this tough time. He says Hatch, who committed earlier this month to play basketball at Michigan, is a physically and mentally strong young man.
Explosive devices found in bookstore
GOLDEN, Colo.
Authorities say two explosive devices were found inside a Borders Bookstore at a suburban Denver mall in a case that’s now being investigated by the FBI.
Officials detonated the devices safely early Saturday, and no one was injured. Additional detail on the devices was not available.
The discovery was made at the Colorado Mills Mall in Golden, Colo., after police responded to a report of a break-in. The Jefferson County Bomb Squad detonated the devices. Damage to the store was minimal.
Police made no arrests, but the FBI is investigating.
The mall opened as usual Saturday, though the bookstore was shuttered.
Chavez’s health raises concerns
CARACAS, Venezuela
Speculation that Hugo Chavez could be suffering from a serious illness is putting attention on a predicament for the president’s allies: It’s unclear who could step forward if he had to step down.
Few Venezuelans are talking publicly about the possibility of Chavez leaving office, partly because top government officials and close relatives repeatedly have said the president is recuperating in Cuba after surgery there two weeks ago. Still, Chavez’s silence and seclusion since the operation have spurred growing talk about his health, stirring fears among some supporters that their leader could be seriously ill.
Syrians flee to Lebanon
BEIRUT
Hundreds of Syrians, some with gunshot wounds, crossed into neighboring Lebanon in search of a refuge from the growing government crackdown in their homeland, a Lebanese security official said Saturday. Other Syrians marched in a funeral for victims of the crackdown outside Damascus, demanding President Bashar Assad’s ouster.
Most refugees arriving at the Lebanese border came after Syrian security forces opened fire on protesters in anti-regime demonstrations across Syria on Friday. Syrian activists said 20 people were killed, including two children age 12 and 13. Most of those deaths occurred in the Barzeh neighborhood of the capital, Damascus, and in the suburb of al-Kaswa. Footage posted online by activists showed dozens of people in a funeral procession for three of the dead in al-Kaswa Saturday, shouting “Allahu Akbar!” or “God is great!” and “Bashar, get out!”
Associated Press