Tornadoes kill 6

Tornadoes kill 6

LEXINGTON, N.C.

A day after deadly tornadoes struck the Southeast, survivors looked for what they could salvage, huddled in loved ones’ hospital rooms and shared stories of how they made it through the furious storms.

Some also were mourning. People in a hard-hit North Carolina neighborhood marked the spot where a 3-year-old girl’s body was found with an American flag. The little girl and her grandmother were among six killed in three states Wednesday.

The storms killed three people in South Carolina, and a Georgia motorist died when a tree crushed his SUV north of Atlanta.

Dozens more were injured across the region, scores of buildings were damaged, and thousands were without power. Meteorologists confirmed Thursday that tornadoes had struck Louisiana and Alabama a day earlier, and twisters were suspected in Mississippi, Georgia and the Carolinas.

Cain receives Secret Service protection

WASHINGTON

Herman Cain on Thursday became the first Republican presidential candidate to receive Secret Service protection.

Cain asked for the security, and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and congressional leaders approved his request Thursday, Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan confirmed.

Elite agents were expected to begin protecting the former pizza-company executive sometime Thursday.

Death threats against Cain, who had been experiencing a bounce in the polls, triggered the request, according to an official with knowledge of the situation who asked not to be identified because of the sensitive nature of the situation.

Lower birth rates tied to economy

ATLANTA

The economy may well be the best form of birth control.

U.S. births dropped for the third-straight year — especially for young mothers — and experts think money worries are the reason.

A federal report released Thursday showed declines in the birth rate for all races and most age groups. Teens and women in their early 20s had the most dramatic dip, to the lowest rates since record-keeping began in the 1940s. Also, the rate of cesarean sections stopped going up for the first time since 1996.

Experts suspected the economy drove down birth rates in 2008 and 2009 as women put off having children. With the 2010 figures, suspicion has turned into certainty.

Associated Press