Firefighters gaining on Texas wildfires

Firefighters gaining on Texas wildfires

BASTROP, Texas

Firefighters gained ground Wednesday against one of the most destructive wildfires in Texas history even as the state said the number of homes lost reached almost 800, and an elite search team set out to find any victims in the smoking ruins.

The blaze has left at least two people dead, blackened about 45 square miles around Bastrop and cast a haze over Austin, 25 miles to the west, where the air smelled strongly of pine and cedar.

Firefighters reported that the flames were at least 30 percent contained after burning uncontrolled for three days.

Bomb in capital of India kills 11 people

NEW DELHI

A briefcase bomb tore through a crowd of people waiting to enter a New Delhi courthouse, killing 11 people and wounding scores more Wednesday in the deadliest terrorist attack in India’s capital in nearly three years.

An al-Qaida-linked group claimed responsibility, though government officials said it was too early to identify a suspect. The attack outside the High Court came despite a high alert across the city and renewed doubts about India’s ability to protect even its most important institutions despite overhauling security after the 2008 Mumbai siege.

Principal accused of molesting girls

SACRAMENTO, Calif.

The principal of a small private school in the suburbs of the state capital was arrested Wednesday on charges that he fondled at least seven girls over the past 15 years, months after he was accused of touching female students under their clothes. Robert Benson Adams, 60, was the owner and principal of the Creative Frontiers School in Citrus Heights, a middle-class suburb about 20 miles northeast of Sacramento. It was shut down in mid-July after a complaint was filed by the California Department of Social Services.

East Coast faces more flood worries

WINDHAM, N.Y.

Drenched and dispirited, East Coast residents recovering from Hurricane Irene were stuck under the chugging remnants of Tropical Storm Lee on Wednesday, some of them grudgingly preparing to move to higher ground yet again as rivers rose.

From Maryland to New England, heavy rains swelled waterways, flooded highways and stretched emergency responders already dealing with cleanup from last week’s punishing blow from Irene.

Egypt’s military rulers to testify

CAIRO

The judge in the trial of Hosni Mubarak on Wednesday summoned the top members of Egypt’s ruling military council to testify in closed sessions, a move Egyptians eagerly have hoped for, expecting the top generals will expose the ousted leader’s role in putting down protests against his rule.

Testifying at the landmark trial could give Field Marshal Mohammed Tantawi, who now rules Egypt, a chance to boost his image in the face of growing public criticism that the military remains too close to Mubarak’s regime. It also injects new seriousness into a trial that many saw as running aground amid confusion and allegations of perjury.

Navy corpsman surrenders in threat

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif.

An AWOL Navy corpsman turned himself in Wednesday after leaving a threatening note claiming he planted bombs at a nearby Southern California high school in an incident that prompted administrators to order students out of the building on the first day of classes.

Daniel Morgan, 22, surrendered at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base around 1 p.m. Wednesday, Master Sgt. Mark Oliva said.

Associated Press