Typhoon Nesat hits Philippines

Typhoon Nesat hits Philippines

MANILA, Philippines

A powerful typhoon slammed ashore the northern Philippines today, unleashing floods, cutting power and halting work in the capital, Manila. Authorities ordered more than 100,000 people to shelter from rains and wind gusts of up to 106 miles per hour.

At least one person — a baby — drowned, and four fishermen were reported missing.

Typhoon Nesat made landfall before dawn over eastern mountainous Isabela and Aurora provinces which face the Pacific Ocean, packing sustained winds of 87 mph, the government weather bureau said.

5 found dead on rural Ind. property

LAUREL, Ind.

A driver in rural Indiana made a startling discovery, finding a young girl walking in the road, alone.

But what police found at the 4-year-old’s home was even more disturbing: four people dead, at least some of them shot. A fifth person was dead on a nearby property.

Indiana State Police said autopsies were done Monday on four of the five victims, and they didn’t plan to release the IDs until after the fifth autopsy is completed today.

No appeal set on health-care ruling

WASHINGTON

The Obama administration has decided not to ask a federal appeals court in Atlanta for further review of a ruling striking down the centerpiece of President Barack Obama’s sweeping health-care overhaul. The administration’s decision makes it more likely that the U.S. Supreme Court would hear a case on the health-care overhaul in the court’s term starting next month and render its verdict on the law in the midst of the 2012 presidential election campaign.

USPS to let stamps honor living people

WASHINGTON

Who would you put on a stamp? Charlie Sheen? Lady Gaga? Yourself?

Hoping to boost sagging revenue, the U.S. Postal Service on Monday abandoned its long-standing rule that stamps cannot feature people who are still alive and is asking the public for suggestions.

It’s a first that means living sports stars, writers, artists and other prominent — or not-so-prominent — people could take their places in postal history next to the likes of George Washington, Martin Luther King Jr. and Marilyn Monroe.

Peace-prize winner from Kenya dies

JOHANNESBURG

Wangari Maathai, a Kenyan environmentalist who made it her mission to teach her countrywomen to plant trees and became Africa’s first female Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has died. She was 71.

One of Kenya’s most beloved figures, Maathai died Sunday after a yearlong battle with cancer. Her illness was not widely known until after her death in a Nairobi hospital.

Maathai won the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize for her work on sustainable development, democracy and peace.

Dads less likely to die of heart trouble?

Fatherhood may be a kick in the old testosterone, but it also may help keep a man alive. New research suggests that dads are a little less likely to die of heart-related problems than childless men are. The study — by the AARP, the government and several universities — is the largest ever on male fertility and mortality, involving nearly 138,000 men. Although a study like this can’t prove that fatherhood and mortality are related, there are plenty of reasons to think they might be, several heart disease experts said.

Associated Press