Double-decker bus crash kills at least 1

Double-decker bus crash kills at least 1

litchfield, ill.

A packed double-decker Megabus slammed into an Illinois interstate bridge support pillar Thursday, hurtling screaming passengers from their seats and leaving at least one person dead and more than three dozen injured, officials said.

Illinois State Police Trooper Doug Francis said the passenger who died was female, but he would not disclose her name or age.

He did not know where she was seated on the bus, which was traveling between Chicago and Kansas City.

Francis said 38 people were taken to hospitals for injuries from the crash, which left the bus sitting with its crumpled front end smashed up against the bridge support.

Angry Vt. farmer crushes cop vehicles

montpelier, vt.

Working in a stout former bank building with windows closed and air conditioners humming, Orleans County deputy sheriffs didn’t know what was happening in their parking lot until a neighbor called 911.

A man on a big farm tractor, angry about his recent arrest for resisting arrest and marijuana possession, was rolling across their vehicles — five marked cruisers, one unmarked car and a transport van.

Thursday afternoon’s incident ended when city police in Newport, the county seat of the northern Vermont county, caught up with Roger Pion, 34, a short distance away.

GOP probe: Red flags were ignored

washington

Republicans investigating the government’s investment in a bankrupt solar panel manufacturer have con-cluded that the Obama administration ignored numerous red flags about the company’s financial viability, leaving taxpayers on the hook for more than $500 million.

For months, Republican lawmakers have made the government’s loan to California-based Solyndra Inc. the centerpiece of their criticisms of President Barack Obama’s $787 billion economic stimulus package.

The release of the report Thursday by the House Energy and Commerce Committee gave them another opportunity to reinforce that message.

Panel: State could’ve done more in case

olympia, wash.

Social workers tasked with protecting the children of Josh Powell did not consult with law enforcement or explore his potentially violent past before allowing him to host supervised visits at his home, a panel found Thursday.

Powell violently killed his kids during one such visit earlier this year. Now a lawsuit looms because of the state’s handling of the case.

Thursday’s report, issued by a task force convened after the deaths, concluded that the Washington Department of Social and Health Services should “make concerted efforts” to check with detectives prior to making changes in parent-child contacts when there is an active investigation.

Authorities have been investigating the 2009 disappearance of Powell’s wife, Susan Powell, from the couple’s Utah home.

Tropical storm nearing Barbados

miami

Forecasters say Tropical Storm Ernesto is churning toward a string of popular vacation islands in the Caribbean Sea and expected to pass near Barbados during the night.

Hurricane center meteorologist David Zelinsky says the storm is strengthening and could become a hurricane, but it’s too soon to tell.

Associated Press