Thunderstorms complicate recovery at port in China

Thunderstorms complicate recovery at port in China

TIANJIN, China

Thunderstorms Tuesday complicated recovery efforts from last week’s massive explosions at a warehouse in China’s Tianjin port that killed at least 114 people, left 57 missing and exposed dangerous chemicals – including some that could become flammable on contact with water.

Experts have expressed concern that rain could spread some of the vast quantities of hazardous material at the site or set off chemical reactions sparking further explosions. Rain began falling midmorning, but there was no immediate word of new blasts.

The storms began shortly after residents, firefighters, police, medical staff and officials had a moment of silence marking the sixth day since the disaster, the first observance in the 49-day traditional Chinese mourning cycle. Sirens wailed and car and boat horns blared while assembled groups bowed in respect for the dead.

Lawyers: Accuser’s testimony is key in campus rape case

CONCORD, N.H.

Prosecutors and defense lawyers in the trial of an elite prep-school graduate charged with raping a freshman girl as part of a campus practice of sexual conquest told jurors Tuesday the case hinges on the accuser’s credibility.

Prosecutor Catherine Ruffle said in her opening statement that Owen Labrie, of Tunbridge, Vt., raped the 15-year-old girl at a campus building as part of the Senior Salute at the prestigious St. Paul’s School in Concord. She referred to the practice as “the context for this entire event.”

On the witness stand Tuesday, the accuser broke down crying and pointed at Labrie when asked if he was in the courtroom.

Western wildfires strain resources

CHELAN, Wash.

Wildfires are putting such a strain on the nation’s firefighting resources that authorities have activated the military and sought international help to beat back scores of blazes burning uncontrolled throughout the dry West.

The situation is so urgent that the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise this week called in 200 active-duty military troops to help contain roughly 95 wildfires. It’s the first time since 2006 that the agency has mobilized soldiers for fire-suppression.

“Nationally, the system is pretty tapped,” said Rob Allen, the deputy incident commander for the fires around the Cascade Mountain resort town of Chelan. “Everything is being used right now, so competition for resources is fierce.”

FDA approves female sex pill

WASHINGTON

The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved the first prescription drug designed to boost sexual desire in women, a milestone long sought by a pharmaceutical industry eager to replicate the blockbuster success of impotence drugs for men.

But stringent safety measures on the daily pill called Addyi mean it will probably never achieve the sales of Viagra, which has generated billions of dollars since the late 1990s.

The drug’s label will bear a boxed warning – the most serious type – alerting doctors and patients to the risks of dangerously low blood pressure and fainting, especially when the pill is combined with alcohol.

Associated Press