Archaeologists think they found Pilgrim settlement

Archaeologists think they found Pilgrim settlement

PLYMOUTH, Mass.

Archaeologists have pinpointed what they think is the exact spot where the Pilgrims lived in the years after landing in the New World.

Every American schoolchild knows the Pilgrims landed in Plymouth in 1620, but exactly where has been elusive.

Archaeologists from the University of Massachusetts Boston tell The Boston Globe they have discovered what is believed to be part of the original settlement, based on the discovery of a calf’s bones, musket balls, ceramics and brownish soil where a wooden post once stood.

Tennessee crash revives debate over school-bus seat belts

NASHVILLE, Tenn.

A crash that killed six children in Tennessee is reviving discussion over whether school buses – considered among the safest vehicles on the road because of their height and bulk – should also be equipped with seat belts.

Only six states require seat belts on large buses. Many others, including Tennessee, have considered but dropped such legislation in recent years out of concerns including cost.

Among those saying it is now time to reconsider is Tennessee state Rep. Joanne Favors, who responded to the scene of Monday’s crash in Chattanooga and was shaken by the sight of the yellow bus on its side, sliced through by a tree. Police say the driver, who has been charged with five counts of vehicular homicide, was speeding along a narrow, winding road when he crashed.

The bus did not have seat belts, and NTSB officials said it was too soon to know whether they would have made a difference. Five students were killed in the crash Monday. A sixth child died Wednesday evening.

Earthquake hits off coast of Japan; no tsunami warning

TOKYO

A strong earthquake has shaken the same area in Japan hit by a magnitude-7.4 earthquake two days ago. No tsunami warning was issued.

The Japan Meteorological Agency says a magnitude-6.1 earthquake struck this morning off the shore of southern Fukushima prefecture.

It said there may be slight changes in sea levels, but there is no risk of damage from a tsunami.

The U.S. Geological Survey recorded the magnitude at 5.6.

Pilot missing in Africa air show is reported safe

KAMPALA, Uganda

A British pilot who had gone missing while flying a 1943 Piper Cub plane from Sudan to Ethiopia has been found safe and well, the organizers of a trans-Africa air show said Wednesday.

All participants in the Vintage Air Rally, including the missing Maurice Kirk, are currently in Ethiopia’s Gambela region.

Authorities there “have elected to allocate them accommodation at the airport rather than permit them to proceed to their pre-booked hotel,” a publicist for the air show said in a statement.

It was not possible to communicate with the crews, but the U.K. Foreign and Commonwealth Office is negotiating on their behalf, said the statement signed by Tom Burns of World Reach Coms.

Vintage Air Rally had said in a statement posted on Facebook on Tuesday that Kirk, 72, had not arrived at his expected destination in Gambela, Ethiopia.

Associated Press