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The News in 2 Minutes

Published: Thursday, August 28, 2008 8:24 PM MST

From The Associated Press

Gulf Coast puts faith in planning

NEW ORLEANS—With Gustav approaching hurricane strength and showing no signs of veering off a track to slam into the Gulf Coast, authorities across the region began laying the groundwork Thursday to get the sick, elderly and poor away from the shoreline.

In Jamaica, residents, tourists and oil workers fled as Gustav swamped the island, leaving 59 people dead in its wake. Gustav’s center was 15 miles east-northeast of Kingston, Jamaica’s low-lying capital. Forecasters said it could grow to a hurricane before slamming into Grand Cayman on Friday night.

Thursday the first batch of 700 buses that could ferry residents inland were being sent to a staging area near New Orleans, and officials in Mississippi were trying to decide when to move residents along the coast who were still living in temporary homes after 2005’s devastating Hurricane Katrina, including trailers vulnerable to high wind.

The preliminary planning for a potential evacuation is part of a massive outline drafted after Katrina slammed ashore three years ago, flooding 80 percent of New Orleans and stranding thousands who couldn’t get out in time.

At least three of the nation’s largest railroads, Union Pacific, Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Norfolk Southern said Thursday they will soon redirect traffic out of New Orleans ahead of Gustav.

Shippers UPS Inc. and FedEx Corp. said they are making plans to implement contingency procedures. Both have staffs of meterologists on site to monitor the situation.

Oil companies and drilling contractors Thursday accelerated the evacuation of thousands of workers and secured offshore rigs and other equipment in the Gulf of Mexico. About 35,000 people work in the Gulf, staffing offshore rigs and production facilities, among other tasks, according to the U.S. Minerals Management Service.

Federal agency issues warning on bassinet

KANSAS CITY, Mo.—The federal Consumer Product Safety Commission is warning parents and caregivers to immediately stop using a popular brand of bassinet after the death of a second baby attributed to the product.

The warning covers the Simplicity 3-in-1 and Simplicity 4-in-1 bassinets. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., one of the largest distributors of the product, said Thursday it is pulling the bassinets off of its shelves and its Web site.

“We are working with the supplier and CPSC and are directing store managers to remove product identified in the CPSC press release from store shelves and initiating a register block to prevent sale,” Wal-Mart said in a statement. “In addition, we are in the process of removing this product from sale at Walmart.com.”

Judge halts printing of Arizona ballot info

PHOENIX—A judge hearing a last-minute lawsuit to save an Arizona ballot spot for an initiative proposal on affirmative action ordered election officials on Thursday to stop printing November ballots and the publicity pamphlet for voters.

The order issued by Judge Edward Burke of Maricopa County Superior Court applies until further orders of the court. The lawsuit filed late Wednesday by supporters of Proposition 104 contends that election officials wrongly deemed that numerous valid voter signatures on initiative petitions were invalid.

Walkway collapses in San Diego, 16 hurt

SAN DIEGO—A block-long covered walkway next to a construction scaffold collapsed on Thursday, trapping and injuring 16 pedestrians, three critically.

About 25 people were on the walkway when its wooden walls and roof fell in, authorities said. Some scaffolding along the 3-story building also fell.

“Three people suffered life-threatening injuries, including head trauma, when they were hit by falling debris, authorities said.

Fire spokesman Daniel Calderon said investigators did not know what caused the collapse.

Former Marine acquitted in killing of Iraqis

RIVERSIDE, Calif.—A former Marine accused of killing unarmed Iraqi detainees was acquitted of voluntary manslaughter Thursday. It was the first time a civilian jury has determined whether the alleged actions of a former military service member in combat violated the law of war.

The jury took six hours to find Jose Luis Nazario Jr., 28, not guilty of charges that he killed or caused others to kill four unarmed detainees on Nov. 9, 2004, in Fallujah, Iraq, during some of the fiercest fighting of the war.

The verdict left the defendant in tears. His mother, family and friends cried so loud the judge smacked his gavel in a call for order.


McCain to Obama: ‘Well done’		Church of Religious Science welcomes new assistant minister

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