SalemNews.com, Salem, MA--National News

Two people killed in Maine by lightning strike

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 01:04:00 EDT

STANDISH, Maine (AP) — Sheriff's officials said a man and woman in Standish were killed after a lightning strike at their home.
Cumberland County sheriff's deputies and members of the Standish fire and rescue were called to a residence on Ossipee Trail West shortly before 6 p.m. yesterday after getting a call that two people were injured by lightning.

Man dies following Buzzards Bay boat crash

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 22:15:00 EDT

NEW BEDFORD (AP) — A 64-year-old man has died after falling overboard when two boats collided in Buzzards Bay.
Coast Guard officials said the accident happened yesterday around 1:45 p.m. when the 60-foot Reason collided with a 30-foot sailboat called the Padanaram.

Police probe death of Boston boy on ventilator

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 22:14:00 EDT

BOSTON (AP) — Police are investigating the death of a 15-year-old boy with cerebral palsy who died yesterday after his ventilator appeared to fail during a power outage.
Police said they were called to the East Boston home of Fernando Vargas shortly after 6 a.m. for a report of a person in cardiac arrest. Vargas was pronounced dead at 6:25 a.m. Police did not immediately release further details.

Singer and radio star Jo Stafford dies at 90

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 20:20:00 EDT

LOS ANGELES — Jo Stafford, the honey-voiced band singer who starred in radio and television and sold more than 25 million records with her ballads and folks songs, has died. She was 90.
Stafford died of congestive heart failure Wednesday at her Century City home, her son, Tim Weston of Topanga, said yesterday. She had been in declining health since October, he said.

FBI: Pro soccer players help subdue man on flight

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 20:18:00 EDT

OKLAHOMA CITY — An American Airlines flight from Boston to Los Angeles was diverted to Oklahoma City yesterday after a passenger stripped, put his clothes back on and then tried to open an emergency exit door before being subdued by members of the New England Revolution Major League Soccer team and others, the FBI said.

Oil markets: Bottoming out or taking a breather?

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:14:00 EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices tumbled below $130 a barrel for the first time in more than a month yesterday, as crude's dramatic slide entered a third day accompanied by a sharp sell-off in natural gas.

Obama's cache of cash; now he must keep filling it

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:13:00 EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Though he's raking in the cash so far, Barack Obama's decision to forgo public funds for the fall campaign means he must keep up his torrid pace — a tall order that will tax his time, test his Internet support and require the help of Democratic donors who once wished for his defeat.

US judge OKs first Guantanamo Bay detainee trial

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:12:00 EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The first war crimes trial at Guantanamo Bay can begin Monday, a federal judge has ruled, saying civilian courts should let the military process play out as Congress intended.
U.S. District Judge James Robertson yesterday rejected an effort by Osama bin Laden's former driver, Salim Hamdan, to postpone his trial. Hamdan argued he would suffer irreparable harm if he was tried before he could challenge the legality of the process.

Mass. News in Brief

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:12:00 EDT

Big Dig costs continue to swamp state
BOSTON (AP) — State overseers of the Big Dig highway project acknowledged yesterday that the project will ultimately cost the taxpayers $22 billion by the time the debt is paid off 30 years from now — nearly 50 percent higher than the most recent official pricetag.

People in the News

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:10:00 EDT

Billy Crystal joins 9/11 memorial foundation board
NEW YORK (AP) — Billy Crystal is going to help build the Sept. 11 memorial.
The 60-year-old actor was named yesterday to the board of directors of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, the foundation raising money to build the memorial to the 2001 terrorist attacks.

'Mad Men,' 'Damages' make Emmy noms history

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:09:00 EDT

LOS ANGELES — Basic cable TV looked more like a pop-culture bargain yesterday as AMC's "Mad Men" and FX's "Damages" snared historic best-series Emmy nominations, while stars from cable's less glamorous channels also made a splash in major acting categories.

Would Mass. gay-marriage move spark wedding rush?

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:08:00 EDT

NEW YORK — Thousands of gay couples from New York and other Northeastern states are expected to marry in Massachusetts if the state follows through on a move toward letting them wed.
But many others don't see any need to pack their bags and rush to the altar. They believe the expected change in Massachusetts will fuel momentum for legalizing gay unions in their own states. Both advocates and critics see the move as knocking down another important barrier for gay couples, emboldening efforts elsewhere to allow gay marriage.

Inflation watch: Consumer prices jump in June

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 23:28:00 EDT

WASHINGTON — Prices for a quart of milk, a plane ticket and a host of other products rose in June at nearly the fastest pace in a generation — yet another economic shock wave that alarmed analysts and took a bite out of the buying power of Americans.

Bernanke tries to settle nerves over economy, banks

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 23:28:00 EDT

WASHINGTON — When Missouri Democrat Emanuel Cleaver asked Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke yesterday when the nation's financial woes would end, he was expressing the yearning of many on Main Street and Wall Street that the yearlong pain would soon be over.

Police pose as pedestrians to nab errant drivers

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 23:27:00 EDT

CHICAGO — So why did officer Grace Delgado try to cross the road? To remind motorists that they must stop whenever someone steps off the curb into a crosswalk.
In an unusual undercover operation, Delgado posed as a pedestrian on a busy street while fellow officers waited for drivers to barrel past her in violation of a law that requires them to yield at crosswalks, even if there is no stop sign.

Cape Cod doctor charged in abortion patient death

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 23:27:00 EDT

BARNSTABLE (AP) — A Cape Cod doctor was indicted for manslaughter yesterday in the death of a 22-year-old patient whose heart stopped after he performed an abortion.
Dr. Rapin Osathanondh, an obstetrician/gynecologist, was charged in the death of Laura Hope Smith of Sandwich last year.

People In The News

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 23:26:00 EDT

Andy Dick jailed in SoCal on drug, sex allegations
MURRIETA, Calif. (AP) — Andy Dick was arrested early yesterday for investigation of drug use and sexual battery after the comedian allegedly pulled down a teenager's top, police said.

Some US soldiers in Iraq yearn to be in Afghan war

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 23:26:00 EDT

BAGHDAD — Spc. Grover Gebhart has spent nine months at a small post on a Sunni-Shiite fault line in western Baghdad. But the 21-year-old soldier on his first tour in Iraq feels he's missing the real war — in Afghanistan, where his brother is fighting the Taliban.

Inflation watch: Consumer prices jump in June

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 23:24:00 EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — In the latest shock wave to hit the economy, consumer prices rose 1.1 percent in June from the month before, far faster than the expected rate of 0.7 percent and almost double the reading from May, the Labor Department said yesterday.

Former NH candidate Gary Dodds hospitalized

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 23:18:00 EDT

DOVER (AP) — Former New Hampshire congressional candidate Gary Dodds, who has been in jail since July 3 following his arrest on charges that he assaulted his wife, has been hospitalized.
WMUR-TV reported yesterday that Dodds was found unresponsive in his jail cell and was taken to Wentworth-Douglass Hospital in Dover.