Fire boss sees improved outlook for vast fire near Los Angeles threatening thousands of homes
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Firefighters set backfires and removed brush with bulldozers across a huge swath of Southern California forest on Tuesday to try to contain a 190-square-mile wildfire that has destroyed 53 homes and threatened thousands more in foothill suburbs.
The commander of the vast firefighting operation expressed a positive outlook for the first time in the week since the blaze erupted in the Angeles National Forest north of Los Angeles and grew into a giant.
"I'm feeling a lot more optimistic today than I did yesterday and the crews are doing fabulous work out there on the grounds but the bottom line is that they're fighting for every foot," said Mike Dietrich of the U.S. Forest Service.
The fire continued to spread in wilderness but Dietrich said the containment figure was expected to rise substantially from the current 5 percent after overnight progress was mapped. He noted that bulldozers had carved up to 12 miles of lines and no new structures were lost overnight.
Some 3,600 firefighters and aircraft were working across a 50-mile span to battle the blaze.
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GOP headliners McConnell and McCain hit the road to speak out on health care overhaul
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - An odd couple of Republican senators have hit the road, arguing for a go-slow approach to President Barack Obama's push to revamp health care.
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and 2008 presidential nominee John McCain are headlining the GOP's answer to the raucous town hall meetings of August in which congressional Democrats had to shout over angry constituents about health care, growing deficits and the increasing role of the federal government.
Not known for working closely or particularly liking each other - the two waged a fierce fight for years over campaign finance - McConnell and McCain nonetheless have been united at three events in two days in which they've urged a more modest approach on Obama's top domestic priority.
In North Carolina on Tuesday, they interacted with something close to deference, unity and self-deprecation.
McConnell introduced McCain as the "famous GOP senator."
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Libyan celebration of coup that brought Gadhafi to power overshadowed by Lockerbie controversy
TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) - Libya staged a lavish spectacle Tuesday, parading white-robed horsemen and gold-turbaned dancers as jets streaked overhead to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the coup that brought Moammar Gadhafi to power in the oil-rich nation.
The four-day festivities were designed to highlight the volatile leader's acceptance on the world stage, but were overshadowed by new controversies about the return of the only man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing. While African leaders held a summit to coincide with the celebrations, most Western leaders stayed away.
The Libyan leader, known for his outlandish outfits and penchant for conducting state business in tents, kicked off the celebrations before dawn Tuesday, timed to coincide with the start of the coup, with a feast at a former U.S. air base that was later turned into a Libyan military camp.
Addressing the audience, Gadhafi said that as a young Libyan lieutenant he'd been barred from entering the base by an American soldier.
"I told the soldier: 'You'll see what the future has in store,"' said Gadhafi. "I don't think the American soldier quite measured the scope of my words."
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Mexico struggles to evacuate thousands as fierce Hurricane Jimena nears Los Cabos resorts
LOS CABOS, Mexico (AP) - Heavy winds, battering waves and bands of intense rain pummeled residents and tourists in this vacation resort as Hurricane Jimena, one of the largest hurricanes this year, neared the coast on Tuesday.
The center of the roaring hurricane, which weakened to a still threatening Category 3, was on course to pass west of Los Cabos late Tuesday or early Wednesday, close enough to punish the picturesque beaches and fishing villages that fringe the harsh desert.
Ashley Legeyt, 62, a retiree from British Columbia who lives in Cabo San Lucas, pushed through the oncoming storm onto an exposed rocky point where he leaned against the onslaught of the hurricane's outer winds.
"It's like getting sandblasted with water!" said Legeyt, his back to the wind, sand and spray blowing in from the ocean. "It's quite strong."
The Mexican government declared a state of emergency for Los Cabos and the Baja California Sur state capital of La Paz and schools, many ports and most businesses were closed. Rescue workers from the Red Cross and the Mexican military prepared for post-hurricane disaster relief, and two Mexican Army Hercules aircraft loaded with medical supplies arrived.
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Animal rights group video shows unwanted male chicks ground up alive at Iowa egg hatchery
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - An animal rights group publicized a video Tuesday showing unwanted chicks being tossed alive into a grinder at an Iowa plant and accused egg hatcheries of being "perhaps the cruelest industry" in the world.
The undercover video was shot by Chicago-based Mercy for Animals at a hatchery in Spencer, Iowa, over a two-week period in May and June. The video was first obtained Monday by The Associated Press.
"We have to ask ourselves if these were puppies and kittens being dropped into grinders, would we find that acceptable?" asked Nathan Runkle, the group's executive director, at a news conference in Des Moines. "I don't think that most people would."
The group said that tossing male chicks, which have little value because they can't lay eggs or be raised quickly enough to be raised profitably for meat, into grinders is common industry practice. United Egg Producers, a trade group for U.S. egg farmers, confirmed that.
The hatchery is owned by West Des Moines-based Hy-Line North America and is one of many operations in Iowa, the nation's leading egg producer.
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Clunkers lift Ford, Toyota, Honda Aug. sales; low supply of smaller cars dampens Chrysler, GM
DETROIT (AP) - The Cash for Clunkers program boosted sales at Ford, Toyota and Honda in August as consumers snapped up their fuel-efficient offerings, but rivals Chrysler Group LLC and General Motors Co. withstood another month of falling sales.
The program, which ended on Aug. 24, drew hordes of buyers into quiet showrooms by offering up to $4,500 toward new, more fuel-efficient cars and trucks. The hefty rebates gave automakers and dealers a much-needed lift, spurring 690,114 new sales, many of them during August, at a taxpayer cost of $2.88 billion.
Other automakers are expected to release U.S. sales figures later Tuesday. Combined, the results are likely to mark the first year-over-year monthly sales gain since October 2007.
Ford Motor Co. sold 181,826 cars and light trucks compared with 155,117 in August 2008, when high gas prices and growing economic uncertainty kept people away from showrooms.
Two of Ford's vehicles - the Focus and Escape - were among the top selling cars under the clunkers program. Sales of the Focus rose 56 percent while those of the Escape crossover vehicle climbed 49 percent.
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Best-selling Bible translation to be revised, evangelicals to debate gender-inclusive language
The top-selling Bible in North America will undergo its first revision in 25 years, modernizing the language in some sections and promising to reopen a contentious debate about changing gender terms in the sacred text.
The New International Version, the Bible of choice for conservative evangelicals, will be revised to reflect changes in English usage and advances in Biblical scholarship, it was announced Tuesday. The revision is scheduled to be completed late next year and published in 2011.
"We want to reach English speakers across the globe with a Bible that is accurate, accessible and that speaks to its readers in a language they can understand," said Keith Danby, global president and CEO of Biblica, a Colorado Springs, Colo.-based Christian ministry that holds the NIV copyright.
But past attempts to remake the NIV for contemporary audiences in different editions have been plagued by controversies about gender language that have pitted theological conservatives against each other.
The changes did not make all men "people" or remove male references to God, but instead involved dropping gender-specific terms when translators judged that the original text didn't intend it. So in some verses, references to "sons of God" became "children of God," for example.
Supporters say gender-inclusive changes are more accurate and make the Bible more accessible, but critics contend they twist meaning or smack of political correctness.
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Animal study shows how easily swine flu overtakes regular flu strains, eases 'superbug' fears
WASHINGTON (AP) - Put swine flu in a room with other strains of influenza and it doesn't mix into a new superbug - it takes over, researchers reported Tuesday.
University of Maryland researchers deliberately co-infected ferrets to examine one of the worst fears about the new swine flu. But fortunately, the flu didn't mutate. The researchers carefully swabbed the ferrets' nasal cavities and found no evidence of gene-swapping.
The animals who caught both kinds of flu, however, had worse symptoms. And they easily spread the new swine flu, what scientists formally call the 2009 H1N1 virus, to their uninfected ferret neighbors - but didn't spread regular winter flu strains nearly as easily.
In other words, it's no surprise that swine flu has become the world's dominant strain of influenza. It's not under evolutionary pressure right now to mix and mutate while it has a clear biological advantage over other kinds of flu, concluded the Maryland team led by virologist Daniel Perez.
The Maryland study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, reinforces concern about how easily swine flu may sweep through the country.
"The results suggest that 2009 H1N1 influenza may out-compete seasonal flu virus strains and may be more communicable as well," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. "These new data, while preliminary, underscore the need for vaccinating against both seasonal influenza and the 2009 H1N1 influenza this fall and winter."
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Jackson will join thousands of celebrities in the beauty, history that is Forest Lawn Glendale
GLENDALE, Calif. (AP) - Michael Jackson's life played out on a world stage, headlines screaming his every move, frenzy following his footsteps.
His death, memorial and investigation amplified the delirium and prolonged the anguish of family and fans. On Thursday, he is scheduled to be interred at Forest Lawn Glendale in what will be a hidden monument in a mausoleum made of marble and mortar.
There will be only silence. No marquees, no spotlights, no paparazzi.
He will be enveloped by the grandeur of the grounds, the majesty of the buildings and the significance of history.
In the Great Mausoleum, he will join Hollywood legends of yesterday like Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, W.C. Fields and Red Skelton, as well as "The Last Supper Window," a lifesize stained glass recreation of Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece, and Moses, a reproduction of Michelangelo's sculpture for the tomb of Pope Julius II in Rome.
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Roger Goodell: Avoiding TV blackouts could be a challenge for some NFL teams
ASHBURN, Va. (AP) - Avoiding local television blackouts will be a challenge as the NFL approaches its first full season in the economic downturn, commissioner Roger Goodell said Tuesday.
During a visit to the Washington Redskins, Goodell was asked specifically about the Jacksonville Jaguars, whose season-ticket base dropped from 42,000 to about 25,000 this season. The decline is such that the club might not even bother asking for extensions in hopes of avoiding blackouts this year.
Goodell said Jacksonville, one of the smallest markets in the league, is "one of the markets where we're seeing some challenges from ticket sales coming into the 2009 season."
"And we'll have other markets that'll have those challenges. It's all part of the challenges that we're seeing in the economy, and what our clubs are going through," Goodell said. "Our clubs have been working hard in the offseason to create other ways to try to get people in the stadiums and to have policies that are a little more flexible, and hopefully they're going to pay dividends for us."
The San Diego Chargers had an exhibition game blacked out for the first time since 2006 and will have Friday's game blacked out as well. They say regular-season blackouts could be on the way as well. Other teams that could have trouble selling out their home games include the Detroit Lions and Oakland Raiders, who both had blackouts last season.