Dogs' role uncertain in death of LA man 2 hours, 58 minutes ago

Dogs' role uncertain in death of LA man 2 hours, 58 minutes ago



LOS ANGELES - A man who died at the home of action star Ving Rhames most likely did not die from bites from Rhames' dogs, county coroner's officials said Friday. Jacob Adams, 40, was living on Rhames' Brentwood property as a caretaker for the actor's dogs when he was bitten Aug. 3, police said.

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The medical examiner who conducted Adams' autopsy Aug. 7 said the bite abrasions and lacerations on the man's body were most likely nonfatal, said Capt. Ed Winter of the Los Angeles County coroner's office.

"We're not saying the bites were definitely not the cause of death, though," Winter told The Associated Press.

An exact cause of death was still unknown pending a toxicology report to be released in about six weeks, he said.

According to a preliminary coroner's report, the dog bite marks on Adams' body — which police officers found on Rhames' front lawn — were around his arms and legs.

"When animals attack humans or other animals, the victims usually end up with bites around the head and neck. He had none," Winter said. "This leads us to believe he went down for some other medical reason."

An English bulldog and three bull mastiffs, including two weighing 200 pounds, were seized by animal services at the time.

Rhames, 46, told People magazine this week that his dogs were back home.

In a statement dated Monday, issued by his publicist, Rhames said he was out of the country when the incident took place.

Rhames also mentioned he was "relieved to know that the coroner's report confirmed that my dogs were not the cause of his death — and that any wounds found on his body were superficial."

And, he added, "Jacob Adams was not just a devoted employee — he was also a dear friend. I want to offer my heartfelt condolences to his family."

Stars fondly remember Griffin at funeral By BOB THOMAS, Associated Press Writer

Stars fondly remember Griffin at funeral By BOB THOMAS, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 35 minutes ago



BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - Hollywood stars fondly remembered Merv Griffin at his funeral Friday, including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who credited the creator of "Jeopardy!" and "Wheel of Fortune" with jump starting his own acting career.

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Among mourners who filled the Church of the Good Shepherd were former first lady Nancy Reagan, Pat Sajak, Vanna White, Alex Trebek, Dick Van Dyke and Griffin's son, Anthony, and his family.

Schwarzenegger, who attended with wife Maria Shriver, gave one of the eulogies.

"I can say today I wouldn't have gone as far in my career if it wouldn't have been for Merv Griffin," Schwarzenegger said, recalling his appearances on "The Merv Griffin Show," which date back to 1974.

"He had me on many times, and I was on his show to teach him about fitness and he would be teaching me about acting. Well, neither worked," the bodybuilder-turned-actor-turned-governor said to laughter.

Griffin's son followed with a mix of humor and affection: "I never knew anyone who loved life as much as my father," he said.

Griffin, who created "Jeopardy!" and "Wheel of Fortune," was 82 when he died Sunday of prostate cancer.

He began his career as a radio vocalist, then began to appear on TV. In 1965, Westinghouse Broadcasting began "The Merv Griffin Show" on syndicated television.

Griffin was already working on developing game shows. "Jeopardy" began in 1964 and went on to become a huge hit, followed by "Wheel of Fortune" in 1975. He sold their rights to the Columbia Pictures Television Unit for $250 million, retaining a share of the profits, and went into real estate and other business ventures.

He bought and refurbished the Beverly Hilton and then acquired hotel and casino operator Resorts International.

Griffin was to be buried not far away, in Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery, where Marilyn Monroe, Dean Martin, Natalie Wood and other Hollywood notables are interred.

Fed approves cut in discount loan rate By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer

Fed approves cut in discount loan rate By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer
2 hours, 13 minutes ago



WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve approved a half-percentage point cut in its discount rate on loans to banks Friday, a dramatic move designed to stabilize financial markets roiled by a widening credit crisis.

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The action sent stocks soaring, with the Dow Jones industrial average up more than 300 points right after the opening bell. The blue chip index finished the day up 233.30 points at 13,079.08.

The decision means that the discount rate, the interest rate the Fed charges to make direct loans to banks, will be lowered from 6.25 percent down to 5.75 percent.

The Fed did not change its target for the more important federal funds rate, which has remained at 5.25 percent for more than a year, but it sent a strong signal in the wording of its statement that it was prepared to cut that rate as well.

It did that by dropping any reference to inflation, which was the worry that previously had kept it from cutting the federal funds rate, and instead stated that "the downside risks to growth have increased appreciably."

Many economists said the move from an emphasis on inflation worries to an emphasis on worries about economic growth is the precursor to an actual cut in rates, probably at the next regular Fed meeting on Sept. 18.

"They provided a much needed response to the growing market turmoil today, but they will have to do more," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com.

Some analysts said the funds rate would be cut at least twice before the end of the year while others predicted the Fed would cut the funds rate by a quarter point at each of its remaining meetings in September, October and December if the risks of an economic slowdown keep growing.

The move to cut the discount rate will not have a major impact on consumer interest rates in the way that cutting the federal funds rate triggers an immediate drop in banks' prime lending rate, the benchmark for millions of consumer and business loans.

However, Friday's move was expected to help with a severe cash crunch facing many businesses, including mortgage companies, which are having trouble getting loans for short-term financing needs.

In a statement explaining the action, the Fed said that while incoming data suggest the economy is continuing to expand at a moderate pace, "the downside risks to growth have increased appreciably."

The Fed said it was "monitoring the situation and is prepared to act as needed to mitigate the adverse effects on the economy arising from the disruptions in financial markets."

It also said that "financial market conditions have deteriorated and tighter credit conditions and increased uncertainty have the potential to restrain economic growth going forward."

The discount rate cut was approved by the Fed's board, which controls this rate. However the policy statement was approved unanimously by the Federal Open Market Committee, the larger group of Fed board members in Washington and Fed regional bank presidents who set the federal funds rate.

Economists saw that as a significant signal that the Fed stood ready to cut the funds rate, which has been at 5.25 percent since June 2006 when the Fed ended a two-year rate tightening campaign aimed at slowing economic growth enough to keep inflation under control.

The discount rate covers only loans that the Fed makes directly to banks. By moving it to 5.75 percent, the Fed put it closer to the funds rate. The central bank also announced other technical changes to make it easier for banks to get discount loans, such as extending the time the credit will be supplied to up to 30 days.

The nation's once high-flying housing market has been sinking deeper into gloom, and credit, the economy's lifeblood, is drying up. Many economists believe these problems, including declining consumer confidence, could lead to a recession.

Since setting a record close of 14,000.41 just a month ago, the Dow Jones industrial average has shed 1,154.63 points in a string of triple-digit losing days that have raised anxiety levels not just on Wall Street but on Main Street as well.

The markets have been pummeled by a rapidly spreading credit crisis that began with rising defaults in subprime mortgages — home loans made to people with weak credit histories. Now the problems are spreading to other borrowers.

Countrywide Financial Corp., the nation's largest mortgage banker, was forced to borrow $11.5 billion Thursday so it could keep making home loans. It was a move that rattled investors who have watched a number of smaller mortgage companies go under because of credit problems.

The shockwaves have extended to giant Wall Street investment firms such as Goldman Sachs, which announced earlier this week that it was pumping $2 billion into one of its struggling hedge funds and was asking other investors put to put in another $1 billion. BNP Paribas, France's largest bank, last week froze three funds that had invested in the troubled U.S. mortgage market.

The Fed and other central banks already had infused the banking system with billions of dollars in an effort to keep short-term interest rates from surging and making credit even more difficult to obtain.

However, those billions did not calm investors worried about which big hedge fund or mortgage company will be the next to announce serious problems. For that reason, investors have become fearful to supply money through credit markets to companies even if they have strong credit records.

Soggy Texas braces for Hurricane Dean By ELIZABETH WHITE, Associated Press Writer

Soggy Texas braces for Hurricane Dean By ELIZABETH WHITE, Associated Press Writer
8 minutes ago



SAN ANTONIO - Texans battled rain and flooding from the remnants of Tropical Storm Erin as Gulf Coast residents cast a wary eye toward powerful Hurricane Dean, which strengthened as it made its way through the Caribbean.

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At least six people died this week because of Erin's thunderstorms. One person remained missing.

Dean, which forecasters said could threaten the United States by Wednesday, blew through the Caribbean on Friday with 100 mph winds, tearing away roofs and flooding streets as it became a powerful Category 4 storm.

Dean's winds strengthened to 150 mph early Saturday and was expected to steer next week into the Gulf of Mexico, with its 4,000 oil and gas platforms.

At 2 a.m. EDT, Dean was centered about 700 miles east-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, and about 240 miles south of San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was moving west at 18 mph.

Although forecasters said it was too early to tell whether the storm would eventually strike the U.S. coast somewhere, state officials were preparing for the worst.

Gov. Rick Perry declared the storm an "imminent threat" and initiated full-scale preparations. Fuel trucks were dispatched to coastal communities, storm-response task forces were put on alert and supply trucks and other resources were pre-positioned along evacuation routes.

"It's so far out, but it's not too early to start preparing," said Perry spokeswoman Katherine Cesinger. "We have more notice than with Erin. We're glad for that especially since (Dean) is projected to bring some strength."

Harris County Judge Ed Emmett, the executive of the county that includes Houston, called Erin's rain and flooding "a wet run" for the impending Dean.

Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco declared a state of emergency Friday and requested a federal declaration that would allow federal resources to flow to the state should Dean strike any part of the Louisiana coast.

Forecast projections showed a slim chance of the storm jumping northward toward Louisiana, but it was enough to put Louisiana emergency preparedness officials on high alert, given the weakened condition of the state's coastline since it was pummeled by hurricanes Katrina and Rita a little less than two years ago.

The storms in Houston killed three people: two died when a roof over a grocery store's storage unit collapsed. One of those was identified as store employee Daniel Whitt, 29. The third Houston victim was a trucker who drowned when his 18-wheeler went into a deep retention pond.

In San Antonio, a 19-year-old man, identified as David Alexander Diaz, was swept away by floodwaters after he got out of his car. His body was found about three miles downstream.

Searchers in Kendall County found the body of one of two people missing after their pickup truck was washed over a bridge and into a creek just as rescuers tried to pull them out, sheriff's Chief Deputy Matt King said. The victim was identified as Juan Ramon Zaragoza, 48. His son, Juan Pablo Zaragoza, 28, was still missing, King said.

Authorities in San Antonio on Friday found the body of a woman who was caught in high water Thursday night and carried two to three miles downstream.

Rains continued over much of Texas on Friday and thunderstorms were still in the forecast for Saturday. A police dispatcher in the West Texas town of Abilene said they had had about 50 calls for water rescues as rains fell Friday night, but added that there were no injuries. She also had recieved some reports of roofs damaged by the rain.

Summer storms have poured record rainfall across Texas and parts of Oklahoma and Kansas, with floods killing 22 people since mid-June. One July storm dropped 17 inches of rain in 24 hours and brought Texas out of a more than decade-long drought.

In Mississippi, Gov. Haley Barbour and Federal Emergency Management Agency officials warned 13,000 families living in FEMA trailers since Katrina that they must evacuate if Dean hits the Gulf Coast.

"Today people in Mississippi don't need to panic, but they need to think," Barbour said Friday.

Barbour said people should think about where they will go if an evacuation is ordered and how they'll travel. He said people should make sure they have fuel, water, and a source of communication if electricity is lost.

Hurricane specialists expect this year's Atlantic hurricane season — June 1 to Nov. 30 — to be busier than average, with as many as 16 tropical storms, nine of them strengthening into hurricanes. Ten tropical storms developed in the Atlantic last year, but only two made landfall in the United States.

___

On the Net:

National Hurricane Center: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

Report: Turkish passenger plane hijacked 23 minutes ago

Report: Turkish passenger plane hijacked 23 minutes ago



ISTANBUL, Turkey - Hijackers claiming to have bombs and to be members of al-Qaida hijacked a Turkish passenger plane on Saturday as it was heading from northern Cyprus to Istanbul, officials and passengers said.

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The hijackers had asked that the Atlastjet Airlines plane be diverted to Iran or Syria but the pilots landed the plane at Antalya airport in southwestern Turkey, said Tuncay Doganer, CEO of Atlasjet.

Most of the passengers managed to escape from the rear exit of the plane while the hijackers were releasing the women from the front exit, one passenger told the private Turkish television station NTV.

Doganer said only crew and "a small number" of passengers were left on board. CNN-Turk television said two crew — possibly the pilots — and nine passengers were still inside.

It was not clear how many hijackers were on board. The passenger, who was not identified, said the hijackers were speaking Arabic among themselves.

Doganer said there were 136 passengers on board when the plane left Ercan airport in Turkish-controlled northern Cyprus.

Another passenger said anti-terror teams surrounded the plane.

Cyprus has been divided between a Greek Cypriot south and a Turkish-occupied north since 1974, when Turkey invaded after an abortive Athens-backed coup by supporters of union with Greece.

Car bomb kills 15 in Afghanistan 1 hour, 19 minutes ago

Car bomb kills 15 in Afghanistan 1 hour, 19 minutes ago



KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - A suicide car bomber detonated near a convoy of private security forces Saturday in southern Afghanistan, killing four Afghan guards and 11 civilians, including three women and two children, police said.

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The bomb went off west of Kandahar city and also wounded six other guards as well as 20 civilians who were in two minivans passing by the convoy, said Kandahar provincial police chief Syed Agha Saqib.

Saqib said the guards worked for the U.S. Protection and Investigations security firm, but USPI could not immediately be reached for comment or to confirm that their employees were attacked.

Five women and three children were among the civilians wounded. Women's and children's shoes were scattered about the area. A stuffed animal toy was left in one of the destroyed minivans.

Violence in Afghanistan has risen sharply during the last two months. More than 3,700 people have died so far this year, most of them militants, according to an Associated Press tally of casualty figures provided by Western and Afghan officials.

Anxious Peru quake survivors loot market By FRANK BAJAK, Associated Press Writer

Anxious Peru quake survivors loot market By FRANK BAJAK, Associated Press Writer
32 minutes ago



PISCO, Peru - Hungry earthquake survivors ransacked a public market Friday, while other mobs looted a refrigerated trailer and blocked aid trucks, prompting Peru's president to appeal for calm. Aid finally arrived to the disaster zone after about 36 hours without much help.

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Few buildings still stood in the fishing city of Pisco Friday in the wake of a magnitude-8 earthquake that killed 510 people. Many of the structures not reduced to rubble were rickety deathtraps waiting to fall.

President Alan Garcia, on the scene for the second straight day, vowed that no one would die of hunger or thirst.

"I understand your desperation, your anxiety," he said. "There is no reason to fall into exaggerated desperation."

Garcia predicted "a situation approaching normality" in 10 days, but acknowledged that reconstruction would take far longer.

Two sunrises after the earthquake all but leveled this city of 90,000 people on Peru's desert southern coast, workers continued to pull bodies from rubble, the region lacked water and electricity, and officials began to worry about the outbreak of disease.

The death count stood at 510, according to Peru's fire department, and hopes of finding more survivors diminished. At least 1,500 people suffered injuries and Garcia said 80,000 people had lost loved ones, homes or both.

Brig. Maj. Jorge Vera, chief of the rescue operation, said 85 percent of Pisco's downtown was rubble.

The relief effort was finally getting organized. Police identified bodies and civil defense teams ferried in food. Housing officials assessed the need for new homes, and in several towns long lines formed under an intense sun to collect water from soldiers.

In the capital of Lima, Peruvians donated tons of supplies as food, water, tents and blankets began arriving in the quake zone.

Peruvian soldiers also began distributing aluminum caskets, allowing the first funerals. In Pisco's cemetery, lined with collapsed tombs and tumbled crosses, a man painted the names of the dead on headstones — some 200 were lined up. Grieving relatives lowered coffins into shallow graves.

"My dear child, Gloria!" wailed Julia Siguis, her hands spread over two small coffins holding her cousin and niece. "Who am I going to call now? Who am I going to call?"

All day, people with no way to refrigerate corpses rushed coffins through the cemetery gate, which leaned dangerously until a bulldozer came to knock it down.

Doctors at Pisco's hospital were treating 169 people but failed to save 30 others. Medical services were moved to a basketball court and the damaged hospital building was being used as a morgue, said Dr. Jose Renteros, the physician in charge. Many injured had been flown to Lima.

More aftershocks jolted the region, frightening survivors, who fell to their knees in prayer, but doing little damage. At least 18 tremors of magnitude-5 or greater had struck since the initial quake, which people said pumped the ground in violent jabs Wednesday evening like the pistons of a car engine.

Survivors told tales of lost loved ones — a girl selling sweets outside a bank, a young woman studying dance, crushed when buildings made of unreinforced adobe and brick collapsed during the earth's interminable two minutes of heaving.

About 15 guests and workers couldn't get out as the five-story Embassy Hotel accordioned onto its ground floor. A billiard hall buried as many as 20 people.

Manuel Medina said he had dug the body of his 12-year-old nephew, Miguel Blondet Soto, and a dozen other children from their English classroom at the San Tomas school. "Those who were in front managed to get out, but those in the back died," he said.

Soaring church ceilings tumbled onto the faithful in towns all around this gritty port city, covering pews in tons of stone, timbers and dust.

"People were running out the front door screaming," said Renzo Hernandez, who watched from the other side of Pisco's main plaza as the San Clemente church disintegrated.

The survivors, bloodied and covered in dust, hugged one another in terror and relief, he said. "It felt like the end of the world."

Fishing boats lay marooned in city streets in nearby San Andres, and an oceanside neighborhood of Pisco looked like New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, with piles of rubble poking from water that rushed in during the tremor.

Searchers still sought bodies and survivors in the rubble of San Clemente church, where hundreds had gathered Wednesday for a funeral Mass when the quake struck. About 50 bodies had been removed, said Jorge Molina, the search team leader. "We've heard sounds. There are two places where we're hearing taps, very faint taps," he said.

Molina held out hope for finding more people alive — a man was pulled from the church wreckage Thursday.

But searchers were having little luck as they went block to block in Pisco, shouting into piles of brick and mortar: "We're firefighters! If you can hear us, shout or strike something!"

The U.S. government released $150,000 in cash to pay for emergency supplies and dispatched medical teams — one of which was already on the ground. It also sent two mobile clinics and loaned two helicopters to Peruvian authorities.

But the U.S. Navy hospital ship Comfort, now docked in Ecuador, won't make the three-day trip to Pisco because both governments decided it wasn't needed. The Comfort carries 800 medical personnel, but Peru needs supplies more than doctors, U.S. Embassy spokesman Dan Martinez said.

___

Associated Press writers Jeanneth Valdivieso in Pisco and Monte Hayes in Lima contributed to this report.

Hurricane Dean gains power in Caribbean By GUY ELLIS, Associated Press Writer

Hurricane Dean gains power in Caribbean By GUY ELLIS, Associated Press Writer
26 minutes ago



CASTRIES, St. Lucia - Hurricane Dean roared into the eastern Caribbean on Friday, tearing away roofs, flooding streets and causing at least three deaths. Winds hit 150 mph as it headed on a collision course with Jamaica and Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, where it is forecast to become a Category 5 storm.

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The Atlantic season's first hurricane built to a powerful Category 4 storm Friday night after crossing over the warm waters of the Caribbean. The National Hurricane Center in Miami forecast that Dean would become a Category 5 storm — with winds surpassing 155 mph — as it approaches Yucatan on Monday.

Dean could threaten the United States by Wednesday, forecasters said, and Texas Gov. Rick Perry's office suggested people get ready.

On tiny St. Lucia, fierce winds tore corrugated metal roofs from dozens of houses and a hospital's pediatric ward, whose patients had been evacuated hours earlier. Police said a 62-year-old man drowned when he tried to retrieve a cow from a rain-swollen river.

The government on Dominica reported that a woman and her 7-year-old son died when a hillside soaked by Dean's rains gave way and crushed the house where they were sleeping.

French authorities on the nearby island of Martinique said a 90-year-old man had died of a heart attack during the storm but it was unclear whether it was a factor.

Dean was forecast to brush the southern coast of Haiti late Saturday, then hit Jamaica on Sunday before clipping Yucatan two days later. In Washington, the State Department said it would allow some U.S. diplomats in Jamaica to leave the island to avoid the storm.

Jamaican officials said Kingston's national arena will serve as one of several shelters, and they drafted a plan to move inmates at two maximum security prisons if needed. Evacuation plans, especially for the flood-prone eastern region, were finalized, said Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller.

About a dozen cruise ships were altering their itineraries to avoid the hurricane and its aftermath, according to cruisecritic.com, a Web site devoted to cruise travel information.

On Yucatan, Mexican authorities broadcast radio alerts, including in the Yucatec Maya language, warning people to "be prepared." Some people boarded up windows and stocked up on supplies, while officials prepared some 570 schools, gymnasiums and public buildings as shelters.

People on Martinique, St. Lucia and Dominica mostly stayed indoors Friday while the hurricane swept the islands with heavy rain and wind. People who ventured out said the islands seemed to have escaped serious damage.

"I did not sleep at all last night and was a little worried that the roof of my house would be blown off with all that wind. Thank God it did not," Gwenie Moses said Friday as she checked her small tin-roofed house in Dominica's capital, Roseau.

On St. Lucia, the storm washed boulders from the sea onto downtown streets and knocked down trees. The power company shut off electricity across the island to prevent people from being electrocuted by wires broken by falling trees and power poles.

Dominica, which lies north of Martinique, had minor flooding, a few downed fences and trees and battered banana crops, one of the island's main exports.

At Ross University School of Medicine on Dominica, about 80 medical students, mostly from the U.S., and 20 staff and faculty members spent Thursday night watching movies, playing games or sleeping on the floor between desks in a concrete building that was converted into a shelter.

Other students had left the island the previous night on regular airline flights or chartered planes. The campus was not damaged in the storm.

Dominica's government later reported at least 150 homes were damaged.

On Martinique, household goods were drenched when roofs were ripped off by Dean's winds.

"We don't have a roof ... everything is exposed. We tried to save what we could," Josephine Marcelus said in Morne Rouge, a town in northern Martinique. "We sealed ourselves in one room, praying that the hurricane stops blowing over Martinique."

Some roads on the island were blocked by blown-over billboards and other debris.

"I saw the roof of a municipal building fly off," Louis Joseph Manscour, deputy mayor of Trinite, Martinique, said during the storm. "This is a very hard thing to experience right now. The wind is something impressive."

At 2 a.m. EDT, Dean was centered about 700 miles east-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, and about 240 miles south of San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was moving west at 18 mph. The storm's maximum sustained winds were near 150 mph.

Forecasters said it was too early to tell whether the storm would eventually strike the U.S. coast somewhere, but officials were getting ready just in case.

"It's so far out, but it's not too early to start preparing," said Katherine Cesinger, a spokeswoman for Texas's governor.

Energy futures rose Friday on the news that Dean could move into the Gulf of Mexico, which produces roughly 25 percent of the United States' oil and 15 percent of its natural gas. Royal Dutch Shell PLC said it would evacuate 275 nonessential personnel from the Gulf, adding to the 188 who left earlier this week before another tropical storm struck Texas.

In Mexico, government emergency officials on Yucatan made plans for dealing with the region's 60,000 domestic and foreign tourists. If Dean continued on its track toward the peninsula, which includes the resort of Cancun, State Tourism Secretary Gabriela Rodriguez said the government would advise the U.S., Canada and Europe to warn tourists to postpone visits.

___

Associated Press writers Ellsworth Carter in Roseau, Dominica, Herve Preval in Fort-de-France, Martinique, and Paul Kiernan in Mexico City contributed to this report.