Group: Bad credit threatening US economy By DAN SEYMOUR, AP Business Writer

Group: Bad credit threatening US economy By DAN SEYMOUR, AP Business Writer
Sat Aug 25, 12:16 AM ET



NEW YORK - Bad credit has supplanted terrorism as the gravest immediate risk threatening the economy, a key national research group reported Monday.

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Borrowers' withering ability to pay their bills and the subsequent fallout in the credit markets this summer topped the list of short-term risks on peoples' minds, according to a survey of 258 members conducted by the National Association of Business Economics.

NABE, a Washington-based association, said 32 percent of its surveyed members cited loan defaults and excessive debt as their biggest near-term concern.

Only 20 percent of members cited defense and terrorism as their biggest immediate worry, down from 35 percent when the survey was last conducted in March. Credit risk also topped gas prices, inflation and government spending.

"Financial market turmoil has shifted the focus away from terrorism and toward subprime and other credit problems as the most important near-term threats to the U.S. economy," said Carl Tannenbaum, president of NABE and the chief economist at LaSalle Bank/ABN-Amro.

The market turmoil began earlier this year, when mortgage lenders like New Century Financial Corp. and H&R Block Inc.'s Option One Mortgage Corp. unit reported their clients were missing payments on their home loans more frequently.

This led the Wall Street banks that finance the mortgage market to ultimately pull much of their money out. With cash draining rapidly from the industry, more than 50 lenders have gone bankrupt and a number of investment funds have gone under.

Victims of this flare-up include two of the 10 biggest mortgage lenders in the country and two hedge funds managed by Bear Stearns Cos.

Loan brokers say it has become more difficult for some people to line up mortgages. Subprime loans, or loans to people with spotty credit histories, have all but disappeared as lenders scale back or shut down completely.

The shakeout in the subprime mortgage market forced investors around the world to reassess how much risk they were willing to stomach. This led to an exodus of cash from investments like securities backed by home loans, short-term corporate bonds and stocks whose values were inflated because they were perceived as takeover targets.

In the past five weeks, the stock market has lost 5 percent. The dollar fell to an all-time low versus the euro. A number of companies have had to cancel bond sales because of an absence of buyers.

And, the Federal Reserve has lent billions of dollars to banks from its "discount window," normally associated with bailouts for struggling financial institutions. The Fed this month issued a statement that the risks to the economy have risen considerably and traders ramped up their expectations the Fed would cut targets for interest rates this year.

The tumult in the financial markets has led businesses to revisit their interpretation of the housing boom earlier this decade and the easy credit that fueled it, NABE said. The proportion of surveyed members who call it a "serious national bubble" more than doubled from two years ago to 29 percent, the group said.

NABE said the market turmoil is considered a short-term risk because the five-year outlook for housing is still strong. More surveyed members expect home values to appreciate in the next five years than fall. Very few expect a serious drop in home prices in the next five years.

The greatest long-term risk facing the economy is still health care costs and the medical needs of an aging population, NABE said.

Vick suspended indefinitely without pay By DAVE GOLDBERG and LARRY O'DELL, Associated Press Writers

Vick suspended indefinitely without pay By DAVE GOLDBERG and LARRY O'DELL, Associated Press Writers
57 minutes ago



For all the big words and life lessons Roger Goodell included in his booming reaction to Michael Vick's admission of involvement in dogfighting, the NFL commissioner's message seemingly could have been whittled to two words: Nice try.

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Goodell suspended the Atlanta Falcons quarterback indefinitely without pay Friday, just hours after Vick filed a plea agreement that portrayed him as less involved than three co-defendants and guilty mainly of poor judgment for associating with them.

In a letter to Vick, Goodell admonished him for "reprehensible" acts and for associating with people engaged in gambling in violation of NFL rules. He also rebuked him for seemingly trying to paint himself as something other than the ringleader.

"You are now justifiably facing consequences for the decisions you made and the conduct in which you engaged. Your career, freedom and public standing are now in the most serious jeopardy," Goodell wrote. "I hope that you will be able to learn from this difficult experience and emerge from it better prepared to act responsibly and to make the kinds of choices that are expected of a conscientious and law abiding citizen."

Vick acknowledged bankrolling gambling on the dogfights, but denied placing bets himself or taking any of the winnings. He admitted that dogs not worthy of the pit were killed "as a result of the collective efforts" of himself and two co-defendants.

Goodell decided not to wait until Monday, when U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson in Richmond, Va., formally receives the plea and schedules a sentencing likely to land Vick in prison for one to five years.

The commissioner said Vick's admitted conduct was "not only illegal but also cruel and reprehensible." Even if he didn't personally place bets, Goodell said, "your actions in funding the betting and your association with illegal gambling both violate the terms of your NFL player contract and expose you to corrupting influences in derogation of one of the most fundamental responsibilities of an NFL player."

Goodell freed the Falcons to "assert any claims or remedies" to recover $22 million of Vick's signing bonus from the 10-year, $130 million contract he signed in 2004.

The commissioner didn't speak to Vick but based his decision on the court filings. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Goodell might meet with Vick in the future, and Goodell said he would review the suspension after all the legal proceedings.

"You have engaged in conduct detrimental to the welfare of the NFL and have violated the league's personal conduct policy," Goodell told Vick in a letter after meeting in New York with Falcons president and general manager Rich McKay.

Falcons owner Arthur Blank supported Goodell's decision.

"We hope that Michael will use this time, not only to further address his legal matters, but to take positive steps to improve his personal life," Blank said.

Nike, meanwhile, terminated its contract with Vick.

Earlier Friday, a "summary of facts" signed by Vick and his lawyers was filed along with his written plea agreement on a federal dogfighting conspiracy charge.

"While Mr. Vick is not personally charged with or responsible for committing all of the acts alleged in the indictment, as with any conspiracy charge, he is taking full responsibility for his actions and the actions of the others involved," the defense team said in a written statement after the plea agreement was filed.

"Mr. Vick apologizes for his poor judgment in associating himself with those involved in dog fighting and realizes he should never have been involved in this conduct," the statement said.

Vick and his lawyers said his involvement was limited when it came to the enterprise known as the Bad Newz Kennels.

"Our position has been that we are going to try to help Judge Hudson understand all the facts and Michael's role," Vick's defense attorney, Billy Martin, said in telephone interview. "Michael's role was different than others associated with this incident."

In court papers, Vick said he provided most of the Bad Newz Kennels operation and gambling monies, echoing language in plea agreements by the three co-defendants — Tony Taylor, Purnell Peace and Quanis Phillips.

When the dogs won, the statement said, gambling proceeds were generally shared by Taylor, Peace and Phillips.

"Vick did not gamble by placing side bets on any of the fights. Vick did not receive any of the proceeds of the purses that were won by Bad Newz Kennels," the court document said.

According to the statement, Vick also was involved with the others in killing six to eight dogs that did not perform well in testing sessions in April. The dogs were executed by drowning or hanging.

"Vick agrees and stipulates that these dogs all died as a result of the collective efforts" of Vick, Phillips and Peace, the statement said.

In the plea agreement, the government committed to recommending a sentence on the low end of the federal sentencing guideline range of a year to 18 months. However, the conspiracy charge is punishable by up to five years in prison, and the judge is not bound by any recommendation or by the guidelines.

Hudson has a reputation for imposing stiff sentences, according to lawyers who have appeared in his court. The judge will set a sentencing date at Monday's hearing.

Martin said Vick will "speak to the public and explain his actions." Though he declined to say when and where, the Tom Joyner Morning Show, a syndicated program based in Dallas, said it will have a live interview with Vick on Tuesday.

The case began in April when authorities conducting a drug investigation of Vick's cousin raided a Surry County property owned by Vick and found dozens of dogs, some injured, and equipment commonly used in dogfighting.

A federal indictment issued in July charged Vick, Peace, Phillips and Taylor with an interstate dogfighting conspiracy. Vick initially denied any involvement, and all four men pleaded innocent. The three co-defendants later pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against Vick.

Taylor was the first to change his plea, saying Vick financed the dogfighting ring's gambling and operations. Peace and Phillips soon followed, alleging that Vick joined them in killing dogs that did not measure up in test fights.

The sickening details outlined in the indictment and other court papers prompted a public backlash against Vick, who had been one of the NFL's most popular players.

Animal-rights groups mobilized against Vick — even protesting at NFL headquarters in New York — and sponsors dropped him.

"It is fitting that the NFL has suspended him," said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States. "He's now a role model for something terrible, and it's not appropriate that he suit up in an NFL uniform."

___

Associated Press Writers Matthew Barakat in McLean, Va., and Hank Kurz Jr. and Michael Felberbaum in Richmond contributed to this report.

Filmmaker involved in fatal car accident 57 minutes ago

Filmmaker involved in fatal car accident 57 minutes ago



LOS ANGELES - Oscar-nominated director John Singleton was driving a Lexus SUV when it struck and killed a jaywalker who stepped in front of the car, police said Friday.

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Singleton, 39, immediately stopped his car and waited for police to arrive after the accident Thursday night in the city's Jefferson Park neighborhood, said Officer Jason Lee, a police spokesman.

"Mr. Singleton stopped and identified himself as required by law and was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol," Lee said. "He was questioned and released."

The woman was taken to a hospital where she was pronounced dead Friday morning, Lee said. She was identified as Constance Russell, 57, of Los Angeles.

Other details were not immediately released, and an after-hours call to Singleton's agent was not immediately returned.

Singleton, whose debut film, 1991's "Boyz N The Hood," earned him two Oscar nominations, has also directed "Poetic Justice," "Shaft," and "2 Fast 2 Furious." He was the producer of "Hustle & Flow," "Black Snake Moan" and the just-released "Illegal Tender."

Help wanted ads go unanswered in West By MATT GOURAS, Associated Press Writer

Help wanted ads go unanswered in West By MATT GOURAS, Associated Press Writer
2 hours, 11 minutes ago



HELENA, Mont. - The owner of a fast food joint in Montana's booming oil patch found himself outsourcing the drive-thru window to a Texas telemarketing firm, not because it's cheaper but because he can't find workers.

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Record low unemployment across parts of the West has created tough working conditions for business owners, who in places are being forced to boost wages or be creative to fill their jobs.

John Francis, who owns the McDonald's in Sidney, Mont., said he tried advertising in the local newspaper and even offered up to $10 an hour to compete with higher-paying oil field jobs. Yet the only calls were from other business owners upset they would have to raise wages, too. Of course, Francis' current employees also wanted a pay hike.

"I don't know what the answer is," Francis said. "There's just nobody around that wants to work."

Unemployment rates have been as low as 2 percent this year in places like Montana, and nearly as low in neighboring states. Economists cite such factors as an aging work force and booming tourism economies for the tight labor market.

For places like Montana, it has been a steady climb in the nearly two decades since the timber and mining industry recession. The state approached double-digit unemployment levels in the 1980s and began the slow crawl back in the early 1990s.

"This is actually the biggest economic story of our time, and we don't quite grasp it because it is 15 years in the making," said economist Larry Swanson, director of the O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West at the University of Montana.

The U.S. Department of Labor reports the mountain West region — covering eight states along the Rocky Mountains — has the lowest overall unemployment rate in the nation. The region hit an all-time low of 3.4 percent in May.

The effects are everywhere. Logging equipment in Idaho sits idle as companies have a tough time finding workers. A shortage of lifeguards has forced Helena to shorten hours at children-only pools. A local paper in Jackson, Wyo., has page after page of help wanted ads.

In Jackson Hole, the Four Seasons Resort still had openings in late July. The problem has created longer hours and tougher working conditions for current employees.

For years, the resort has imported dozens of workers from Eastern Europe who often come as much for the summer recreation opportunity as the money. This year, however, that wasn't enough and so for the first time the resort also sent recruiters to a high school job fair, said spokeswoman Greer Terry. It only helped a little.

"It's been a struggle finding employees this summer," Terry said.

Economists say there are a number of reasons why parts of the West are feeling the labor pinch.

Established baby boomers, including retirees, have been moving into Montana for the mountain views and recreation, bringing with them money for new homes that fuel construction job growth, said Swanson.

Along the way, younger people have moved away searching for bigger paychecks as the state's wages still lag behind other areas and are slowly increasing overall. Now, the aging work force is unable to expand to meet the demands of the job market, Swanson said.

He said the problem is compounded by the fact that employers, accustomed to paying relatively low wages, have been slow to increase salaries. Montana wages have historically been among the lowest in the country, and still rank near the bottom. The silver lining for workers is that wages are now growing at the third-fastest rate among U.S. states.

Now, workers with more options in some places are unwilling to take $12-an-hour jobs.

The problem could get worse as more baby boomers retire, Swanson said. By 2030, Montana and Wyoming are predicted to have among the oldest populations in the U.S, with about 26 percent of residents 65 and older, Swanson said. That compares to 19.7 percent predicted nationally.

"We thought the labor force crunch wouldn't come until 2012, but it's already arrived in a lot of these fast-growth areas," Swanson said. As a result, "you'll find older workers working longer, people will sort of linger in the work force. The employers will make it worth their time to."

Swanson added the phenomenon of quasi-retirement with older workers cutting back on hours but still heading to the office will grow, while international workers will be drawn to the region. Younger workers who used to leave will find it worth their while to stay.

"The squeeze is on. You get into these 2 percent and less unemployment rates and you're moving into a seller's market with the seller being the worker," Swanson said.

Officials worry the razor thin labor market could bind economic growth, although there has been no indication of that yet.

"One of the reasons we are seeing the lower (unemployment) rates is we are starting to see more investment in our economy. It's like finding an undervalued stock," said Tyler Turner, Montana's economic development chief.

In Helena, the pool of applicants has been shrinking even for jobs on the police force. For professional jobs, such as department managers, the city is considering hiring slightly underqualified people that can be trained on the job.

"This is the tightest market I have ever seen," said Salty Payne, who has worked in the Helena City human resource office for 15 years.

Payne in part blames the area's building boom, which is drawing workers to construction trades that are offering higher salaries.

Montana state lawmaker Art Noonan lives in the mining town of Butte — the epicenter of a big mining bust 20 years ago. Now, more people are moving in to build second homes and high paying jobs are coming back as copper prices go up.

"All of these things are sort of clicking at the same time," Noonan said. "The only economic development we used to get was the creation of more economic development offices."

In Utah — where unemployment rates have been hovering around 2.5 percent — amusement parks, trucking companies, telemarketing firms and others have been paying bonuses of hundreds of dollars or more to find workers.

"It boils down to the attractiveness of the (interior) West," said Mark Knold, chief economist at the Utah Department of Workforce Services. "It is a population magnet."

And workers have benefited. Utah workers saw a 5.4 percent average wage increase in 2006, Knold said.

But questions remain about how long the West can weather the problems that come with low unemployment.

"The hardest thing is to keep the economy growing at a strong rate when you have a low unemployment rate," he said. "Take a company that wants to expand. Where is the next worker going to come from?"

Experts: U.S. childbirth deaths on rise By MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer

Experts: U.S. childbirth deaths on rise By MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer
53 minutes ago



ATLANTA - U.S. women are dying from childbirth at the highest rate in decades, new government figures show. Though the risk of death is very small, experts believe increasing maternal obesity and a jump in Caesarean sections are partly to blame.

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Some numbers crunchers note that a change in how such deaths are reported also may be a factor.

"Those of us who look at this a lot say it's probably a little bit of both," said Dr. Jeffrey King, an obstetrician who led a recent New York state review of maternal deaths.

The U.S. maternal mortality rate rose to 13 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2004, according to statistics released this week by the National Center for Health Statistics.

The rate was 12 per 100,000 live births in 2003 — the first time the maternal death rate rose above 10 since 1977.

To be sure, death from childbirth remains fairly rare in the United States. The death of infants is much more common — the nation's infant mortality rate was 679 per 100,000 live births in 2004.

Maternal deaths were a much more common tragedy long ago. Nearly one in every 100 live births resulted in a mother's death as recently as 90 years ago.

But the fact that maternal deaths are rising at all these days is shocking, said Tim Davis, a Virginia man whose wife Elizabeth died after childbirth in 2000.

"The hardest thing to understand is how in this day and age, in a modern hospital with doctors and nurses, that somebody can just die like that," he said.

Some health statisticians note the total number of maternal deaths — still fewer than 600 each year — is small. It's so small that 50 to 100 extra deaths could raise the rate, said Donna Hoyert, a health scientist with the National Center for Health Statistics. The rate is the number of deaths per 100,000 live births.

In 2003, there was a change in death certificate questions in the nation's most populous state, California, as well as Montana and Idaho. That may have resulted in more deaths being linked to childbirth — enough push up the 2003 rate, Hoyert said.

Some researchers point to the rising C-section rate, now 29 percent of all births — far higher than what public health experts say is appropriate. Like other surgeries, Caesareans come with risks related to anesthesia, infections and blood clots.

"There's an inherent risk to C-sections," said Dr. Elliott Main, who co-chairs a panel reviewing obstetrics care in California. "As you do thousands and thousands of them, there's going to be a price."

Excessive bleeding is one of the leading causes of pregnancy-related death, and women with several previous C-sections are at especially high risk, according to a review of maternal deaths in New York. Blood vessel blockages and infections are among the other leading causes.

Experts also say obesity may be a factor. Heavier women are more prone to diabetes and other complications, and they may have excess tissue and larger babies that make a vaginal delivery more problematic. That can lead to more C-sections. "It becomes this sort of snowball effect," said King, who is now medical director of maternal-fetal medicine at Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

The age of mothers could be a factor, too. More women are giving birth in their late 30s and 40s, when complications risks are greater.

Other characteristics of the maternal mortality rate include:

_Race: Studies have found that the maternal death rate in black women is at least three times greater than is it is for whites. Black women are more susceptible to complications like high blood pressure and are more likely to get inadequate prenatal care.

_Quality of care: Three different studies indicate at least 40 percent of maternal deaths could have been prevented.

Sometimes, there is no clear explanation for a woman's death.

Valerie Scythes, a 35-year-old elementary schoolteacher, died in March at a hospital in New Jersey — the state with the highest Caesarean section rate. She had had a C-section, as did another teacher at the same school who died after giving birth at the same hospital two weeks later.

However, Scythes died of a blocked blood vessel and the other woman died from bleeding, said John Baldante, a Philadelphia attorney investigating the death for Scythes' family.

"I'm not sure there was any connection between the two deaths," Baldante said.

Also mysterious was the death of Tim Davis' 37-year-old wife, Elizabeth, who died a day after a vaginal delivery at a Danville, Va., hospital in September 2000.

She had a heart attack after a massive blood loss, Davis said. It's not clearly known what caused the heavy bleeding. There was no autopsy, he said, a decision he now regrets.

Two previous births had gone well.

"Nothing led us to believe anything was wrong with this pregnancy. She was like a picture of health," he continued, noting she had been a YMCA fitness instructor.

A lawsuit against the hospital ended in a settlement. Davis also sued the obstetrician, but a jury ruled in the doctor's favor.

The child born that day, Ethan, starts second grade next week. "He's a happy kid," Davis said. "He's just never had a mom."

___

On the Net:

National Center for Health Statistics 2004 deaths report:

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr55/nvsr55_19.pdf

Ex-astronaut apologizes to love rival By TRAVIS REED, Associated Press Writer

Ex-astronaut apologizes to love rival By TRAVIS REED, Associated Press Writer
52 minutes ago



ORLANDO, Fla. - Lisa Nowak wants the woman she allegedly attacked in a romantic astronaut rivalry to know she's sorry. She also wants to be freed of an ankle bracelet that electronically monitors her movement, and for the media to leave her alone.

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Nowak made an emotional statement after court Friday, apologizing to Colleen Shipman, the woman she allegedly attacked after a 1,000-mile drive, and others affected by the case. The two met in court during a tense 6-hour hearing over the bracelet and defense motions to toss her arrest interview with police and the search of her car.

Circuit Judge Marc L. Lubet said he would rule on the anklet within a week, and told both attorneys to make room for another 6-hour hearing.

The whole case involves a strange love triangle between Nowak, fellow former astronaut Bill Oefelein and Shipman. Nowak told police she went to Orlando to confront Shipman and see "where she stands."

"The past six months have been very difficult for me, my family and others close to me," Nowak, a Navy captain and pilot, told reporters. "I know that it must have also been very hard for Colleen Shipman, and I would like her to know how very sorry I am about having frightened her in any way and about the subsequent public harassment that has besieged all of us."

Shipman had her attorney read a statement during the hearing and hadn't planned to speak, but Nowak's lawyers persuaded Lubet to make her testify.

Speaking firmly, the Air Force captain said she still fears Nowak and felt better with her under surveillance.

"When I'm home alone and there's nobody there with me, it is a comfort," Shipman said.

Nowak is specifically barred from Brevard County, where Shipman lives in Florida, and must file notice when visiting the rest of the state.

Under questioning from defense attorney Donald Lykkebak, Shipman acknowledged visiting her boyfriend in Nowak's hometown of Houston several times since Nowak's arrest. She didn't say if that boyfriend was space shuttle pilot Oefelein, who had a romantic relationship with both women.

Nowak, a 44-year-old mother of three who has been dismissed by NASA, has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted kidnapping, battery and burglary with assault in the February confrontation in an Orlando International Airport parking lot.

She is free on $25,500 bail, though the tracking anklet is a condition of her release. Nowak told the court Friday it's bulky, uncomfortable and expensive — the weekly rental rate of $105 exceeding $3,000 so far.

She also claimed it prevents her from exercising as she's required as a military officer.

Nowak promised to abide by all court orders if the device is removed, including no contact with Shipman.

Prosecutors said Nowak could still exercise, and that her inconvenience was less important than Shipman's security.

"You're paying a media consultant — fire the consultant," assistant state attorney Pamela Davis told Nowak.

Testimony also addressed whether Nowak wore diapers to avoid stopping on her trip from Houston to Orlando. Astronauts use them on shuttle missions, and that detail has made Nowak a worldwide punchline.

In June, Lykkebak called it "the biggest lie in this preposterous tale," and criticized the media for its circulation.

Lykkebak didn't mention it Friday, but Orlando police detective William Becton reiterated that he found a garbage bag with three dirty diapers in the former astronaut's BMW. He said Nowak told him she urinated in them on the drive to limit stops, though Becton initially feared they were from an unattended child.

Lykkebak has said the diapers were left in the car after a long-ago hurricane evacuation.

9-year-old's killer gets death sentence By MITCH STACY, Associated Press Writer

9-year-old's killer gets death sentence By MITCH STACY, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 17 minutes ago



INVERNESS, Fla. - John Evander Couey looked straight ahead as a judge told him he should be executed for crimes that led to new laws in many states cracking down on convicted sex offenders. The 49-year-old convicted sex offender was sentenced to death Friday for kidnapping 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford, raping her and burying her alive in his yard.

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Sheriff's deputies hustled the handcuffed inmate out of the crowded courtroom.

The girl's father, Mark Lunsford, teared up as he listened to Circuit Judge Ric Howard read a detailed history of the case for nearly an hour. He hugged relatives after the sentence was read.

Outside court, Lunsford had a message for Couey: "Skip all these appeals. Take your punishment. Stand up and be a man."

The jury that convicted Couey in March recommended 10-2 that he die for his crimes, but the decision was left to Howard.

An attorney for Couey, 49, had argued that he couldn't legally be executed because he is mentally retarded, but Howard brushed aside that claim in a strongly worded ruling earlier this month. Mentally retarded people cannot be executed under a 2002 U.S. Supreme Court decision.

The jury convicted Couey of taking the girl in February 2005 from her bedroom to his nearby trailer, sparking a massive search. The third-grader's body was found about three weeks after she disappeared in a grave in Couey's yard, about 150 yards from her own home.

Couey, already a convicted sex offender when he committed the crime, was arrested in Georgia and confessed to the killing. That confession was thrown out as evidence because Couey did not have a lawyer present.

Despite the confession being tossed, Couey incriminated himself other times. Jail guards and investigators testified that he repeatedly admitted details of the slaying after his arrest, insisting that he hadn't meant to kill the third-grader but panicked during an intense, nationally publicized police search.

Prosecutors also had overwhelming physical evidence, including DNA from the girl's blood and Couey's semen on a mattress in his room as well as her fingerprints in a closet where investigators said she was hidden.

Howard recounted the evidence in detail, including Couey wrapping her in two garbage bags, putting her alive into a hole then piling a foot of dirt on top of her.

"His actions crushed the very breath and life out of Jessica Marie Lunsford," Howard said.

More flooding possible in soaked Midwest By DAN STRUMPF, Associated Press Writer

More flooding possible in soaked Midwest By DAN STRUMPF, Associated Press Writer
52 minutes ago



CHICAGO - Rowing a boat isn't in Barbara Campagna's job description. Nevertheless, the architecture director for the National Trust for Historic Preservation and three colleagues found themselves paddling to the Farnsworth House in Plano, built by architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in 1951. There, they piled furniture into their borrowed rowboat as rising floodwaters threatened to invade in the aftermath of torrential storms.

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"We've been calling it 'Lake Farnsworth' all day because (the house) is floating on the water," Campagna said late Friday of the glass-walled house, which rests on four-foot stilts. " ... Every piece is worth tens of thousands of dollars. They're all replaceable, but very expensive."

About 143,000 ComEd customers in northern Illinois remained without power Saturday, said ComEd spokeswoman Anne Prammaggiore. Power to more than half a million customers had been restored since Thursday's storm, but it could take days to restore power to all customers, she said.

Meanwhile, volunteers scrambled to sandbag low-lying areas, clear out uprooted and split trees and drain water from flooded basements.

The storms in Illinois could be responsible for two deaths, officials said. The wind blew over a tree, killing a man in Victoria in Knox County on Thursday, and a relative found a man lying unconscious in more than 2 feet of water in his basement in suburban Inverness, officials said.

The rain had mostly ended by Saturday, but flooding was still a danger for hundreds of thousands of people who live near swollen creeks and rivers.

"The heavier rainfall appears to be pushing further south," said Casey Sullivan, meteorologist with the National Weather Service. "There's still a chance of rainfall, but we're not expecting as much and the potential for flash flooding is going away."

Rising water prompted authorities to increase the flood alert level for northern Lake County to red, the highest level. The Fox River was approaching 50-year levels, with flooding possible this weekend when water from rain-drenched Wisconsin arrives downstream.

Storms were forecast for Saturday in some parts of the northern Midwest, capping nearly a week of powerful storms that caused heavy flooding in some towns and has been blamed for at least 17 deaths.

Hundreds of Ottawa, Ohio, residents were waiting to return home Friday after water from the swollen Blanchard River surrounded about two-thirds of the town's homes, said Fire Chief Ron Brinkman.

Flooding stretched across an 80-mile path through Ohio this week, leading Gov. Ted Strickland to declare a state of emergency in nine Ohio counties.

Weekend rain could be enough to delay the floodwater's retreat, said Terry Click, a weather data specialist with the National Weather Service.

In Dyer, Ind., southeast of Chicago, authorities began evacuating St. Margaret Mercy Hospital as water from a creek behind the building began seeping in. About 70 patients were being moved to other hospitals, spokeswoman Maria Ramos said.

Authorities cut power to the hospital as a precaution, and police and firefighters went door to door in Dyer telling people to leave.

At least one tornado touched down Friday in Fenton, Mich., and as many as three to five tornadoes may have hit the southeast part of the state, the National Weather Service said.

Homes and businesses suffered major damage in Fenton, and minor injuries were reported, primarily from traffic accidents during the storm. Most of the city's 10,000 residents were without power.

The line of heavy thunderstorms that spawned the tornadoes also flooded several highways and downed power lines and trees in mid- and southeast Michigan.

More than 80,000 homes, mostly in Wayne and Oakland counties, were without power Friday night, according to DTE Energy Co.

Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator R. David Paulison surveyed damage Friday in Rushford, Minn., especially hard hit by this week's flooding. Mayor Les Ladewig said about half of Rushford's 760 homes were damaged, including 248 that were destroyed and 91 with serious damage.

About 1,500 homes were damaged around the state, and Paulison said FEMA recovery centers should be running early next week in the three counties where President Bush declared disasters Thursday.

Paulison also visited Wisconsin, where flooding destroyed 44 homes and damaged more than 1,400, most of them in the southwestern part of the state. FEMA agreed to begin evaluating the damage Saturday, three days earlier than planned, after an appeal from Gov. Jim Doyle.

"The people are really suffering," said Donna Gilson, a spokeswoman for Wisconsin Emergency Management. "We have to move this along as fast as possible."

In DeKalb, Ill., 50 miles west of Chicago, the Kishwaukee River reached near-record levels, spilling over its 15-foot levees, flooding neighborhoods and making bridges impassable.

About 600 residents of DeKalb and nearby Sycamore have been displaced, said DeKalb City Manager Mark Biernacki. Northern Illinois University's flooded DeKalb campus was closed.

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich declared Cook, Lake, Kane and McHenry counties state disaster areas, a move that will help deliver state aid to those areas.

Some flooding occurred in the area around Prospect Heights, six miles north of O'Hare.

"The river is so quiet for so many years," said Mark Bednarowicz, a 57-year-old computer programmer whose home sits at the edge of the flooded area, as he filled sandbags. "For everybody it's a shock it (flooding) happens. ... Everybody's scared."

___

Associated Press writers John Seewar in Ottawa, Ohio; Joshua Freed in Rushford, Minn.; Mike Wilson in Des Moines, Iowa; Scott Bauer in Madison, Wis.; and Jim Salter in St. Louis contributed to this report.

Hot air balloon crashes in Canada 18 minutes ago

Hot air balloon crashes in Canada 18 minutes ago



SURREY, British Columbia - A hot air balloon caught fire and crashed in an RV park and campground Friday evening, injuring as many as 11 people, police and a witness said. Two other people were unaccounted for.

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The cause of the accident wasn't known. Weather conditions were clear at the time of the sunset flight. At least three 30-foot RVs caught fire, said Don Randall, a witness who lives in the RV park. No one was reported hurt in those blazes.

Witnesses said passengers screamed and jumped to the ground as the balloon's basket caught fire. The balloon reportedly took off from a grassy field with 12 passengers.

"The thing went up about 400 feet in the air at which point it melted enough of the balloon — it collapsed," said Randall, who saw the balloon as it was on its way up and took pictures of the fiery scene. "The basket was basically a fireball, it just dropped like a stone."

"I'm just thinking, 'Oh geez, I hope there's nobody in that thing. It's basically a burning death up there,'" he said.

People who had been riding in the balloon suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries and were taken to hospitals in the nearby Vancouver area, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sgt. Roger Morrow said in a statement.

Fifteen ambulances, two air ambulances and eight fire trucks raced to the scene at the Hazelmere park, he said. Smoke could be seen billowing from the crash site from miles away, CTV said.

Randall said at least two vehicles were damaged along with the RVs. He said he ran to his RV and grabbed a small fire extinguisher, but it proved of little use.

The hot-air balloon, which CTV reported was operated by Fantasy Balloons Charters based in Langley, British Columbia, was one of several balloons in flight at the time.

7 killed, dozens hurt in Baghdad blast By DAVID RISING, Associated Press Writer

7 killed, dozens hurt in Baghdad blast By DAVID RISING, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 45 minutes ago



BAGHDAD - A car bomb exploded in northern Baghdad on Saturday, killing seven passers-by and wounding dozens of others in an apparent sectarian attack near the capital's most important Shiite shrine.

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The attack in Kazimiyah came even as parts of Baghdad were shut down to vehicular traffic in an effort to protect Shiite pilgrims leaving for an annual religious commemoration in the southern city of Karbala next week.

The curbs on traffic were imposed late Friday and were expected to continue through the weekend to allow the pilgrims safe passage on their trek to celebrate the birthday of the "Hidden Imam," a 9th century religious figure who devout Shiites believe will return to Earth to usher in the rule of peace.

Just after noon, a bomb hidden in a parked car exploded in busy Oruba Square about 500 yards from the shrine of Imam Musa Kadhim, another revered Shiite figure.

A medic at the local hospital said seven people were killed in the explosion and 30 others were wounded.

No group claimed responsibility, but suspicion fell on Sunni religious extremists who consider Shiites as heretics and collaborators with the Americans.

Elsewhere, U.S. and Iraqi forces killed two insurgents and arrested seven others Friday during raids on two villages along the road linking Baghdad with the northern oil city of Kirkuk, police Col. Abbas Mohammed said.

Three stolen cars believed to be intended to be used for car bombs, as well as ammunition and bomb-making materials were also seized, Mohammed said. There were no reports of U.S. or Iraqi casualties, he said.

Iraqi security forces also killed a man suspected of links to the Islamic State of Iraq, an al-Qaida front group, Mohammed said. Ten other al-Qaida suspects were arrested in the Friday raid which occurred in a village northeast of Baghdad.

Also Friday, U.S. helicopters blasted rooftops in a Shiite neighborhood of north Baghdad in a gunfight that left eight Shiite gunmen dead, according to the U.S. military's count. Shiites claimed some civilians died and radicals castigated Iraq's Shiite-dominated government as being too weak to rein in the Americans.

The U.S. military said the battle in Baghdad erupted when a U.S. Army patrol came under fire shortly after midnight from gunmen on rooftops in Shula, a rundown Shiite neighborhood that is a stronghold of the Mahdi Army militia of anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

Troops called in attack helicopters, which raked the rooftops with automatic weapons fire, a U.S. spokesman, Lt. Col. Scott Bleichwehl, said.

Bleichwehl said all the dead had been "identified as hostile."

But Iraqi police and hospital officials said the dead included a woman and a young boy. Sixteen other people were wounded, including four women and three boys in their early teens who had been sleeping on the roofs to escape the summer heat, an official at Noor Hospital in Shula said.

The Iraqi officials all spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release such information.

In Najaf, the leader of the pro-Sadr bloc in parliament, Nasser al-Rubaie, claimed 21 civilians were killed in Shula. He blamed Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government, saying it is "weak and can do nothing in the face of the occupation."

The verbal barrage by Shiites comes as al-Maliki is drawing increasing criticism in the United States over his government's inability to forge unity among Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds.

A report released Thursday by U.S. intelligence agencies predicted more turmoil over the next six to 12 months because Iraqi political leaders "remain unable to govern effectively."