Authorities in the western U.S. state of Nevada say near-freezing waters from a ruptured canal have flooded about 800 homes following a powerful winter storm.
Authorities east of the city of Reno say a nine-meter-long section of the Truckee Canal broke early Saturday, sending a nearly one-meter-high flood into the small town of Fernley. They say more than 3,000 people have been affected by the flooding, with many evacuated to a local school.
There are no reports of any injuries.
In neighboring California, the fierce Pacific storm system brou
Ben Marlin, bassist for American brutal death metal band Disgorge, died Wednesday after a lengthy battle with cancer.
San Diego-based Disgorge announced his death in the following statement:
"We are regretful to say that after nearly a year and a half of battling cancer, our brother and bass player Ben Marlin has passed away just about the stroke of 5 a.m. this January 2nd, 2008. We are going to miss him so much and may he live on in all our hearts forever. Ben, thank you for all your years of friendship and brutality."
Upon hearing of Marli
Suffering from cardiac arrest while staying in a hospital might be more deadly than receiving such a fit at a crowded airport, according to a new study.
The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, states that in about a third of cardiac arrest cases inside hospitals in the United States, doctors and nurses do not respond quickly enough, thus increasing the risk of brain damage and death.
Potentially, this contributes to the deaths of thousands every year. The researchers evaluated records of 6,789 cardiac arrest patients in
NASA has announced that the launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis, mission STS-122, will once again be postponed, this time until late January or early February. The reason behind the delay is believed to be a faulty connector that caused erratic fuel sensor readings during the previous two launch attempts in December.
Space shuttle program manager Wayne Hale gave January 24 as the earliest possible launch date, but stated that February would be a more realistic expectation. "I think it's much more likely that we'll be going to be ready somewhere i
Egypt has allowed approximately 2000 Palestinian pilgrims through the Rafah Border Crossing, a move which Israel says violates an understanding between its Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
Egypt initially denied the pilgrims entrance, insisting that they enter via an Israeli-controlled route, but finally gave clearance after three Palestinians died while being retained in border camps for five days.
Israel soon responded to the move saying that "it is very important for Israel to insist — and stand firm on its
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Former Governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee, an ordained Southern Baptist minister, won the Iowa Republican caucus, receiving 34% from Republican caucus goers. Huckabee beat out 6 other Republican candidates in the often turbulent campaign. As of 10:10 pm local Central Time the standings were Mike Huckabee (34%), Mitt Romney (25%), Fred Thompson (13%), John McCain (13%), Ron Paul (10%), Rudy Giuliani (4%), and Duncan Hunter (1%).
Meanwhile, Illinois senator Barack Obama won the Iowa Democratic caucus, drawing support from younger vot
A small team from Britain's Scotland Yard has arrived in the Pakistani capital to help with a government investigation into last week's assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. VOA's Nancy-Amelia Collins in Islamabad has more.
Pakistani officials say the Scotland Yard team will lend forensic and technical expertise to the investigation, which is being carried out by the government as controversy swirls around the death of Ms. Bhutto.
Supporters of Ms. Bhutto, along with her family and her political party, the Pakistan People's Part
Statistics supplied by a survey from the Geneva-based Aircraft Crashes Record Office (ACRO) and by aviation insurance specialist Aon suggest that 2007 was an unusually good year for safety in the aviation industry. The ACRO reports that fatal aircraft accidents involving planes carrying over six people were at their lowest since 1963, while Aon reports that fatal accidents on commercial airliners totaled 23, which Flight International reports to be an all-time low.
ACRO reports that 136 crashes killed a total of 965 people worldwide. It says t
Microprocessor company Intel Corporation has quit the board of directors for the One Laptop Per Child association (OLPC), a non-profit organization that aims to provide children in developing countries with inexpensive laptops. An Intel spokesman cited a "philosophical impasse" as the reason for the split.
Intel joined the OLPC board in July 2007, agreeing to give financial and technological support to the project. Development began on a new laptop using an Intel processor rather than the current processor made by Advanced Micro Devices, a riv
United States Senator Christopher Dodd left the Presidential race last night with his head "held high", thanking "the Dodd Squad" and his supporters for their efforts and passion.
Dodd ended the night with the sobering support of just one state delegate's support in the Iowa Democratic caucuses. That was still better than Mike Gravel or Dennis Kucinich, who each received no votes of support. However, neither Gravel or Kucinich conceded, only Dodd and Joe Biden, who won the votes of 23 state delegates, or 1% of the vote.
Dodd's campaign began
An aircraft owned and operated by Transaven Airlines is believed to have crashed into the sea off the coast of Venezuela. 14 or 18 people were on board.
The dual-engined Czechoslovakian-built (in 1987) Let L-410UVP-E3 plane had departed from Simon Bolivar International Airport near Caracas on its scheduled domestic flight to Los Roques Airport and is believed to have subsequently crashed into the ocean approximately 24 miles (39 km) short of its destination in the Los Roques archipelago, according to General Antonio Rivero, emergency managemen
Due to the declining value of the United States dollar, tourism officials in India have decided to no longer accept the American currency at the site of the Taj Mahal and 120 other Indian historical sites.
The monument has refused to take dollars since November, as such, any American tourist wishing to visit the white domed marble mausoleum of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan for his wife Mumtaz Mahal will pay over 500 Indian rupees (US$ 12.80 at the current exchange rate) to be allowed in and additionally receive a free bottle of water.
The decisio
