Ohio Rep. Ney to vacate leadership of House panel
Washington – Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, said Sunday he would relinquish chairmanship of the House Administration Committee, making him the second Republican tied to the Jack Abramoff scandal to abandon a leadership post.
Ney, who has been identified as the unnamed lawmaker accused in court documents of doing favors for Abramoff in return for contributions and other benefits, said he had done nothing improper but did not want to become a liability for his fellow Republicans.
The House committee he leads oversees day-to-day operations such as payrolls and office space and – since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 – also has jurisdiction over ensuring safety at the Capitol.
House Republicans have become worried that Ney could pose an image problem as his panel would be instrumental in drafting new lobbying rules. Because he has not been indicted, he was not required to step aside, but Speaker Dennis Hastert had begun talks with Ney to persuade him to vacate the chairmanship rather than be voted out.
Rep. Tom DeLay of Texas, the former majority leader who had close political ties to lobbyist Abramoff, decided to abandon his efforts to reclaim the majority leader’s position after Abramoff’s guilty plea this month.
KALISPELL, Mont.
Bodies of two caught in avalanche found
Rescuers on Sunday found the bodies of two snowmobilers who disappeared in an avalanche west of Glacier National Park.
Flathead County Undersheriff Mike Meehan confirmed the deaths of the man and woman Sunday. Efforts were underway to recover the bodies.
Authorities were alerted to Saturday’s avalanche by a third snowmobiler who escaped, Meehan said. Rescuers searched for the missing man and woman until around dusk Saturday and resumed the search Sunday morning. The effort was suspended overnight “because of the extreme avalanche danger.”
MARIETTA, Ga.
One killed, several injured in hotel fire
Fire broke out in a suburban Atlanta hotel early Sunday, killing one person and injuring more than a dozen others.
At least 20 people had to be rescued by ladder trucks from the burning seven-story hotel located near Interstate 75, said the Marietta Fire Department.
The fire started about 3 a.m., apparently on the second floor of the Holiday Inn, firefighters said. The cause was under investigation.
The hotel did not have a sprink ler system. It was built more than 30 years ago, before building codes required them.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.
2 surrender in beating of homeless men
Two South Florida teens suspected in the beatings of three homeless men turned themselves in to police Sunday, authorities said.
Family attorneys negotiated the surrenders of Brian Hooks, 18, and Thomas S. Daugherty, 17.
They will face murder charges in the death of Norris Gaynor and aggravated-battery charges in the videotaped beating of Jacques Pierre, said Capt. Mi chael Gregory of the Fort Lauderdale police.
They also are suspects in the beating of Raymond Perez, 49, whose case remains under investigation, Gregory said.
VAN, Turkey
Bird flu suspected in death of girl, 12
A 12-year-old girl whose younger brother tested positive for bird flu died Sunday, and Turkish authorities were trying to determine whether she was the latest victim of the virus.
The girl, Fatma Ozcan, had been in contact with sick birds, but preliminary tests came back negative for the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu, the Health Ministry said. Authorities nonetheless suspected the virus caused her death and were conducting further tests.
Dr. Huseyin Avni Sahin said the girl and her 5-year-old brother, from the nearby town of Dogubayazit, had been in contact with fowl and apparently ate a sick chicken.
The Health Ministry said the latest test results on the sick boy brought to at least 19 the number of people in Turkey known to have contracted the H5N1 strain, including three siblings who died last week in the Van hospital who were from the same town as the Ozcan children.
KUWAIT CITY
Admired ruler buried as thousands weep
Sheik Jaber Al Ahmed Al Sabah, the emir of Kuwait and one of the United States’ closest Mideast allies, was buried in an unmarked grave Sunday in a ceremony attended by thousands of weeping citizens who mourned the death of an admired ruler.
The crown prince, Sheik Saad Al Abdullah Al Sabah – in his mid-70s and ailing himself – assumed the throne. But he was expected to leave control of day- to-day government affairs to the veteran prime minister, and no major policy shifts were expected.
Sheik Jaber, restored to power by American forces after Sad dam Hussein invaded the tiny, oil-rich country in 1990, was 79 when he died after 27 years in power. He was one of the few Arab rulers who supported the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq to topple Hussein. He allowed his country to be used as a launching pad for the American drive to Baghdad.
LAGOS, Nigeria
Troops fight militants who attacked oil rig
Nigerian troops battled militia fighters in swamps around a Royal Dutch Shell PLC oil platform that militants attacked at dawn Sunday, the third assault on Shell oil facilities in less than a week in the troubled region.
Shell confirmed the attack on the Benisede oil platform in the southern oil-rich Niger Delta and said some of its staffers had been injured and taken to a hospital. The company also said it had begun evacuating personnel from vulnerable facilities in the region because of worsening security.
In a statement, Shell said “heavily armed persons” in speedboats attacked the platform early Sunday, burning down staff accommodations and damaging the facility.
