Wind-driven N.M. wildfire forces evacuation of 3 towns
Mora, N.M. – A wildfire forced the evacuation of three small towns as it burned across 12,500 acres of grass and ponderosa pine in northeastern New Mexico, authorities said.
Strong winds continued to push the fire Thursday as it headed into an area divided by canyons, state Forestry Division spokesman Dan Ware said. The fire was first spotted Wednesday on ranchland 11 miles north of Mora and then moved into ponderosa pine, jumping from treetop to treetop.
About 450 firefighters were battling the blaze, Ware said.
Shelters were set up in Mora and Wagon Mound for evacuees from Ojo Feliz, Los Hueros, Los Febres and ranches in the area, Ware said. He did not know how many people or homes were evacuated but said one structure had been destroyed.
Authorities also called for voluntary evacuations in the town of Ocate and an area west of the fire.
Investigators were trying to determine what sparked the fire.
WASHINGTON
Dem senator blocking ambassador selection
A Democratic senator is blocking Associate Attorney General Robert McCallum’s nomination to be ambassador to Australia over allegations he improperly influenced the government’s lawsuit against the tobacco industry.
In a letter to President Bush, Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois said it was premature to place McCallum in a new position of trust as long as the Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility is conducting an ethics inquiry into the handling of the tobacco case.
McCallum last year had defended the reduction of a fine against the tobacco industry by $110 billion, and Democrats claimed the Bush administration had caved in to the tobacco lobby.
NEW YORK
Bone pieces from 9/11 found on nearby roof
Another 300 or so human bone fragments have been found in recent days on the roof of a skyscraper badly damaged by the collapse of the World Trade Center.
Workers have been removing toxic chemicals and trade center dust from the former Deutsche Bank building before they begin dismantling it floor by floor.
The bone fragments, most less than one-sixteenth of an inch long, were found during the past four days in gravel on the roof of the 41-story building.
BALTIMORE
Drug suspect gives up after seizing station
A drug suspect brought to a police station for questioning overpowered an officer and took a clerk hostage with a pair of scissors for hours Thursday before letting her go and surrendering, authorities said.
Neither the suspect nor the female hostage was injured.
OSLO, Norway
Suspects in Munch-art theft released for now
Two key suspects in the theft of Edvard Munch masterpieces “The Scream” and “Madonna” from an Olso museum have been released from jail pending a verdict, a defense lawyer said Thursday.
Bjoern Hoen, 37, and Stian Skjold, 30, were released Wednesday after the Supreme Court ruled there was no risk that they would flee the country or destroy evidence ahead of the May 2 ruling.
Prosecutors claim the two were among the four key players in the daylight raid at the Munch Museum in Oslo in 2004.
The paintings, considered priceless, are still missing.
No Catholic baptism for baby, Cruise tells ABC
Katie Holmes was raised a Catholic, but, says fiance Tom Cruise, their soon-to-arrive baby will not have a Catholic baptism.
“No,” Cruise tells Diane Sawyer in an interview on ABC’s “Primetime” tonight. “No, I mean you can be Catholic and be a Scientologist. You can be Jewish and be a Scientologist. But we’re just Scientologists.”
The 27-year-old Holmes’ switch to Scientology has sparked reports of a rift between her devout parents, Ohio natives Martin and Kathleen Holmes, and the 43-year-old actor, who introduced her to Scientology. However, Cruise shrugs off the stories of family friction, telling Sawyer he’s close with “the whole family” and – “absolutely, yes” – they approve of Scientology.
The star of the upcoming “Mission: Impossible III” has two adopted children, Connor, 11, and Isabella, 13, from his marriage to Nicole Kidman.
As the baby’s birth approaches, Cruise says “it feels a little unreal.” Cruise said last week that he and Holmes plan to wed in the coming months. They have been engaged since June.
