MARION, Mont.
Plane crash kills four skydivers and pilot
A plane crash killed four members of a group of skydivers and the pilot Saturday in northwestern Montana, the Flathead County sheriff said.
The crash happened late Saturday morning in a field about 30 miles southwest of Kalispell in an area known as Lost Prairie, Sheriff Mike Meehan said. The Federal Aviation Administration said the plane went down shortly after takeoff, then burned.
The pilot of the Cessna 182 operated by Skydive Lost Prairie was carrying two skydiving instructors and two trainees to jumps, said Michael Morrill, a manager of the company. He said the plane took off in good weather.
Names of those killed were not released. The skydivers were from Montana, Morrill said.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.
Flood crest not as high as feared in capital city
The Missouri River neared its highest point in the state’s capital Saturday after a week of flooding towns upstream, but hydrologists said it wasn’t as bad as feared.
The river reached about 29 feet Saturday morning, 6 feet above flood stage. That was high enough to flood stretches of the riverside Katy Trail hiking and biking route and some low-lying roads, plus nearly 1,400 acres of farmland.
However, it was short of the predicted 34-foot peak, which could have wiped out many farmers’ crops for the year and inundated the Jefferson City Airport.
WASHINGTON
U.S. trying to weaken G8 climate language
Negotiators from the U.S. are trying to weaken the language of a climate-change declaration set to be unveiled at next month’s G8 summit of the world’s leading industrial powers, according to documents obtained Saturday by The Washington Post.
A draft proposal from April that is being debated in Bonn, Germany, this weekend by senior officials of the Group of Eight includes a pledge to limit the global temperature rise this century to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, as well as an agreement to reduce worldwide greenhouse-gas emissions to 50 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. The U.S. is seeking to strike that section, the documents show.
Many scientists warn that an increase of more than 3.6 degrees this century could trigger mass extinction of species and accelerated melting of polar ice sheets, which would raise sea levels.
The documents show that American officials are also trying to eliminate draft language that says, “We acknowledge that the U.N. climate process is the appropriate forum for negotiating future global action on climate change.”
Industrial and developing countries have used the United Nations as the forum for crafting climate agreements for years.
PORTLAND, Ind.
Coroner’s kid becomes youngest investigator
With her father as a role model and a love of the television show “CSI,” a high school senior has become Indiana’s youngest certified death investigator.
Amanda Barnett, 18, was certified last month and is one of four deputy coroners working for her father, the Jay County coroner.
Barnett had to receive special permission to attend a certification class by the Indiana State Coroners Training Board because she was only 17 when it began.
WASHINGTON
Mailbox admission fee going up by 2 cents
Starting Monday, postage for most first-class letters will go up 2 cents to 41 cents.
But folks will also be able to buy “forever” stamps that remain valid regardless of future increases.
The first forever stamps are selling for 41 cents apiece and will always be valid. But that doesn’t mean the price won’t go up. If rates increased to 45 cents, for example, that’s what a forever stamp would sell for.
