El Salvador Floods, Mudslides kill 124

SAN SALVADOR: El Salvador floods, mudslides kill 124, the end of the hurricane season devastated parts of Central America on Sunday as floods and landslides killed at least 124 in El Salvador, where the president declared a state of emergency, and thousands left homeless in Nicaragua.

Hurricane Ida, which grew to a Category Two hurricane on Sunday, was moving into the southern Gulf of Mexico, but local officials said they had caused casualties or infrastructure damage in the popular resort town of Cancun.

Forecasters headquarters in Miami, USA National Hurricane Center said Ida had strengthened packing maximum wind speeds of 100 mph (160 kph) as it moved over Mexico’s Caribbean coast.

The tail of Ida, with a low pressure system in the Pacific caused extensive flooding in El Salvador that left 124 people dead, civil defense officials said. Mauricio Funes President declared a state of emergency.

Civil Defense chief Jorge Melendez added that “there could be more fatalities” in the eastern regions of Verapaz and Tepetitan.

In Tepetitan, landslides and overflowing rivers carrying about 30 homes, authorities said. Some residents had agreed to evacuate the area, but a number “refused to leave their homes”, said Mayor Ana Jovel.

In Verapaz, 71 miles (114 km) southeast of the capital San Salvador, officials reported a flood of mud, rocks and tree trunks, ripping through an entire section of the city, burying cars and homes.

A dozen bodies of the victims were removed from the devastation of a local chapel and covered with white sheets, covered with mud, while awaiting identification by relatives.

El Salvador has been in a state of alert since Thursday by heavy rains associated with Ida began to affect the region, destroying an estimated 930 homes and leaving around 13,000 people homeless in Nicaragua.

On Saturday, the president of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega said his government hopes to make available 4.4 million dollars in aid for those affected by the storm.

At 0001 GMT on Monday, the National Hurricane Center said Ida was about 140 miles (225 km) west-northwest of the western tip of Cuba, moving about 12 miles (19 kilometers) per hour.

He said the center of the storm, currently a category two on the Saffir-Simpson scale with sustained winds of nearly 105 building mph (165 kph), but was forecast to weaken on Monday, the NHC said.

A hurricane watch was issued for parts of the Yucatan Peninsula and to the east of the Mississippi, Alabama, through the border area of northwest Florida.

The NHC said hurricane warning does not cover the city of New Orleans, which was devastated in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina.

Forecasters warned Ida could download three to five inches of rain in the Yucatan and western Cuba, with up to eight inches in some places, as well as storm surges and “large and destructive waves.

This year, El Nino Pacific Ocean warming phenomenon has resulted in an Atlantic hurricane season, especially in calm – a welcome respite for the Caribbean and southeastern U.S. residents still smarting from a 2008 pace.

There have been only two other hurricanes in the Atlantic 2009 season, which runs from June 1 through November 30.

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Floods, Landslides Kill 124 in El Salvador

SAN SALVADOR: A late season hurricane ravaged parts of Central America on Sunday as floods and landslides killed at least 124 in El Salvador, where the president declared a state of emergency, and thousands left homeless in Nicaragua.
Hurricane Ida, which grew to a Category Two hurricane on Sunday, was moving into the southern Gulf of Mexico, but local officials said they had caused casualties or infrastructure damage in the popular resort town of Cancun.

Forecasters headquarters in Miami, USA National Hurricane Center said Ida had strengthened packing maximum wind speeds of 100 mph (160 kph) as it moved over Mexico’s Caribbean coast.

The tail of Ida, with a low pressure system in the Pacific caused extensive flooding in El Salvador that left 124 people dead, civil defense officials said. Mauricio Funes President declared a state of emergency.

Civil Defense chief Jorge Melendez added that “there could be more fatalities” in the eastern regions of Verapaz and Tepetitan.

In Tepetitan, landslides and overflowing rivers carrying about 30 homes, authorities said. Some residents had agreed to evacuate the area, but a number “refused to leave their homes”, said Mayor Ana Jovel.

In Verapaz, 71 miles (114 km) southeast of the capital San Salvador, officials reported a flood of mud, rocks and tree trunks, ripping through an entire section of the city, burying cars and homes.

A dozen bodies of the victims were removed from the devastation of a local chapel and covered with white sheets, covered with mud, while awaiting identification by relatives.

El Salvador has been in a state of alert since Thursday by heavy rains associated with Ida began to affect the region, destroying an estimated 930 homes and leaving around 13,000 people homeless in Nicaragua.

On Saturday, the president of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega said his government hopes to make available 4.4 million dollars in aid for those affected by the storm.

At 0001 GMT on Monday, the National Hurricane Center said Ida was about 140 miles (225 km) west-northwest of the western tip of Cuba, moving about 12 miles (19 kilometers) per hour.

He said the center of the storm, currently a category two on the Saffir-Simpson scale with sustained winds of nearly 105 building mph (165 kph), but was forecast to weaken on Monday, the NHC said.

A hurricane watch was issued for parts of the Yucatan Peninsula and to the east of the Mississippi, Alabama, through the border area of northwest Florida.

The NHC said hurricane warning does not cover the city of New Orleans, which was devastated in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina.

Forecasters warned Ida could download three to five inches of rain in the Yucatan and western Cuba, with up to eight inches in some places, as well as storm surges and “large and destructive waves.

This year, El Nino Pacific Ocean warming phenomenon has resulted in an Atlantic hurricane season, especially in calm – a welcome respite for the Caribbean and southeastern U.S. residents still smarting from a 2008 pace.

There have been only two other hurricanes in the Atlantic 2009 season, which runs from June 1 through November 30.

Congeniality, Miss Congeniality

Congeniality, Miss Congeniality: One Auburn student dressed as Miss Alabama on Halloween, except her outfit was not a costume. Audrey Moore was crowned Miss Alabama USA 2010 as well as Miss Congeniality at the Wright Center Concert Hall in Birmingham.
“Winning Miss Alabama was the most exciting feeling of my life,” said Moore, sophomore in communication disorders. “I cried and screamed. It was overwhelming.” The Miss Congeniality award was voted on by the other candidates who voted Moore as the most charismatic and inspirational participant.

“I went in with the goal to win,” Moore said. “But I wanted to look back on it and have a good time and make friends as well.” According to the press release, Moore received a prize package including an all expense paid trip to represent Alabama at the Miss USA competition.

It will be April 18, 2010, at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas.
“I hired a new coach to prepare me for Miss USA,” Moore said. “I will spend the next few months training while traveling all over the state to promote the official causes of Miss USA, including breast and ovarian cancer.”

Moore said she did not know much about pageants, except for winning Miss Greek Week and Miss Glomerata and decided to enter last minute. She said she is just a typical Auburn student and did not want to miss the Ole Miss game.

“Audrey was more of a tomboy than a beauty queen growing up,” said Lisa Moore, Audrey’s mother. “She never participated in a pageant until high school and she had to enter as a fundraiser for cheerleading. She is more of the outdoors-y type.”

Moore said she hired a personal trainer at the Student Act to prepare for the swimsuit competition and watched the news to be informed for the interview questions. She hired a coach to help her with her swimsuit walk.

“Miss Alabama was a whole new experience for me,” Moore said. “I competed before, but I had no idea how to walk across a stage in a swimsuit.” Moore said Auburn University gave her the confidence to compete after winning two pageants here.

She said being interviewed in the many organizations she is involved in here, such as Pi Beta Phi, Lambda Sigma, Auburn Modeling Board and Student Government Association, prepared her for the interview portion.
Source: theplainsman.com

Fort Hood Victims List

Fort Hood Victims List: The following is a list of victims of the shooting Thursday at Fort Hood slaughter that left 13 dead and 38 wounded, of whom 30 were hospitalized. The list is compiled from various media reports around the country. Authorities have not released the names of victims until Friday at noon.

Dead:
Grant Michael Cahill, 62, of Cameron – before Spokane, Washington, – was a medical assistant who was working at the post of civilian contractors
Sgt. Justin M. Crow, 32, of Plymouth, Ind.
Reservist John Gaffaney, 56, of Serra Messa, California
SPC. Jason Dean Hunt, 22, of Tipton, Oklahoma
Sgt. Amy Krueger, 29, of Kiel, Wisconsin
PFC. Nemelka Aaron Thomas, 19, of West Jordan, Utah, was killed.
PFC. Michael Pearson, 21, of Bolingbrook, Illinois
Russell Seager, 51, of Racine, Wisconsin
PVT. Francheska Velez, 21, of Chicago. She was pregnant.
Military medical assistant Juanita Warman, 55, of Pittsburgh,
SPC. Kham Xiong, 23, of St. Paul, Minnesota

Injured:
Eclectic officer Chris Birmingham, Alabama, was shot three.
Sgt. Patrick Blue III, 23, of Belcourt, ND, was beaten in the face by bullet fragments during the attack,
Amber Bahr, 19, of Random Lake, Wisconsin, was shot in the stomach.
Bono Keara Torkelson, 21, of Ostego, Missouri, was shot in the shoulder again on the left.
Alan Carroll, 20, of Bridgewater, New Jersey, was shot three.
U.S. Army Reserve Dorothy “Dorita” Carskadon of Rockford, Ill., was seriously wounded.
Sgt. Joy Clark, 27, of Des Moines suffered a gunshot wound
SPC. Matthew Cook, 30, of Binghamton, New York, was shot in the abdomen
Sgt. Chad Davis, of Eufaula, Ala., was injured.
PVT. Joey Foster, 21, of Ogden, Utah, was shot in the hip
Cpl. Nathan Hewitt, 26, of West Lafayette, Indiana
Justin Johnson, 21, of Punta Gorda, Fla., was shot in the chest and leg.
Staff. Sgt. Alonzo Lunsford, Richmond County, North Carolina, was shot several times.
Shawn Manning, 33 years before Redman, Oregon, was shot six times
Army 2nd Lt. Brandy Mason, of Monessen, was wounded.
Reserve SPC. Grant Moxon, 23, of Lodi, Wis., was shot in the leg.
Sgt. Kimberly Munley, 34, of Killeen is the police officer in Fort Hood, in civilian was shot several times by the suspect.
Royal Warrant Officer Christopher Elmore County, Alabama, was shot three.
Major Randy Royer, of Dothan, Alabama, was shot.
PVT. Raymundo “Ray” Saucedo, 26, of Greenville, Mich., had a bullet grazed his arm.
George Stratton III, 18, of Post Falls, Idaho, was shot in the shoulder.
Patrick Zeigler, 28, Orange County, Fla., was seriously injured.

Bcs Projections, Bcs Standings 2009

Bcs Projections, Bcs Standings 2009: A couple of upsets, a few near misses, and a baseball game that just would not end made for an interesting Saturday, the eve of the 2009 season’s first BCS Standings.

Florida and Alabama both escaped with tough home wins against SEC foes. Texas held off Oklahoma again. And USC withstood an Irish rally to win its eighth straight against Notre Dame.

Virginia Tech and Ohio State weren’t as fortunate. The Hokies are now officially out of the BCS title chase, and perhaps even the one for the ACC Coastal title, after an upset loss at Georgia Tech. Ohio State had a worse loss, getting bested by unranked Purdue at West Lafayette.

All this caused the top of the BCS Standings to undergo a little bit of a shakeup. The unbeaten ranks have further shrunk to just seven. The actual BCS title contenders number somewhere around a dozen, with a few 1-loss teams still very much in the mix.

The first BCS Standings will be announced Sunday afternoon, and of course, as a public service, the Guru will once again make projections for the top 15 teams on Saturday night. (If you want to see my track record, go right ahead.)

As a public service, this is Fox’s BCS Standings release schedule, in its usual, we-will-just-tuck-it-in-between-some-NFL-games-because-we-don’t-really-give-a-flying-hoot special kind of way. It’s different every week, so this reference guide should come in handy:

(All Times Eastern)
Oct. 18 – Between 4 and 4:30 p.m. (after Fox’s early NFL game)
Oct. 25 – 7:15-8 p.m. (during Fox’s OT show)
Nov. 1 – 7:15-8 p.m. (during the OT show)
Nov. 8 – 4-4:30 (after early NFL game)
Nov. 15 – 7:15-8 p.m. (during the OT show)
Nov. 22 – 4-4:30 p.m. (after early NFL game)
Nov. 29 – 7:15-8 p.m. (during the OT show)
Dec. 6 – 8 p.m.

The good news is, after this season, Fox’s four-year reign of terror on the BCS will be over.
And without further ado, here’s the projected BCS Standings:

Source: bcsguru.blogspot.com

Police: Kidnapped newborn found safe in Alabama (AP)

AP – For three days, a Tennessee mother endured a parent’s worst nightmare after her newborn son was snatched by a knife-wielding kidnapper — until police Friday found the baby alive in northern Alabama and arrested a woman suspected of abducting him.

View original here:
Police: Kidnapped newborn found safe in Alabama (AP)

Atlanta Flooding

The Atlanta flooding is now deadly. Two people have been killed in near Atlanta, as northern Georgia has been hit hard with torrential rain for the last three days.

The two fatalities occurred when two separate people attempted to drive through flooded streets. Their cars were then swept away and off of the street in Douglas County and in Gwinnett County, respectively. Dena Brummer, a spokesperson for the Georgia Emergency Management Agency told CNN.

The vehicle in Douglas County was carrying a man, while the vehicle in Gwinnett County was carrying a woman. The identities of the deceased are currently unknown. There are also people missing that may have been carried away in the racing currents of the floodwater, according to Brummer.

Over 20 inches of rain have fallen in the Atlanta metro area, and forecasters have issued flood alerts for several states in the southeast including Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and North Carolina.

Hundreds of roads have been closed because they are flooded and washed out. Several bridges have been over taken with water and creeks that normally have no water in them are overflowing their banks.

Students around Georgia have been affected by the large amounts of rain in such a short period of time, especially in Gwinnett County and Cobb County.
Gwinnett College canceled all classes as a precaution for students.

Clarkdale Elementary students were recently evacuated to the nearby school, Garret Middle School, according to NBC affiliate 11Alive of Atlanta, Georgia.
Source: collegenews.com

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