Published January 7th, 2005
GRANITEVILLE, South Carolina
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Train accident spreads deadly gas
A freight train carrying chlorine gas struck a parked train early yesterday, killing eight people and injuring at least 200 others, nearly all of them sickened by a toxic cloud that persisted over this small textile town at nightfall.
Authorities ordered all 5,400 people within a mile of the crash to evacuate in the afternoon because chlorine was continuing to leak, and the gas was settling near the ground as temperatures dropped. They were unsure when the gas leak might be sealed.
State Sen. Tommy Moore said yesterday night that officials at Avondale Mill, the textile plant where the crash happened, told him eight people were found dead following the accident, including five inside the mill.
Eight people were in critical condition yesterday night after the 2:30 a.m. wreck of Norfolk Southern trains, in which 16 cars derailed.
BAGHDAD, Iraq
Bomb kills seven soldiers, two Marines
A roadside bomb killed seven U.S. soldiers in northwest Baghdad and two Marines were killed in western Iraq yesterday, the deadliest day for American forces since a suicide attack on a U.S. base last month.
The bombing came as Iraq extended a state of emergency by 30 days to battle militants whose attacks have surged ahead of this month’s elections. The prime minister warned the number of assaults would only rise as voting day draws closer.
Just three weeks before the Jan. 30 elections, the commander of U.S. ground forces in Iraq acknowledged that security is poor in four of 18 Iraqi provinces. But Lt. Gen. Thomas Metz told a briefing in the capital that delaying the vote would only increase the danger.
“I can’t guarantee that every person in Iraq that wants to vote, goes to a polling booth and can do that safely,” Metz said. “We’re going to do everything possible to create that condition for them, but we are fighting an enemy who cares less who he kills, when he kills and how he kills. A delay in the elections just gives the thugs and terrorists more time to continue their intimidation, their cruelty, their brutal murders of innocent people.”
Houston
Conviction in baby deaths overturned
Andrea Yates’s murder conviction for drowning her children in the bathtub was overturned by an appeals court yesterday because a psychiatrist for the prosecution gave erroneous testimony that suggested the Texas mother got the idea from an episode of “Law & Order.” As a result, Yates may have a retrial.
Yates, 40, is more than two years into a life sentence after a trial that stirred national debate over mothers who kill and the legal definition of insanity.
The appeals court ruling turned on the testimony of Dr. Park Dietz, a forensic psychiatrist who consulted for “Law & Order” and helped prosecutors land a conviction in 2002. Dietz testified at the trial that shortly before Yates’ crime occurred, “Law & Order” ran an episode about a woman who drowned her children.
NABLUS, West Bank
Abbas softens campaign rhetoric on Sharon
Palestinian presidential candidate Mahmoud Abbas yesterday described Israeli leader Ariel Sharon as a partner for peace talks and said he hopes negotiations will resume soon after weekend elections.
Campaigning in the West Bank’s largest city, Abbas reached out to Israel after a series of hard-line speeches and appearances with Palestinian gunmen in recent days. Israeli officials welcomed the conciliatory statements.
Also yesterday, Israel’s army chief announced that he’ll expel officers and soldiers who refuse to participate in a planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank. The warning came after 34 reserve officers signed a letter urging soldiers not to participate in the pullout.
-Compiled from Daily wire reports
