LAKE GEORGE, N.Y. - Just days before a tour boat capsized in the Adirondack Mountains, killing 20 elderly people, the Coast Guard began rethinking its passenger-weight calculations to take into account Americans' expanding waistlines.
At the time it overturned, the 38-foot Ethan Allen was just under its capacity of 48 passengers - a figure arrived at by using a New York standard that assumes a 150-pound average for each man, woman and child, authorities said. The U.S. Coast Guard standard assumes a 140-pound average for each person.
Investigators said that too much weight may have been a factor and suggested those standards may have to be revised because Americans are getting heavier - something the Coast Guard recognized before the tragedy.
The disclosure from the Coast Guard in Washington came as divers combed the bottom of Lake George for victims' belongings and experts examined the boat for clues to why it overturned.
Space tourist says trip worth millions he paid
CAPE CANAVERAL - A wealthy scientist who bought his own ticket to the international space station said from orbit Tuesday that the trip was worth the millions he paid, and his only fear on launch day was not going.
"I'm having a great time. I mean, this is a dream come true," Gregory Olsen said at a news conference broadcast from the space station.
"This is my fourth day and I'm really enjoying it," he said. "Just to look out and see the Earth from about 230 miles up is just great."
The best part, Olsen said, is "just being here." As for the reported $20-million he paid for the 10-day trip, "It's like the price and value argument. This is something I wanted to do, I love doing, so to me, yes, it's worth the money."
With his launch aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket on Saturday from Kazakhstan, Olsen became the world's third paying space tourist. He made his fortune with Sensors Unlimited Inc. of Princeton, N.J., a company that makes devices for fiber-optic communications and infrared imaging.
Experts: Don't let toddlers follow adults eating habits
DALLAS - As toddlers begin eating "grownup" food, they may develop grownup eating habits - like too much junk food and too few vegetables, say doctors who want parents to change their ways.
Within the childhood obesity outbreak is an increasing number of overweight 2-year-olds, according to pediatrics experts. In an effort to address the problem, the American Heart Association is offering this advice to parents: Children 2 and older should eat mostly fruits and vegetables, whole grains, low-fat and nonfat dairy products, beans and lean meat.
"These guidelines are not that different from what you as a parent should be following," said Lona Sandon, a dietitian and assistant professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. "Kids will follow the example of their parents if the example is there."
Court: Morman church can control public plaza
SALT LAKE CITY - A federal appellate court has upheld a deal between city and church leaders that gave the Mormon church control over a downtown plaza.
Judges on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals said traditional public forums can be sold to private groups. The deal does "nothing to advance religion, but merely enables the LDS church to advance itself," the ruling said.
The American Civil Liberties Union wanted the agreement overturned, arguing it was illegal to give the church police power in a public area.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints bought the plaza for $8-million in 1999. Under the agreement, the city retained some public control but church leaders set speech and behavior guidelines and occasionally blocked public access on the property, a main gateway into downtown Salt Lake City.
