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250,000 homes lack power after storm

By TIMES WIRES
Published April 18, 2007

MAMARONECK, N.Y.

More than a quarter-million customers were without power Tuesday in North Carolina, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Vermont as flooding persisted from the spring nor'easter that has claimed at least 17 lives. In Mamaroneck, described by New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer as "the epicenter of the damage done here in the state," discarded belongings damaged by the flooded Sheldrake River lined an avenue. In New Jersey, electricity had been shut off to the low-lying central community of Bound Brook - which received 9 inches of rain - and nearly 1,000 residents were still barred from their homes.

WASHINGTON

FDA approves bird flu vaccine

The Food and Drug Administration approved the first bird flu vaccine for humans Tuesday, saying it could serve as a stopgap tool to slow a pandemic despite its modest effectiveness. In clinical trials, the vaccine for the H5N1 strain of bird flu provoked an immune response in 45 percent of people. By contrast, vaccines for a seasonal flu protect 70 percent to 90 percent of those who get a shot, according to the FDA.

Shooting of agents called an accident

Two Secret Service officers were injured in an accidental shooting Tuesday at the White House. The incident occurred in a security booth at the southwest gate. Secret Service spokeswoman Kim Bruce said one officer was injured in the leg and the other received a shrapnel wound in his face. The gun involved was a service-issued weapon.

LOS ANGELES

Charges dropped in Iraqi deaths

The Marines Corps said Tuesday it had dropped all charges against a sergeant and that he will testify at the trials of fellow Marines accused of killing 24 civilians in Haditha in 2005, the deadliest criminal case to arise from the Iraq war. Sgt. Sanick P. Dela Cruz had been charged with unpremeditated murder in the death of five civilians. Previously, four enlisted Marines were charged with unpremeditated murder, and four officers were charged with failing to adequately report the deaths.

HAGERSTOWN, MD.

Crews try to reach two coal miners

Rescue crews were working Tuesday to reach two coal miners believed buried beneath 75 feet of rock and dirt from a collapsed wall of an open pit mine in the western Maryland mountains, an emergency management official said. Richard DeVore, Allegany County director of emergency services, said the operation was a rescue effort, not a recovery effort, meaning there was hope the miners were alive.

Elsewhere:

Potosi, Mo.: Seven more charges, including attempted murder, have been filed against former pizzeria manager Michael Devlin, who was already charged with kidnapping Ben Ownby, 13, in January and with kidnapping Shawn Hornbeck, then 11, in 2002. One of the new charges says Devlin tried to suffocate Hornbeck.

Washington: The Coast Guard said Tuesday that it was taking over the management of its $24-billion fleet modernization project, curtailing the role of contractors Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, which had been hired to run the job. The Coast Guard cited setbacks in the program in explaining the change.

[Last modified April 18, 2007, 02:25:32]