In the Nation
Tornado victims reunite to worship
GREENSBURG, Kan. - Church leaders yesterday told more than 3,000 residents, volunteers and disaster workers gathered in this tornado-ravaged community they should not fear the future because God was with them.
The nondenominational service marked the first time the congregations had worshipped in Greensburg since a May 4 tornado destroyed more than 90 percent of the south-central Kansas town and killed nine people.
Tears and hugs were common as many residents saw each other for the first time since the tornado. Volunteers passed out flowers to mothers in honor of Mother's Day.
"We are a scattered, dispersed community. But the Lord Jesus is our redeemer and is with us. 'Do not fear for I am with you,' says the Lord," said the Rev. Gene McIntosh, pastor of First United Methodist Church in Greensburg.
- AP
Mayoral field down to two in Dallas
DALLAS - Tom Leppert, the former chief executive officer of Turner Construction Co., will face City Councilman Ed Oakley in a June 16 runoff for Dallas mayor as the two defeated nine other candidates Saturday.
With 100 percent of the city's precincts reporting, Leppert, who said he would use a businessman's approach to streamline city government, collected 27 percent of the 71,421 votes cast. Oakley was second with about 21 percent of the vote.
Oakley, who was elected to City Council in 2001, based his campaign on his experience in city government. He also called for cracking down on crime at aging apartment complexes in the city.
- Bloomberg News
Plane that crashed did a sharp turn
MARION, Mont. - A small plane that crashed near a private airstrip, killing its pilot and four skydivers, had made an abrupt turn just before going down, a federal investigator said yesterday.
Tom Little, an investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board, said it was too early to tell what caused the Saturday crash, but he said it appeared that the plane made a 180-degree turn just after takeoff and was only about 500 feet high before it plummeted to earth.
The passengers were two Great Falls residents planning to jump in tandem with instructors from Whitefish and Missoula, authorities said. Names of the victims were not released. - AP
Elsewhere:
A driver in Los Angeles apparently fell asleep before his car plowed into a bus stop yesterday, killing two people and injuring four others, authorities said.
Canadian authorities have arrested Richard S. Goldberg, 61, of Long Beach, Calif., who was on the FBI's "Ten Most Wanted" list for alleged sex crimes against children. Goldberg, arrested in Montreal, was expected to be extradited to the United States.
The 2007 Acura MDX sport utility vehicle and the 2008 Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable passenger cars received top scores in new crash tests released today by the insurance industry.