In the Nation

GUANTANAMO BAY

Possible cancer cluster among U.S. workers

The military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, may have another problem: cancer.

The Navy is investigating concerns on possible carcinogens where the Pentagon holds military trials for detainees. A complaint to the inspector general alleged at least seven civilian and military members who worked on detainee trials had been diagnosed with cancer.

The Miami Herald says it found nine people with cancer of the colon, appendix, brain, or lymph nodes. Three died.

The IG complaint does not allege elevated cancer among detainees, Reuters says. There are 115 detainees at the base, some distance from where military trials are held and where visiting lawyers and others stay. The IG complaint said individuals may have been exposed to toxic material while living near a location where jet fuel or asbestos was disposed of. - Washington Post

NEW YORK

Snow still not gone

Boston finally saw the last of its record snow vanish this month, but Buffalo is a different story. Two piles remain on a lot where trucks dumped it after a freak November storm brought so much snow - 7 feet fell in spots - that crews had nowhere else to put it. A coating of dirt is insulating the piles, each roughly the size of two school buses end to end. How long will the snow stick around? "It could," a state climatologist said, "be there when the next snow falls." - AP

OKLAHOMA

Injuries shut day care

A day-care center in Oklahoma has shut its doors after a mother reported her two sons were hospitalized with severe sunburns after an outing. A Department of Human Services spokeswoman said Tuesday the Happiness Is a Learning Center day care in Vinita agreed to close. A mother said her 5- and 7-year-old sons suffered serious blisters after they played outside without shirts or sunscreen. - AP