CEBU, Philippines

No additional survivors found after ferry wreck

As the MV Thomas Aquinas cruised toward Cebu city in the central Philippines, navy marshal Richard Pestillos prepared for a brief stop while some passengers watched a band and others soaked in the night breeze on the deck.

Then the scene turned chaotic when the ferry, with 870 passengers and crew, and a cargo ship collided late Friday, ripping a hole in its hull, knocking out its power and causing it to list before rapidly sinking as people screamed, according to Pestillos and other witnesses.

Coast guard officials said at least 39 died and more than 80 were missing in the latest deadly sea accident in the Philippines. Frequent storms, badly maintained vessels and weak enforcement of safety regulations have been blamed for many of the accidents.

Cebu Governor Hilario Davide III said 751 passengers and crew of the Thomas Aquinas were rescued. There were no signs of additional survivors late Sunday, although Davide told reporters that he had not given up hope.

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SAN DIEGO

Recall campaign begins against embattled mayor

A campaign to oust embattled San Diego Mayor Bob Filner began Sunday, as volunteers armed with clipboards and petitions fanned out to collect thousands of signatures needed to authorize a recall election.

More than a dozen women have publicly accused Filner, a Democrat, of making inappropriate statements or sexual advances. The 70-year-old former congressman has resisted numerous calls to resign.

He is set to return to work this week after undergoing behavior therapy.

Recall organizers say they have raised more than $100,000 so far and more than 1,100 people have signed up to volunteer. They sought out signatures at a half-marathon Sunday in Balboa Park, while businesswomen and military sexual-assault victims planned to lead an afternoon march downtown.

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House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has said Filner should step aside and spare San Diego the pain and expense of a recall election.

DETROIT

Black bear killed, tested to see if it mauled girl

Conservation officers shot and killed a black bear Sunday and plan tests to see if it is the same animal that chased and mauled a 12-year-old girl as she jogged on her grandfather’s wooded land in northern Michigan, authorities said.

A bear clawed Abby Wetherell in the thigh Thursday 35 miles south-southeast of Traverse City. She underwent surgery at Munson Medical Center in Traverse City and was released from the hospital Sunday and is recovering at home, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources said.

On Saturday night, two conservation officers responded to a complaint about a bear near where Abby was attacked. A man told them he shot and wounded a bear on his property because he believed it was threatening him, the department said. Bears are a protected species in Michigan and cannot be shot unless they pose an immediate threat.

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The agents tracked the bear and killed it early Sunday, officials said.

BOISE, Idaho

Fire managers optimistic as more crews join effort

Fire managers expressed optimism Sunday in their battle against a wildfire that has scorched nearly 160 square miles and forced the evacuation of 2,300 homes near the central Idaho resort communities of Ketchum and Sun Valley.

Officials said the blaze had grown only about 12 square miles because of cloud cover the day before and the arrival of additional crews and equipment. Many firefighters worked Sunday to create protective firebreaks, or gaps in vegetation aimed at stopping the fire’s progress.

More than 1,200 people and 19 aircraft are now battling the lightning-caused Beaver Creek Fire, which started Aug. 7 and is 9 percent contained.

Nearly 90 fire engines also are in the region, many protecting homes in the affluent area where celebrities like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom Hanks and Bruce Willis own getaways.

— From news service reports

 


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