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Raw anger in McCain's crowds as Obama strengthens LAKEVILLE, Minn. -- The anger is getting raw at Republican rallies and John McCain is finally acting to tamp it down.
McCain was booed by his own supporters Friday when, in an abrupt switch from raising questions about Barack Obama's character, he described the Democrat as a "decent person and a person that you do not have to be scared of as president of the United States." A sense of grievance spilling into rage has gripped some GOP events this week as McCain supporters see his presidential campaign lag against Obama. Some in the audience are making it personal, against the Democrat. Shouts of "traitor," "terrorist," "treason," "liar," and even "off with his head" have rung from the crowd at McCain and Sarah Palin rallies, and gone unchallenged by them. McCain changed his tone Friday when supporters at a town hall pressed him to be rougher on Obama. A voter said, "The people here in Minnesota want to see a real fight." "If you want a fight, we will fight," McCain said. "But we will be respectful. I admire Sen. Obama and his accomplishments." When people booed, he cut them off. "I don't mean that has to reduce your ferocity," he said. "I just mean to say you have to be respectful."
Balloon crashes in flames at N.M. festival BERNALILLO, N.M. -- A hot air balloon crashed into power lines and burst into flames Friday during Albuquerque's annual balloon fiesta, throwing both men on board to the ground and killing one of them. Witnesses said that winds had picked up a bit and that many of the balloons were flying low right before the Wings of Wind balloon crashed in Bernalillo, just north of Albuquerque. Stephen Lachendro of Butler, Pa., was killed and Keith Sproul of North Brunswick, N.J., was critically injured. Kathie Leyendecker, a spokeswoman for the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, said she did not know who was piloting the balloon. Lachendro was found dead at the scene on the side of a ditch; Sproul was unconscious and taken to the hospital, Rio Rancho Fire Battalion Chief Paul Bearce said. "I couldn't believe it," said Glenn Vonderahe, a witness. "I saw the balloon and the next thing I knew, there was a lot of fire and smoke. There was total fire under the balloon." He first saw the balloon land, then bounce back up and apparently hit some power lines, he said. The balloon was stuck in the lines for a time, and then Vonderahe saw the balloon portion -- called the envelope -- float away, a burning tank still attached.
Woman, 72, moves out after finding 6 snakes MIDDLETOWN, Del. -- When 72-year-old Gladys Dressner first saw two snakes in her new apartment last month, she froze. Days later, when an eight-inch snake crawled across her bed, she screamed. Finally, after stepping on a baby black rat snake, she moved. A Maryland exterminator killed six snakes that were captured in Dressner's Middletown apartment. All six were about eight inches long and harmless. The exterminator suspects a previous tenant kept an adult snake as a pet. Dressner, who has high blood pressure, diabetes and a heart condition, wrote a letter to her property managers demanding to be moved to a new apartment. Property manager John Mastriana said she won't have to pay October's rent or moving costs.
Earth-impacting asteroid's path predicted for first time Scientists for the first time were able predict the arrival of an asteroid before it entered Earth's atmosphere. The asteroid, estimated at 6 to 15 feet in diameter, entered the atmosphere over Sudan on Tuesday morning, providing a brilliant light show in East Africa as it burned up. Scientists said it posed no threat to people on the ground, though some tiny pieces of the object may have reached the Earth's surface. The important thing, scientists said, was not the discovery of the object, but the prediction of its trajectory. Although advance notice of less than a day would hardly be enough time to prepare for the arrival of the kind of asteroid believed to have wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago, Yeomans said the successful prediction "shows the system is working."
Judge says mom can access evidence from car, forensic tests ORLANDO, Fla. -- The mother of a missing 3-year-old Florida girl will have access to her car and forensic tests completed by authorities trying to figure out what happened to the child, a judge ruled Friday. But she'll have to wait to find out whether she can leave her home while on house arrest to help explain her version of events to her attorneys, because Ninth Circuit Judge Stan Strickland delayed ruling on that request. Casey Anthony, 22, has been called a suspect in the girl's disappearance, but so far has not been charged with anything except child neglect. Authorities say the child was not reported missing for more than a month, and her mother faces 14 felony charges, including forging checks, fraud, and theft, and one misdemeanor charge of lying to police. Orange County prosecutors sought to keep the evidence suppressed, arguing it was not relevant to the charges Anthony currently faces. Strickland disagreed.
Man, 88, fatally shoots ailing wife at hospital TOMS RIVER, N.J. -- An elderly man fatally shot his ailing wife in her hospital bed Friday and was in critical condition after turning the gun on himself, an official said. Toms River Police Chief Michael Mastronardy would not say whether the shootings at Community Medical Center appeared to be intended as a mercy killing. The man was standing at his wife's bedside when he opened fire, he said. "It's a situation where someone takes ill, and this is a result of that sometimes," Mastronardy said. It was not immediately clear what the 87-year-old woman was being treated for. |
