Around the Nation

GOP Blocks Measure On Utility Aid for Poor

Republicans on Saturday blocked the Senate from considering a bill next week that would nearly double federal aid to help the poor pay heating and air-conditioning bills.

Although a dozen Senate Republicans support the measure, most voted with GOP leaders who would rather spend the time trumpeting their call to expand offshore oil drilling before Congress takes six weeks off for vacation and the presidential nominating conventions.

The government is devoting $2.6 billion in subsidies for helping people with low incomes pay heating and air-conditioning bills this year. The measure, from Sen. Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.), would nearly double that to $5.1 billion.

Officials Fear Oil Spill May Damage Wetlands

NEW ORLEANS -- A large fuel spill that has shut down 100 miles of the Mississippi River for four days has had a limited impact on wildlife so far, but officials are worried about fragile wetlands downstream.

Almost 800 cleanup workers used containment booms, vacuum skimmers and other equipment Saturday to continue scrubbing oil-coated riverbanks along the nation's busiest inland waterway.

A tanker and a barge collided Wednesday, spilling about 419,000 gallons of fuel oil from the barge, closing the river from New Orleans to the Gulf of Mexico and temporarily idling 200 oil supertankers, grain barges and other ships.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had reports of almost 60 animals coated with oil, mostly ducks and wading birds, regional spokesman Tom MacKenzie said Saturday.

Officials said they had reports of only limited impact on stretches of the winding river fronted by levees topped with rocky cover, concrete mats and other anti-erosion materials. But MacKenzie cautioned that probably only a fraction of the affected wildlife had been spotted in the vast area.

Dolly Causes Fatal Flooding

EL PASO -- Heavy rain from the remnants of Hurricane Dolly closed streets and flooded homes in El Paso on Saturday and was blamed for the death of one person in New Mexico. The Las Cruces Sun-News reported that a passenger in a sport-utility vehicle died when the vehicle hit a large puddle and rolled over. A National Weather Service meteorologist said some areas of El Paso had gotten as much as 3 inches of rain.

Fireman Dies; Blaze Nears Homes

Federal forestry officials say a firefighter has died after being struck by a falling tree while working on a wildfire in Northern California. Andrew Jackson Palmer, 18, was injured Friday while working on a forest fire near Junction City, about 50 miles west of Redding. A U.S. Forest Service spokesman said Palmer died while being flown to a hospital. Elsewhere, authorities said a wildfire is threatening several hundred homes near the main entrance road to Yosemite National Park. Local officials are warning residents of the town of Midpines to prepare to evacuate.

3 Drown, 3 Missing at Beaches

NEW YORK -- Authorities say three swimmers drowned and three are missing in two days of treacherous ocean currents at Long Island and New York City beaches. At least three others have been rescued.

Hundreds Pay Respects to Soldier

LAWRENCE, Mass. -- Hundreds of mourners trekked up a flag-lined street Saturday for the funeral of Army Staff Sgt. Alex Jimenez, 25, whose body was found 14 months after he and two fellow soldiers were captured during an ambush in Iraq.

The soldier's coffin arrived at St. Mary of the Assumption Church atop a horse-drawn carriage, escorted by fellow members of the 10th Mountain Division.

-- From News Services