Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Edouard Pounds Coast Of Texas, Then Moves On

GALVESTON, Tex. -- Tropical Storm Edouard hit the Texas Gulf Coast on Tuesday with strong winds and heavy rain, but it did little more than soak travelers who came to relax on this tourist town's beaches.

The storm made landfall between Galveston and the Louisiana line, and was weakening as it headed inland. It was downgraded Tuesday evening to a tropical depression as it headed toward central Texas.

There were no reports of major damage or flooding.

Though forecasters had feared that Edouard could become a hurricane and both Texas and Louisiana had made emergency preparations, its winds never reached hurricane strength.

Edouard did prompt offshore oil and gas companies to evacuate a few of the 717 manned platforms and 125 operating rigs in the Gulf.

But Shell Oil said that the storm had no effect on its offshore operations and that it would begin returning evacuated workers Tuesday.

Greg Fountain, emergency management coordinator in Jefferson County, near Beaumont, said his county saw a lot of rain but generally "dodged a bullet."

Meatpacker Cited for Child Labor

DES MOINES -- Iowa labor officials said that they had uncovered dozens of child labor violations at the nation's biggest supplier of kosher meat. Officials from the state's Labor Commissioner's Office said they found 57 violations of child labor law at the Agriprocessors kosher meatpacking plant in Postville, where nearly 400 workers were arrested this spring in the largest immigration enforcement operation in U.S. history. Violations included minors working in prohibited occupations, exceeding allowable hours for youth to work, failure to obtain work permits, exposure to hazardous chemicals and working with prohibited tools. This case will most likely be handed over to the Iowa attorney general at the request of Allamakee County officials, authorities said.

Guantanamo Jury Still Deliberating

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba -- The judge in the military commission of Osama bin Laden's former driver ruled that it was too late to challenge his war crimes instructions to the jury deliberating the case. Navy Capt. Keith J. Allred acknowledged he may have erred in his jury instructions, but prosecutors agreed to withdraw their objections rather than risk a mistrial. Jurors deliberated on the case for a second day but recessed without reaching a verdict.

Mine Survivor Urges Airtight Chambers

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- The lone survivor of an underground explosion that killed five coal miners in Kentucky two years ago said he believes most of his co-workers would have survived if the federal government had required protective chambers stocked with oxygen supplies. "I believe these chambers will help save lives in the future," Paul Ledford testified at a public hearing. The hearing was to obtain comment on a U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration proposal to require airtight emergency refuges in each of the nation's underground coal mines. Three of Ledford's co-workers suffocated in the Darby mine, and two others died from injuries suffered in the blast.

FDA Approves 6 Flu Vaccines

The Food and Drug Administration has approved six versions of the influenza vaccine to help combat the virus during the 2008-2009 flu season later this year. The vaccines are Fluarix and FluLaval, from GlaxoSmithKline; Fluvirin, from Novartis; Fluzone, from Sanofi Aventis; and Afluria, from CSL. The FDA also cleared the FluMist nasal spray flu vaccine made by Rockville-based MedImmune.

-- From News Services