The nation in brief

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Instead of trying to solve everything at once, we decided the most important thing we could do for the families we represent was to end the uncertainty.”

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who helped craft a bipartisan budget deal that has been cleared for a final Senate vote despite some objections from both Democrats and Republicans Article, 1A

21 crash in Louisiana fog, dark; 1 dead

DONALDSONVILLE, La. - Three separate traffic accidents over about a mile-long stretch of a foggy highway involved 21 vehicles and left one person dead Tuesday morning in south Louisiana, state police said.

“We’re not sure of the exact cause of it, but weather is definitely going to be a factor. The fog was very heavy this morning,” Trooper Jared Sandifer said as tow trucks hummed and workers labored to clear the two-lane Louisiana 1 of damaged trucks and cars compacted like accordions.

Sandifer said 62-year-old Donald L. Jenkins of Plaquemine was killed. Injuries to six others in the accidents were described as minor.

The crashes happened around 5 a.m., in early-morning darkness and thick fog next to freshly harvested sugar-cane fields just north of the town of Donaldsonville, roughly 40 miles west of New Orleans. Four of the vehicles involved were trucks, empty at the time, that are used to haul sugar cane.

The fatality happened in a crash involving six vehicles, state police Capt. Doug Cain said. Another accident involved 12 vehicles and still another, three.

Workers cleared and reopened the highway by Tuesday afternoon.

N.Y. trooper dies after big-rig rear-ending

ALBANY, N.Y. - A New York state trooper died Tuesday from injuries he suffered when his police cruiser was rear-ended by a tractor-trailer shortly after he pulled over a car for speeding, authorities said.

Trooper David Cunniff, 35, was inside his patrol car behind the car he had pulled over on Interstate 90’s eastbound lanes around 8:20 p.m. Monday, when his cruiser was hit by the big rig and he was partially thrown from his vehicle, state police Superintendent Joseph D’Amico said. The truck also hit the car, injuring the driver.

The trooper suffered extensive head trauma and was airlifted to Albany Medical Center, where he died Tuesday afternoon, the superintendent said.

D’Amico said neither alcohol nor weather was considered a factor in the crash, and police were still investigating.

100 flee as Big Sur fire levels homes

BIG SUR, Calif. - An unusual late fall wildfire fueled by drought conditions destroyed more than a dozen homes and forced about 100 people to flee the forested mountains of the scenic Big Sur region overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

The slow-moving fire in Los Padres National Forest near California 1 had consumed 769 acres, or a little more than a square mile, by Tuesday night and was 20 percent contained.

It had destroyed 22 buildings, Los Padres National Forest spokesman Lynn Olson said. About 14 of those structures were homes, she said.

No injuries had been reported.

About 830 firefighters have deployed to the area, and thus far, weather has been working in their favor, said Mark Nunez, the commander of the team fighting the fire.

Big Sur - miles of rugged coast, cliffs and wilderness - is a popular tourist destination about 150 miles south of San Francisco with high-end resorts and beautiful views of the Pacific Ocean.

Fiery blast kills 1 in Alabama apartments

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - A pre-dawn explosion shattered a two-story Birmingham apartment building Tuesday as residents slept, trapping an engaged couple in bed as bricks and concrete rained down on them.

After more than four hours of delicate work, firefighters freed the man, using large jacks to lift a concrete slab that had collapsed. But his 40-year-old fiancee, Tyrennis Mabry, was burned badly and died before rescuers could reach her, coroner’s officials said.

The man was hospitalized in critical but stable condition with numerous injuries. His name wasn’t released.

Five children and two adults also were hurt, officials said, but none of the injuries were life-threatening. Survivors crawled through fire and debris to get to the street to safety.

Fire officials said they suspected natural gas was behind the blast, but the cause was still under investigation.

Firefighters were called about 3:45 a.m. Tuesday after a fireball shot out at Gate City Apartments, a few miles from downtown Birmingham. Photos taken by residents showed flames that turned the night sky bright orange.

Front Section, Pages 4 on 12/18/2013

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