LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Is it a drought-buster? Absolutely not. Will it bring short-term improvement? Yes.”
Victor Murphy, National Weather Service meteorologist, on storms bearing down on the nation’s midsection Monday Article, this page
Family missing off California coast
MONTEREY, Calif. - Crews searched by sea and air on Monday as they searched for a family that sent a series of distress calls to the Coast Guard the day before.
The unidentified family had been sailing a small vessel west of Monterey Bay, where strong winds, cold water and big swells made for perilous conditions. Forecasters had issued a weekend advisory warning boaters of rough seas in the area.
The group - which included a husband, wife and two children under 8 - made its first distress call late Sunday afternoon, Coast Guard Lt. Heather Lampert said. Investigators used the boat’s radio signal and radar to determine the call came from an area about 60 miles west of Monterey, she said.
The boaters reported that their 29-foot sailboat was taking on water and the electronics were failing.
An hour later, the family members reported they had to abandon the boat and were trying to make a life raft out of a cooler and life-preserver ring, Lampert said. The Coast Guard then lost radio contact.
The agency looked for the family through the night and on Monday, with help from the California Air National Guard.
AmeriCorps to tackle worst schools
WASHINGTON - Education Secretary Arne Duncan on Monday announced a $15 million AmeriCorps program to help some of the nation’s worst-performing schools increase their graduation rates.
Duncan said the three-year program, called the School Turnaround AmeriCorps, would send 650 members into about 60 schools that are not graduating enough of their students. Schools will compete for the grants, which are funded through the Education Department and the Corporation for National and Community Service.
Duncan said the program’s goal will be to improve school safety, attendance and discipline in districts where large percentages of students don’t complete their education.
Wife testifies about plan to eat her
NEW YORK - The estranged wife of a New York City police officer struggled to keep her composure Monday as she testified about discovering shocking e-mails and other evidence on his computer showing he had discussed killing her and abducting, torturing and eating other women.
“I was going to be tied up by my feet and my throat slit and they were going to watch the blood drain out of me,” Kathleen Mangan-Valle told a Manhattan jury.
Mangan-Valle, 27, also read about plans to put one friend in a suitcase, wheel her out of her building and murder her. Two other women were “going to be raped in front of each other to heighten their fears,” and another was going to be roasted alive over an open fire, she said.
“The suffering was for his enjoyment, and he wanted to make it last as long as possible,” she said.
Gilberto Valle, 28, is accused of conspiring to kidnap a woman and unauthorized use of a law enforcement database that prosecutors say he used to help build a list of potential targets. A conviction on the kidnapping count carries a possible life sentence.
In fatal blast, permit for work lacking
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A cable-company subcontractor suspected of rupturing a natural gas line before a deadly Kansas City restaurant explosion didn’t have an approved permit for the work, city officials said Monday.
Pat Klein, assistant city manager, said excavating without a permit is violation of the municipal code and can result in a fine of $500, up to six months in jail or both. He said no charge had been filed.
“The city will decide what they are going to do,” Klein said.
A Missouri Gas Energy official said previously that Heartland Midwest reported hitting a natural gas line with an underground borer more than an hour before the Feb. 19 explosion. The blast and ensuing fire leveled JJ’s restaurant near a busy outdoor shopping area. One person was killed and 15 others were injured.
The next day, Heartland Midwest sought a permit and asked that it take effect retroactively, Klein said.
Front Section, Pages 4 on 02/26/2013