At least 11 killed as storms hit Midwest

DYERSBURG -- Severe storms swept across the Midwest yesterday, killing at least 11 people in Tennessee, Missouri, and Illinois, officials said. Eight people died in west Tennessee's Dyer County and the number could rise, said Kurt Pickering, spokesman for the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency. Details weren't immediately available. In Missouri, strong winds were blamed for the deaths of at least two men, one killed when his mobile home overturned near Circle City and a second died when a tree fell on him in Castlewood State Park in St. Louis County. In Illinois, a man died when a store in Fairview Heights, east of St. Louis, collapsed, police officials said. Crews were searching the rubble for additional victims. (AP)

WASHINGTON, D.C.

An estimated 3.6 million US households, about 3 in 100, reported that they had been victims of identity theft, according to a government study that counted misuse of someone else's cellular phone, credit card, or personal information. The figures, which were released yesterday by the Justice Department, differed from the findings of a Federal Trade Commission study that had found 9.3 million victims. The gap was attributed to different counting methods and time periods. (AP)

Lung cancer patients who use nicotine supplements such a patch or gum to help them to quit smoking may undermine chemotherapy. Nicotine is not known to cause cancer, but it can shield cancer cells from some of the most used chemotherapy drugs, University of South Florida researchers said yesterday at a meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research. The research team examined cancer cells treated with gemcitabine, cisplatin, and taxol. (AP)

ILLINOIS

CHICAGO -- Many young children are too heavy for standard car safety seats and manufacturers are starting to make heftier models to accommodate them, according to research reported from Johns Hopkins Hospital. About a quarter of a million US children 1 to 6 years old are heavier than the weight limits for standard seats. Most are 3-year-olds who weigh more than 40 pounds, which is considered overweight for those of typical height. The study appears today in the journal Pediatrics. (AP).

NORTH CAROLINA

RALEIGH -- Former US senator Jesse Helms has vascular dementia and has moved into a convalescent center near his home, according to his wife, Dot. The 84-year-old Republican has been slowed by several illnesses in recent years, including a bone disorder, prostate cancer, and heart problems. (AP)

GEORGIA

ATLANTA -- Donations for a planned memorial to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in Washington have jumped since the recent deaths of two civil rights leaders, Rosa Parks and King's widow, Coretta Scott King. To date, $58 million has been raised for the $100-million project, with $4.5 million collected in one week. (AP)