Flash floods force 300 to evacuate

July 28, 2008

RUIDOSO - About 300 people were evacuated from homes, campgrounds, and a recreational vehicle park yesterday. and a helicopter was sent to rescue others after remnants of Hurricane Dolly created flash floods. Meteorologists said about 6 inches of rain fell in the mountainous area, and flash flood watches were in effect for central and eastern New Mexico. (AP)

LINTHICUM - Smoke from a faulty cockpit fan prompted Southwest Airlines Flight 121 to return to Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport shortly after takeoff yesterday. Southwest said the fan was changed after landing and the plane to Norfolk, Va., took off again later. (AP)

SEATTLE - The Army has formally apologized for the wrongful conviction of 28 black soldiers accused of rioting and lynching an Italian prisoner of war in Seattle more than six decades ago. "We had not done right by these soldiers," Ronald James, assistant secretary of the Army, said Saturday. Relatives of the soldiers heard the apology near the old Fort Lawton. (AP)

LANCASTER - Male prisoners in the nation's largest correctional system, long kept segregated by race in an effort to curb violence, will soon be sharing cells with inmates of other ethnicities. A program aimed at integrating the prisons for men will begin in coming weeks at two facilities and will be extended to the state's 28 other prisons. The change was prompted by an inmate suit. (Washington Post)

PASADENA - A sample of icy soil collected by the robotic arm of NASA's Phoenix Mars lander is apparently stuck in its scoop, foiling efforts to analyze it. The arm picked up 3 cubic centimeters of material Friday night and lifted it over an oven designed to heat samples for analysis, mission officials said. The arm tilted its scoop, but the analyzer determined that not enough material fell inside and so the oven doors did not close. (AP)

NEW YORK - At least four swimmers drowned Friday and Saturday in treacherous ocean currents at Long Island and New York City beaches, authorities said. At least three others were swept away and were still missing yesterday. A strong storm system had generated 8-foot waves in the area. (AP)