Gas line explosion kills 2 Texas workers
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Two men removing clay from a pit in a remote part of the Texas Panhandle were killed when a natural gas line exploded, a sheriff said Tuesday.
The blast near Darrouzett, about 270 miles northeast of Lubbock, was the second fatal natural gas explosion in Texas in as many days. On Monday, a worker was killed when a utility crew accidentally hit and ruptured a natural gas line in rural Johnson County, about 50 miles southwest of Dallas.
The blast Tuesday involved a crew that was removing clay for a dirt-contracting company, Lipscomb County Sheriff James Robertson said in a news release. The explosion happened when a bulldozer struck a pipeline.
Crew that struck line followed procedures
CLEBURNE, Texas (AP) — A utility crew that accidentally struck a natural gas line, sparking a fiery explosion that killed one worker, followed the proper procedures in locating the line before digging, a company official said Tuesday.
Fred Haag, chief operating officer of Oklahoma-based C&H Power Line Construction Services, said the crew already had a survey map showing gas lines in the area but also made calls to verify the line location at the site in rural Johnson County, about 50 miles southwest of Dallas.
Michael Williams of the Texas Railroad Commission, the state agency that regulates the oil and gas industry, said calls were made to locate the line, a requirement before any company or person does excavation work, but his agency is investigating what was said during those calls.
Authorities identified the man killed in Monday's blast as James Robert Neese, 45, of Ramona, Okla. His body was found Monday night about 600 feet from the explosion site after authorities deemed the charred area safe enough to do a thorough search.
Get face on shuttle — you stay behind
HOUSTON (AP) — Always wanted to fly in space? Now at least your photo can reach orbit.
NASA is inviting the public to send their portrait into space aboard one of the two remaining space shuttle flights. To participate, upload your picture to a NASA website: faceinspace.nasa.gov.
You can select which space shuttle to fly — Discovery in September or Endeavor, targeted for November. You can also just fly your name, without a photo.
After the flight, participants can download a special certificate.
Amish man charged with sex assaults
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A 26-year-old Amish man has been charged with sexually assaulting five underage girls in Missouri and Wisconsin, including a cousin of his, authorities said Tuesday.
Chester Mast, of Curryville, Mo., was arrested in late May after authorities were contacted by members of Pike County, Mo., Amish community, an "Old Order Amish" community that shuns such amenities as electricity, phones and cars.
Pike County Sheriff Stephen Korte said Tuesday that Mast sexually assaulted four girls in Missouri and one in Wisconsin who ranged in age from 5 to 15 years old. Two of the Missouri girls were Amish and two weren't, and the Wisconsin victim was his cousin, who is Amish, authorities said.
"It is unfortunate that nowhere in society is anybody immune from being a victim," Korte said Tuesday. "No matter where you go there are people who may violate other people's liberties and freedoms and peace of mind."
Obama speech lost on sleepy graduate
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) — As President Barack Obama delivered the commencement speech at a Michigan high school's graduation ceremony, not everyone was paying rapt attention.
One member of the Kalamazoo Central student choir sitting behind the president had some serious trouble staying awake.
In videos posted online, the boy is seen succumbing to a series of gaping yawns as Obama offers advice on how to succeed in life. Later, the boy's eyes droop and his head rolls forward until his chin rests on his chest, and it appears he has nodded off.
Only occasionally is the unidentified teen jolted into consciousness as his classmates erupt into cheers and applause for the president.
Obama delivered the school's commencement because it won the Race to the Top Commencement Challenge competition.
Fake sports star faces 6 felonies
ODESSA, Texas (AP) — A 22-year-old man accused of posing as a high school basketball star in west Texas has been indicted on six felony charges, including sexual assault and tampering with government records.
Ector County District Attorney Bobby Bland said Tuesday the indictment also alleges Guerdwich Montimer, who used the name Jerry Joseph, committed identity theft. Bland declined to discuss details of the identity theft count or comment on the case.
Montimer, who was indicted Monday, played basketball last year at Odessa Permian High School, whose football team and backers inspired the book "Friday Night Lights."
Montimer led the Panthers to the first round of the playoffs last season and was named the District 2-5A Newcomer of the Year. That honor was stripped in recent weeks, and the Panthers forfeited their 16 wins.
Bomb scare empties building in Atlanta
ATLANTA (AP) — A bomb scare scattered hundreds of workers Tuesday from a downtown federal building that houses Internal Revenue Service offices, but authorities later determined the suspicious package that caused the evacuation was harmless.
A fire alarm went off, nearby streets were closed and a day care in the Peachtree Summit Federal Building was emptied after mailroom workers X-raying packages saw one they thought was suspicious. But authorities later determined the package contained a glass decorative object, said Atlanta Police Officer Otis Redmond.
Workers who spent more than an hour on nearby sidewalks were allowed Tuesday afternoon to go back into the 31-story building that sits at a busy intersection and overlooks the interstate.
Schwarzenegger goofs up his ballot
LOS ANGELES (AP) — California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had some trouble saying "Hasta la vista, baby" to the voting booth because of a ballot mishap in Los Angeles.
Poll worker Keta Hodgson says a scanning machine rejected Schwarzenegger's first ballot Tuesday because he selected two Senate candidates, instead of one.
Hodgson says the Republican governor was given the choice of filling out a new ballot or not having his Senate choice count. He cast a fresh ballot.
Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina is the front-runner on the Republican Party's ticket for U.S. Senate, which also includes former Congressman Tom Campbell and state Assemblyman Chuck DeVore.
Demo wants gay issue kept in closet
WASHINGTON (AP) — The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday said he thinks the military should keep its ban on openly gay service members in part because he doesn't want to open a national discussion about homosexuality.
Rep. Ike Skelton, a conservative Missouri Democrat, said he thinks the debate in Congress over the proposed repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" law might force families to explain homosexuality to their children.
"What do mommies and daddies say to their 7-year-old child?" Skelton asked reporters during a media breakfast.
The House voted 234-194 last month to overturn the 17-year-old law.