Bush orders aid in California fires
President Bush declared a state of emergency in California on Saturday and ordered federal aid to help authorities battle the more than 1,000 wildfires burning out of control there.
“We have over 1,000 fires burning in Northern California alone, our resources are stretched extremely thin,” said Cheri Patterson, a California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokeswoman.
“Our biggest concern is we don’t have any of the fires under control,” she said, welcoming Mr. Bush’s order.
The state’s more than 12,000 firefighters have been battling the fires — many of which were sparked by lightning from dry thunderstorms — for more than a week, stretched thin by the sheer number of blazes.
Two inmates die in van crash
EL DORADO, Ark. — The driver of a private security van ferrying prison inmates through southern Arkansas fell asleep behind the wheel, causing a crash that killed two prisoners and injured four others, authorities said.
A 43-year-old man was driving a van carrying seven inmates and two guards for the U.S. Extradition Service when he dozed off early Friday, the Arkansas State Police said.
Shawn Talbot, 29, and Walter Ridley, 47, died at the scene.
Cpl. Jeff Hust told the El Dorado News-Times that prisoners began screaming, “Boss! Boss!” and that another guard grabbed the wheel but overcorrected. The van struck a culvert and went airborne, rolling twice before stopping.
Both guards were wearing seat belts, while the inmates were unsecured in the back of the van.
400 Elizabeths gather in Elizabeth
ELIZABETH, Ill. — The world’s most famous Elizabeth didn’t show, but about 400 others did.
The northern Illinois community of Elizabeth tried Saturday to set a world record for the largest gathering of Elizabeths. Women with Elizabeth in any part of their name were allowed in — one participant has Elizabeth as a last name.
The event drew women from more than 20 states. Those participating had to show a copy of a birth certificate or driver’s license.
• From wire dispatches and staff reports
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