American Scene

Guard called out as Kentucky reels

MURRAY, Ky. — Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear has called up all of his Army National Guard troops and some Air National Guard units to get the state back on its feet following a crippling ice storm.

The addition of 3,000 soldiers and airmen means a total of 4,600 Guardsmen have been pressed into service, the largest call-up in state history.

More than 400,000 people remain without power in Kentucky five days after the storm hit. Many others still lack electricity in other states from the Midwest into Appalachia.

The storm is suspected to have caused at least 42 deaths in several states. Authorities say it could be weeks before some areas get power back.

Eco-terrorist faces lengthy sentence

DETROIT — Federal prosecutors are seeking a 20-year prison sentence for an Ohio woman who set fire to a Michigan State University building in 1999, one of 13 acts of radical environmental resistance that she has admitted to committing.

Marie Mason, 47, of Cincinnati, is set to be sentenced Thursday in federal court in Lansing. In September, she pleaded guilty to conspiracy and arson, a prosecution aided by Frank Ambrose, her former husband, who cooperated with the FBI.

On Jan. 31, 1999, the couple caused an explosion and fire at Michigan State's Agriculture Hall to protest research on genetically modified crops. The fire grew out of control, causing more than $1 million in damage. No one was injured.

Google glitch unnerves surfers

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — People doing Google searches during a nearly one-hour period Saturday were greeted with disturbing but erroneous messages that every site turned up in the results might be harmful.

The company blamed the mistake on human error and apologized for any inconvenience caused to users and site owners, whose pages were incorrectly labeled.

The glitch occurred between 9:30 a.m. EST and 10:25 a.m. EST. Anyone who did a Google search during that time likely saw the message, “This site may harm your computer” accompanying every search result.

Chinese tourists killed in bus crash

DOLAN SPRINGS, Ariz. — A trip to the Grand Canyon turned deadly when a bus carrying Chinese tourists overturned on a highway near the Hoover Dam, killing seven people and injuring 10 others, several critically.

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