200 arrested in parade protest
DENVER — About 200 American Indians and supporters were arrested yesterday in downtown Denver for standing in the path of a Columbus Day parade that commemorates the Italian explorer they blame for the genocide of indigenous peoples.
Carrying signs that read: “Columbus: America’s first terrorist” and “We were here first,” about 300 opponents of the parade stood in its path. Police stopped the parade a block before it reached the protesters and told them to move. About 200 refused and were arrested.
Earthquake activity up at Mount St. Helens
MOUNT ST. HELENS, Wash. — Earthquake activity has increased at Mount St. Helens, but scientists said yesterday there was no reason to raise the volcano’s alert level.
Scientists said earthquake activity had been low until Friday, indicating molten rock was moving upward with little resistance. Yesterday, however, quakes of magnitude 2.4 were occurring every one to two minutes, they said.
“It’s at levels equal to or higher than the Oct. 5 steam and ash eruption,” said Jeff Wynn, the U.S. Geological Survey’s chief scientist for volcano hazards at Vancouver.
Nazi guard says he was forced into job
SHARON, Pa. — A man facing deportation because he served as a guard at two Nazi concentration camps said he was forced to join the unit that guarded the camps or face death.
The U.S. Department of Justice wants to revoke the citizenship of Anton Geiser, 79, a retired Pennsylvania steelworker who was born in Croatia. The department said Mr. Geiser hid his service in the Waffen SS from U.S. officials when he immigrated in 1956.
The department said Mr. Geiser was an armed guard at the Sachsenhausen concentration camp near Berlin from January to November 1943 before being transferred to the concentration camp at Buchenwald.
Row house fire kills 6 in Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA — A fast-moving fire killed six persons in a row house before dawn yesterday. Four of the victims were children.
The cause of the fire had not been determined, and authorities said it would likely take days before they could reach any conclusions. Homicide detectives joined investigators from the fire marshal’s office, a routine move when a fatal fire’s cause cannot be immediately determined.
The victims were two adults and four children, officials said.
The house in the North Philadelphia neighborhood was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived. Five of the victims died at the scene. The sixth, a 2-year-old boy, died after being taken to Temple University Hospital, officials said.
Tropical storm brings flooding to Gulf Coast
NEW ORLEANS — Tropical Storm Matthew, the 13th named storm of the 2004 hurricane season, flooded roads and homes with high tides and torrential rainfall across southeastern Louisiana yesterday as it blew toward the Gulf of Mexico.
The town of Houma received 7.2 inches of rain in 24 hours, said Frank Revitte, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Slidell.
Tides were as much as 4 feet above normal, causing flooding in the coastal towns of Montegut, Dulac and Cocodrie, said Michael Deroche, emergency preparedness director in Terrebonne Parish.
Park visitor burned after leaving trail
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. — A tourist who wandered off a trail broke through fragile ground near a geyser, scalding his legs up to his knees, resulting in second-degree burns.
The man and a friend were hiking Thursday afternoon when they decided to leave the boardwalk in the park’s Firehole Lake area of Lower Geyser Basin, rangers said. He stepped through the thin layer of earth in thermal areas that covers water near or above the boiling point.
He was pulled from the water by the friend, who drove him to Old Faithful Inn at the park. There, emergency workers stabilized the man and transported him to Old Faithful Clinic. He was flown later to the Idaho hospital.
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