Nigerian girl afraid to go back to school
BAUCHI, Nigeria – One of the teenagers who escaped from Islamic extremists who abducted more than 300 schoolgirls says the kidnapping was “too terrifying for words,” and she is now scared to go back to school.
Sarah Lawan, a 19-year-old science student, spoke Sunday as Nigerians prayed for the safety of the 276 students still held captive. Their prayers were joined by Pope Francis.
Lawan said more of the girls could have escaped, but they were frightened by their captors’ threats to shoot them. She spoke in the local Hausa language in a phone interview from Chibok, her home and the site of the mass abduction in northeast Nigeria.
The failure to rescue those who remain captive four weeks later has attracted mounting national and international outrage. Last week, Nigeria was forced to accept international help in the search, after ignoring offers for weeks.
California gets hot preview of summer
LOS ANGELES – The hot and windy gift Mother Nature gave the greater Los Angeles area on Mother’s Day is a preview of what weather forecasters said to expect across California this week.
Gusts in coastal mountains near Los Angeles reached as high as 73 mph early Sunday, while morning brought sunny skies with projected high temperatures in the 80s. The winds toppled some trees and caused power outages that left about 1,800 people without electricity in Los Angeles County, representatives of local utilities said.
The conditions translated into a “red flag” fire warning, with authorities saying any wild land flames would quickly spread out of control.
The high pressure system creating the conditions should by midweek push temperatures to near record highs – 100 degrees or more in inland areas already parched by drought.
Washington Monument to reopen today
WASHINGTON – More than 150 cracks have been repaired, rainwater leaks have been sealed, and the 130-year-old Washington Monument is set to reopen today for the first time in nearly three years since an earthquake caused widespread damage.
The memorial honoring George Washington has been closed for about 33 months for engineers to conduct an extensive analysis and restoration of the 555-foot stone obelisk once the tallest structure in the world.
The monument’s white marble and mortar were cracked and shaken loose during an unusual 5.8-magnitude earthquake in August 2011 that sent some of the worst vibrations to the top. Debris fell inside and outside the monument, and visitors scrambled to evacuate. Later, engineers evaluated the damage by rappelling from the top, dangling from ropes.
Now, new exhibits have been installed, and visitors can once again ride an elevator to look out from the highest point in the nation’s capital. The full restoration cost $15 million. Businessman and philanthropist David Rubenstein contributed $7.5 million to help expedite the repairs.
Associated Press
