Rescuers find body of snowboarder
MOUNT HOOD, Ore. – A dozen rescuers armed with chain saws and other tools chipped away at tons of ice and snow Sunday to the recover the body of a 25-year-old snowboarder killed when an ice tunnel collapsed on Oregon’s Mount Hood.
The snowboarder, Collin Backowski, of Colorado, was traveling with five friends when the collapse hit Saturday afternoon. The others tried to dig him out but could not break through the ice and snow, which an official described as being as thick as concrete.
Rescuers quickly responded but halted efforts about 11 p.m. Saturday, then resumed early Sunday morning.
Hood River Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Tiffany Peterson said that after removing tons of debris by hand, searchers found Backowski where he had been buried by 8 to 10 feet of snow and ice. None of the searchers or other snowboarders was injured, Peterson said.
Powerball jackpot now at $400M
DES MOINES, Iowa – No one hit the Powerball jackpot this weekend, so the money will roll over and create an almost $400 million prize for Wednesday’s drawing.
The midweek jackpot remains below the record $590.5 million jackpot won in May by an 84-year-old Florida woman. But as it stands, it would be the third-largest Powerball jackpot ever and the fourth-largest lottery prize on record.
The changes Powerball organizers made to the game last year are driving billowing jackpots, with Wednesday’s pushing into record territory less than three months after Gloria C. Mackenzie of Zephyrhills, Fla., claimed the biggest Powerball prize ever.
Egypt says clock ticking on standoff
CAIRO – Egypt’s highest security body warned Sunday that the clock is ticking for a peaceful end to the standoff over sit-ins by supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi, suggesting that authorities will break up the protests unless mediation efforts produce results soon.
More than a month after the military overthrew Morsi, thousands of the Islamist leader’s supporters remain camped out in two main crossroads in Cairo demanding his reinstatement. Egypt’s military-backed interim leadership has issued a string of warnings for them to disperse or security forces will move in, setting the stage for a potential showdown.
Also Sunday, authorities announced that a court case accusing the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood and his powerful deputy of inciting violence will start Aug. 25. Morsi hails from the Brotherhood.
A top U.S. official visiting Cairo urged all sides to find a peaceful resolution to the standoff to avoid a repeat of violence that has killed more than 250 people – at least 130 of whom pro-Morsi protesters shot dead by security forces – since the July 3 military coup.
Shooting, bombings kill 15 across Iraq
BAGHDAD – A series of attacks across Iraq on Sunday killed 15 people, including a random shooting and the killing of a judge, authorities said.
Violence has been on the rise in Iraq all year, but the number of attacks against civilians and security forces has spiked during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which began early last month. The surge in the bloodshed is raising fears of a return to the widespread killing that pushed the country to the brink of civil war after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
The deadliest attack took place late Sunday night when gunmen in a speeding car opened fire randomly on a gathering of people on a street in the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, killing four people and wounding three, said Kirkuk deputy police chief Maj. Gen. Torhan Abdul-Rahman Youssef.
A bomb later exploded inside a café in western Baghdad shortly before midnight, killing three and wounding 12, police said.
Associated Press
