5 bodies found in Calif. small plane wreckage
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – Rescuers pulled five bodies from the wreckage of a small plane that crashed into an orchard in central California after vanishing from radar, local and federal authorities said Sunday.
The Federal Aviation Administration was looking for what caused the crash, Kern County sheriff’s Sgt. Mark King said. He expected the names of the victims to be released Monday.
Air traffic controllers lost contact with the single-engine Piper PA32 around 4 p.m. Saturday as it headed from Reid-Hillview Airport in San Jose to Henderson Executive Airport in a Las Vegas suburb, FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said.
New rules could offer hope to waiting kidney patients
WASHINGTON – A shake-up of the kidney transplant system means more organs are getting to more patients once thought nearly impossible to match, according to reports of early tracking of the new rules.
It’s been a year since the United Network for Organ Sharing changed rules for the transplant waiting list, aiming to decrease disparities and squeeze the most benefit from a scarce resource: kidneys from deceased donors. Now, data from UNOS show that the changes are helping, including giving those expected to live the longest a better shot at the fittest kidneys.
The hope is to “really level the playing field,” said Dr. Mark Aeder, a transplant surgeon at University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland who is chairman of the UNOS’ kidney committee.
Spain’s upstarts post strong election results
MADRID – A strong showing Sunday by a pair of upstart parties in Spain’s general election upended the country’s traditional two-party system, with results showing the ruling Popular Party won the most votes but fell far short of a parliamentary majority and risked being booted from power.
Days or weeks of negotiations may be needed to determine who will govern Spain, with the new far-left Podemos and business-friendly Ciudadanos parties producing shockwaves because of strong support from voters weary of the country’s political status quo.
In past elections, the Popular Party and the main opposition Socialists were established, only needing support from tiny Spanish parties.
Beethoven sheet music nets $100,000 in Conn.
GREENWICH, Conn. – Sheet music written by Ludwig van Beethoven and found in a Connecticut home has fetched $100,000 at auction.
The Greenwich Times reported that appraiser Brendan Ryan spotted the sheet music when he visited the home of a Greenwich woman looking to sell some belongings. He recognized Beethoven’s handwriting, music directions and symbols on the page because he’d seen it before.
Research authenticated the music and determined it was from a sketchbook dating to 1810 and used by the composer for brainstorming.
It’s unclear what happened to the sketchbook after Beethoven’s death in 1827. It was sold in portions, with fragments turning up periodically.
Associated Press
