Israel unearths 3,500-year-old religious artifacts
JERUSALEM (AP) — Archaeologists have unearthed a cache of rare, 35-century-old religious artifacts once used in pagan rituals, Israeli officials said Monday.
The items were found during an excavation ordered by the Israel Antiquities Authority along the route of a new gas line in the country’s north. Excavating a rock hollow, archeologists found more than 100 intact artifacts, including a vessel for burning incense and the sculpted face of a woman that was part of a cup used in a pagan religious ceremony.
Egypt to keep open border with impoverished Gaza
SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (AP) — After three years of cooperating in the Israeli blockade of Gaza, Egypt said Monday that it will leave its border with the Palestinian territory open indefinitely for humanitarian aid and restricted travel.
With international pressure building to ease the blockade, an Egyptian security official said sealing off Hamas-ruled Gaza has only bred more militancy.
Man arrested in bomb-on-plane report: I was joking
CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) — A 75-year-old Chicago man has told New York authorities that he was joking when he claimed he had a bomb in his carry-on luggage.
Draco Slaughter was held on $50,000 bail Monday, a day after his arrest on a charge of reporting a false incident.
Southwest Airlines Flight 373 from Chicago had arrived at about 2:35 p.m. Sunday at Long Island MacArthur Airport.
Passengers were getting off the plane when a flight attendant noticed a carry-on bag on an empty seat. According to police, Slaughter told her there was a bomb in it.
He later told police he was kidding.
At least 10 missing after rural Texas explosion
CLEBURNE, Texas (AP) — At least 10 people are reported missing after an explosion that sounded like a tornado caused a massive fire in rural north-central Texas.
Cleburne city manager Chester Nolen tells the Dallas-Fort Worth television station WFAA that Monday’s explosion left at least 10 people missing, and a city fire official said at least six were injured.
A witness in nearby Granbury tells The Associated Press she was about 8 miles from the site of the explosion. Laura Harlin says she heard a “huge rumbling” that she thought was thunder and then a tornado.
Pennsylvania halts drilling by company after gas accidentHARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania regulators halted work Monday at dozens of unfinished natural gas wells being drilled by the company whose out-of-control well spewed out explosive gas and polluted water for 16 hours last week.
The order against Houston-based EOG Resources Inc. will remain in place until the Department of Environmental Protection can finish its investigation and until after the company makes whatever changes may be needed, Gov. Ed Rendell said.
Senate committee kills welfare drug testing bill
BATON ROUGE (AP) — After passing many legislative hurdles, a proposal to randomly drug test welfare recipients was rejected by a Senate committee Monday, killing the measure for the legislative session.
It was the second Senate committee stop for the House-passed bill, sponsored by Rep. John LaBruzzo, R-Metairie. The measure narrowly made it out of a Senate judiciary committee last week, but was then steered to the Senate Finance Committee in a likely attempt to kill the bill.
Senate budget panel plans to rework budget
BATON ROUGE (AP) — Senators intend to reverse many of the cuts proposed by the House in next year’s $25 billion budget when they rewrite the House-passed bill early next week, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee said Monday.
Sen. Mike Michot, R-Lafayette, said members of his committee disagree with the deep cuts the House proposed for charity hospitals and public colleges. He said senators also were concerned about giving the governor’s budget office the authority to cut $65 million across state agencies without guidance on where to make the cuts.
“There are obviously some concerns about the level of cuts,” Michot said. “All these areas seem like they need work.”
The timeline is tight. The legislative session must end by June 21.
To reverse cuts proposed for next year and to rebalance this year’s budget, Michot said the committee will use two pools of money tied up in a dispute with the House: $198 million from the “rainy day” fund and $242 million from a statewide tax amnesty program.
The House refused to include those dollars in their version of the budget plans, because a dispute over when the rainy day money must be repaid has kept both sources of funds from being recognized by a state income forecasting panel.
Man drowns in Tangipahoa River
AMITE (AP) — Authorities say a 25-year-old Hammond man drowned in the Tangipahoa River after struggling to remain above the water’s surface.
Tangipahoa Parish sheriff’s deputies recovered Abel Rosa’s body Sunday afternoon after searching the river east of Amite.