Japanese village of Saito all but vanishes after tsunami
 
SAITO, Japan (AP) — It’s hard to believe there was ever a village here at all.
 
The tsunami that devastated Japan’s coast rolled in through a tree-lined ocean cove and obliterated nearly everything in its path in the village of about 250 people and 70 or so houses.
 
Now, three days later, Saito is a moonscape of death and debris, a hellish glimpse into the phenomenal destruction caused by the killer wave that followed Japan’s most powerful earthquake on record and one of the five strongest on Earth in the past 110 years.
 
In Saito and nearby areas, there is no electricity and no running water. There are no generators humming. The night is pitch black. The buildings still standing are closed. No stores are open. Everything has stopped.
 
 
Russian officials postpone March 30 launch to space station
 
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian officials have postponed the March 30 launch of a rocket carrying a U.S. and Russian crew to the international space station due to a communication problem found during testing.
 
 
France, Britain pushing to isolate Gadhafi with no-fly zone
 
 
PARIS (AP) — France and Britain stepped up calls Monday for other world powers to isolate Libya’s Moammar Gadhafi with a no-fly zone, amid diplomatic differences over how much backing to give Libyan rebels.
 
The accelerated push came as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other top diplomats from the Group of Eight prominent world economies met in Paris for a previously planned foreign ministers meeting.
 
 
California: Nuclear plants can handle high magnitude quakes
 
 
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Operators at California’s two nuclear plants say their facilities can withstand a higher-magnitude earthquake than scientists predict could ever strike the plants.
 
They said Monday that the San Onofre and Diablo Canyon plants can handle earthquakes of magnitude up to 7 and 7.5, respectively.
 
Americans have become increasingly concerned about domestic facilities in the wake of fears of nuclear crisis in Japan.
 
 
Struggling states may cancel or delay 2012 primaries
 
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — In these tough times, even how we nominate presidents is facing the threat of the budget ax.
 
Lawmakers and elections officials in at least six cash-strapped states are hoping to move or replace their stand-alone 2012 presidential primaries, sacrificing some influence over who wins the nominations in favor of saving millions of dollars.
 
The moves to either delay primaries by several months or hand over the nominating process to party-run caucuses comes as Republican and Democratic parties implement new rules to limit the number of states voting before March 1.
 
 
6-year-old dies after being dragged 20 feet by school bus
 
LAFAYETTE (AP) — Lafayette Parish sheriff’s deputies say a 6-year-old elementary student has died after being caught in a school bus door and dragged about 20 feet.
 
Sheriff’s Lt. Craig Stansbury says Lederion Miller attempted to board the bus Monday with other children at a neighborhood school bus stop when the door closed and caught a piece of his clothing.
 
He said the driver did not see the child and continued to drive down the dead-end road.
Miller was transported to a local hospital but died of his injuries.
The accident remains under investigation.
 
 
3 boys, 2 women killed; 2 more injured in fiery I-10 wreck
 
(AP) — State police say three boys, their mother and another woman died in flames when a pickup truck crossed the median on Interstate 10 and slammed head-on into their car.
 
Trooper Russell Graham says the wreck killed Effie Fontenot and Kim Stag, both 29 years old and from Prairieville, and Fontenot’s sons: 3-year-old Austin Fontenot, 7-year-old Hunter Johnson and 11-year-old Keagan Fontenot. Both people in the truck were injured.