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Accidents and disasters

Workers hurt in collapse at Cincinnati casino site

A floor collapsed into a V shape Friday at the construction site of a new casino, sending workers sliding to the ground and leaving at least a dozen with broken bones, bumps or bruises. Authorities said there were no life-threatening injuries in the collapse at the Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati site, which came just weeks after a similar accident at a Cleveland casino with the same developer. Read More

Burglary suspect in Newark crash dies

A burglary suspect involved in a crash in Newark after fleeing from police has died. Authorities said this week that 20-year-old Rajwaun Watkins died on Jan. 20 at Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley. Read More

After 6 months of famine Somali men return to farm

Six months after the U.N. declared Somalia's capital a famine zone, the number of refugees in the capital is dwindling, as most of the men have gone home to try to revive devastated herds and withered crops. The women — and the kids — would like to join them, but many don't have enough money. That means fewer hands on the farm and a smaller harvest. Read More

Ship captain tells port: It's just a blackout

Francesco Schettino
A new audiotape emerged Thursday of the first contact between Livorno port officials and the Costa Concordia — and the captain is heard insisting that his cruise ship only had a blackout a full 30 minutes after it had rammed into a reef. Capt. Francesco Schettino, who was jailed after he left the ship before everyone was safely evacuated, is under house arrest, facing possible charges of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning his ship. Read More

Search teams suspend operations at stricken ship

Italian rescue workers suspended operations Wednesday after a stricken cruise ship shifted slightly on the rocks near the Tuscan coast, creating deep concerns about the safety of divers and firefighters searching for the 22 people still missing. The $450 million Costa Concordia cruise ship had more than 4,200 passengers and crew on board when it slammed into the reef Friday off the tiny Italian island of Giglio after the captain made an unauthorized maneuver. Read More

Police: Conn. school pool drowning was accident

Police say a Connecticut teen who drowned in his school's swimming pool was participating in a supervised swim class when someone found him unconscious in the deep end. East Hartford police say 15-year-old Marcum Asiamah's (AH'-she-mahz) death is being classified as accidental. The investigation continues. Read More

Audio: Cruise captain pleaded not to reboard ship

Five more bodies were found Tuesday from a crippled cruise ship, and a shocking audio emerged in which the ship's captain was heard making excuses as an Italian coast guard officer repeatedly ordered him to return and oversee his ship's chaotic evacuation. Prosecutors have accused Capt. Francesco Schettino of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning his ship before all passengers were evacuated for the grounding of the Costa Concordia on Friday night. Read More

Body found, death toll at 6 in ship disaster

Italian rescue officials say a passenger's body has been found in the wreckage of the Costa Concordia cruise ship, raising to six the number of confirmed dead in the disaster. Sixteen people remain unaccounted-for. Fire official Luca Cari told state radio Monday that the victim was a man, found in a corridor in the part of the ship that was still above water. He said the victim was wearing the orange-colored life vest of passengers. Read More

2 US passengers among accounted for from ship

U.S. officials say two Americans are among the nine passengers still unaccounted for from the capsized cruise ship off Tuscany. The U.S. Embassy in Rome says of the 120 American passengers who were on the Mediterranean cruise, all but two have been accounted for. There are six crew members unaccounted for. Divers are searching the partially-submerged hulk of the Costa Concordia in hopes of finding any survivors. Read More

Coast guard: ship aground off Italy, bodies found

A luxury cruise ship ran aground off the coast of Tuscany, sending water pouring in through a 160-foot (50-meter) gash in the hull and forcing the evacuation of some 4,200 people from the listing vessel early Saturday, the Italian coast guard said. Read More
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