Buildings collapse, 2 injured in powerful N.Z. quake

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake that smashed buildings, cracked roads and twisted rail lines around the New Zealand city of Christchurch on Saturday also ripped a new 11-foot wide fault line in the earth’s surface, officials said Sunday. At least 500 buildings, including 90 downtown properties, have been designated as destroyed in the quake that struck at 4:35 a.m. near the South Island city of 400,000 people. But most other buildings sustained only minor damage. Only two serious injuries were reported from the quake as chimneys and walls of older buildings were reduced to rubble and crumbled to the ground. …

Professor in airport scare had previous detention

MIAMI (AP) — A scientist detained at Miami International Airport because of a suspicious item in his luggage had once been charged with illegally transporting bubonic plague, a senior law enforcement official said. No dangerous material was found on 70-year-old Thomas Butler after he was detained Thursday night, the official told The Associated Press on Friday. Butler had been acquitted of the charges of transporting the potentially deadly germ in 2003. Butler cooperated fully after he arrived on a flight from the Middle East, said the official, who requested anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to release the information. Most of the airport was shut down Thursday night after …

Bone drugs may raise throat cancer risk

LONDON (AP) — People who take bone-strengthening drugs for several years may have a slightly higher risk of esophageal cancer, a new study suggests. The findings are in contrast to another recent study that used the same database of 80,000 patients and concluded that there was no link between the drugs and esophageal cancer. That study was published last month in the Journal of the American Medical Association . Authors of the new study say they tracked patients for nearly twice as long — nearly …

Police question scientist in Miami airport scare

MIAMI (AP) — Investigators on Friday released a scientist detained at Miami International Airport after screeners spotted a metal canister in his luggage that looked like a pipe bomb, prompting an evacuation, a senior law enforcement official said. The official told The Associated Press that no charges were filed against the 70-year-old man and he was allowed to continue his trip. The official requested anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to release the information. The scientist’s name and destination were not released. He is an American citizen and was “very cooperative,”…

Dems in power could be in peril, poll says

WASHINGTON — Democratic congressional candidates face a political landscape even rockier than those in 1994 and 2006 that ended with election upheavals that changed control of Congress, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds. As the fall campaign begins in earnest over Labor Day weekend, dissatisfaction with the nation’s direction is higher and support for the party in power lower than it was in those tumultuous midterms. This time, however, voters are more likely to say their vote reflects opposition to the party in power rather than support for the other side. Republicans are held in the same low regard as when the GOP lost control of Congress four years ago. That could create problems if they do score a net gain of 39 seats to …

Study: Friends help college females avoid risky sex after drinking

College students use a number of strategies to prevent their female friends from engaging in risky sexual behavior after a night of heavy drinking, new research suggests. Researchers interviewed 141 U.S. college students and found that three-quarters of them said they would persuade a female friend not to go home with a new male acquaintance or that they would make sure she arrived home safely. The participants listed three ways they would attempt to ensure the safety of a female friend: They would remind their friend about the potential negative social and health consequences, such as getting pregnant, developing a bad reputation, and regretting their decision the next day. They would distract or trick their …

Gulf platform explodes in flames, 13 rescued

An off-shore oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico exploded early Thursday, igniting a raging fire and sending its crew of 13 scrambling into the water. A mile-long plume with a width of about 100 feet was reported by the rig’s owner, Mariner Energy of Houston. However, Coast Guard Cmdr. Cheri Ben-Iesau said its crews were unable to confirm any oil sheen. An oil industry vessel that was nearby plucked the crewmembers out of the water and brought them to a nearby platform, Coast Guard Petty Officer Thomas Blue said. One of the workers may have suffered a minor injury, Blue said. The crew …

New test may ‘revolutionize TB care,’ diagnosing

Scientists are reporting a major advance in diagnosing tuberculosis: A new test can reveal in less than two hours, with very high accuracy, whether someone has the disease and if it’s resistant to the main drug for treating it. The test could revolutionize TB care and replace the 125-year-old process used now, which is slow and misses more than half of all cases, experts say. A better test would be a powerful tool to curb TB in poor countries, where most people spread the lung disease before they are …

New report shows state highways in good shape

A new report on the condition of the USA’s state highways finds that they are in the best shape they have been in nearly 20 years. The annual study by the Reason Foundation, a Los Angeles-based, libertarian, non-profit think tank, credits road improvement progress man by states and decreased wear and tear as commuters and commercial truckers drove less during the recession. “Lo and behold, we’ve actually been making slow but steady progress on most performance measures,” says report author David Hartgen, professor emeritus of transportation studies at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte. The study says states did a better job of maintaining and repairing roads and bridges in 2008, the most recent year for which complete…

NASA delivers coping tips for miners trapped in Chile

As 33 trapped Chilean miners face boredom, fear and depression while waiting two to four months to be rescued, NASA experts and space travel psychiatrists are trying to help them with the same coping mechanisms that astronauts use to deal with isolation during months of space travel. Being honest about rescue progress and providing news and sports updates, communication with the miners’ families and meaningful activities are among the most important considerations that those on ground level should do for miners, says Jack Stuster, vice president and principal scientist of Anacapa…

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