EAST

HUNDREDS EVACUATED DUE TO FLOODING

WHEELING, W.Va. – Hundreds of people evacuated their homes yesterday in parts of Ohio ,West Virginia, and Pennsylvania as rivers and small streams overflowed their banks following torrential rain dumped by remnants of Hurricane Ivan. The Ohio River inundated parts of Wheeling and other West Virginia river towns, as well as communities on Ohio’s shore, and the Delaware River flooded parts of New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania. In addition to flooding, hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses were still without electricity yesterday, most of them in Florida and Alabama. The hurricane and its remnants had been blamed for at least 50 deaths in the United States, 16 of them in Florida, and 70 deaths in the Caribbean. The Ohio River crested yesterday at Wheeling at about 9.3 feet above flood stage, after submerging the city’s riverfront park and amphitheater. It mostly covered the city’s mid-river Wheeling Island, which holds residential neighborhoods and Wheeling Island Racetrack and Gaming.

– Associated Press

CARNIVAL RIDE BREAKS APART, KILLING ONE

SHREWSBURY, Mass. – A carnival ride broke apart during a church fair yesterday, killing a man and injuring two other people. Shrewsbury police said the spinning-car ride came apart about 2 p.m. near Saint Mary’s Church and parochial school. “It was really just a nightmare, a lot of children crying, mothers crying, more blood than I’ve ever seen,” said Kathleen Madaus, 44, of Shrewsbury. Her 11-yearold daughter, Elizabeth, said she saw a man hit the ground after falling out of the ride, called the “Sizzler.” “I saw him about a foot off the ground and land on his face,” Elizabeth said. “There were like 5-year-olds who had to see that and I feel bad for them.” Police Chief Wayne Sampson said two men were taken to UMass Memorial Medical Center. He said one of the men died at the hospital and the other is in serious condition. A third person suffered minor injuries and did not require hospitalization, said Chief Sampson, who did not immediately release the victims’ names. A ride operator was taken to the police station and was giving a statement to police, Sampson said. The ride has three rotating arms, each carrying four rotating sets of two-seat cars in the design of classic 1950s automobiles. The ride is about three feet off the ground and parishioners said it does not lift into the air. One of the cars was visibly damaged, and wreckage could be seen on the ground. “It was a terrible tragedy,” said Lynda Lopriore,52,who saw the injured being treated at the Saint Mary’s Family Festival, which has been held at the church for years. Shrewsbury is about 40 miles west of Boston.

– Associated Press

SOUTHEAST

HURRICANE KARL GAINS STRENGTH

MIAMI – Hurricane Karl gained strength yesterday but remained on a course that will keep it in the Atlantic, a threat only to shipping, forecasters said. Karl, the seventh hurricane this season, had top sustained winds near 125 mph and was expected to get stronger over the day, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. At 11 a.m., Karl was centered about 1,225 miles east of the Lesser Antilles in the southeastern Caribbean and was moving west-northwest near 10 mph. Karl comes on the heels of Tropical Storm Jeanne, which early yesterday was near the southeastern Bahamas and was moving north-northwest away from the islands toward open seas, where it could gain strength. Karl is the 11th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30.

– Associated Press

TRIAL TO BEGIN IN CASE OF POLICE SHOOTING

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Nineteen-year-old Michael Newby was the seventh black man fatally shot by Louisville police in the past five years. The officer who shot him three times in the back is the first in any of those cases to face criminal charges. McKenzie Mattingly, a 31-year-old former Marine and five-year department veteran, goes on trial for murder this week in a case that has sparked dozens of protests in Louisville. Attention to the case has been so great that Mr. Mattingly’s attorneys have asked that the trial be moved to another town and out of the media spotlight. Judge Judith McDonald-Burkman denied that request in May, but left the door open for Mr. Mattingly’s attorneys to try again before trial begins. Court records say Newby was carrying a small amount of crack-cocaine, some marijuana, a .45-caliber handgun and a large amount of money the night of the shooting after an altercation during a drug buy. He was posthumously charged with drug trafficking, assault, and carrying a concealed deadly weapon, but the charges were dismissed. Mr. Mattingly was indicted for murder and wanton endangerment in March and fired a month later. Jury selection in his trial begins today.

– Associated Press