 |
|
|
TODAYS TOP STORIES
Gas tax revenue down, officials eye mileage levy
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) -- Carpooling, higher fuel economy, hybrids and electric cars may be good for the environment, but they're bad for government transportation funding, which relies on gasoline and diesel taxes.
Now some states, including Vermont, are mapping out a possible alternative: taxing drivers not based on how much fuel is burned but how far each vehicle travels.
Vermont Transportation Secretary Brian Searles says such a system -- probably five years off at least -- would use GPS devices to track mileage and then levy a tax on a per-mile basis.
Officials in other states say there are other technological approaches that wouldn't raise the privacy issues of GPS tracking. An Oregon bill would let motorists choose from a range of technologies
Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Posted: Saturday, January 19 2013, 01:15 PM CST
IN OKLAHOMA NEWS
Thunderstorms slow Oklahoma tornado cleanup
May 23, 2013 20:18 GMT
Eds: Updates photo links. Multimedia: An interactive using graphics and photos to detail the tornado's path through Moore, Okla., and a count of the injured and dead is available at /interactives/2013/oklahoma-tornadoes/. With AP Photos. By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN and RAMIT PLUSHNICK-MASTI Associated Press
MOORE, Okla. (AP) -- A band of thunderstorms battered the Oklahoma City area Thursday, slowing cleanup operations in the suburb where a tornado killed 24 people and destroyed thousands of homes this week.
The first of the funerals, for a 9-year-old girl killed at a Moore elementary school that took a direct hit in Monday's storm, took place Thursday morning. A family photo showed the girl, Antonia Candelaria, beaming with a big smile and wearing a white sun hat.
Early estimates indicate the tornado caused more than $2 billion of damage in Moore. Whole subdivisions in the fast-growing community of 56,000 people were destroyed.
Antonia's relatives and friends huddled under umbrellas in a downpour as they hurried into a chapel for her funeral. Mournful country music played in the chapel that was adorned with photos of the smiling girl.
Two elementary schools were hit -- one was leveled -- by Monday's tornado. Antonia was one of seven children who perished at the Plaza Towers Elementary School, a one story building with barely a wall left standing. Altogether, 10 children were killed in the storm, including two infants.
The medical examiner reported that six of the children who died at Plaza Towers suffocated after being buried under a mass of bricks, steel and other materials as the building collapsed. A seventh child who died there, 8-year-old Kyle Davis, was killed instantly by an object -- perhaps a large piece of stone or a beam -- that fell on the back of his neck.
Thursday's thunderstorms produced hail, heavy rain and high winds in the morning. A flash flood warning was also in effect. The National Weather Service said more severe storms were forecast for late afternoon and at night, and that more tornados were a possibility.
The weather was hampering cleanup and recovery efforts that had just begun to accelerate now that all of the missing have been accounted for. Residents were only formally allowed back into the damage zone on Wednesday afternoon, where they picked through enormous piles of debris.
Shayne Patteson was among them, moving around the ruins of his three-bedroom home. All that was left was the tiny area where his wife hunkered down under a mattress to protect their three children when a tornado packing winds of at least 200 mph slammed through his neighborhood.
Patteson vowed to rebuild, likely in the same place, but said next time he will have an underground storm shelter.
"That is the first thing that will be going into the design of the house, is the storm shelter and the garage," he said as he looked around piles of bricks and plywood where their home once stood.
Moore Mayor Glenn Lewis said Wednesday he would propose an ordinance in the next couple of days to require all new homes to have storm shelters.
The city already has some. After a massive tornado tore a near-identical path in 1999, city authorities provided incentives such as federal grant dollars to help residents cover the costs of safe rooms. This time, though, Lewis thinks it is necessary to compel people to include them in all new construction.
Associated Press writer Tim Talley contributed to this report.
OKLAHOMA HEADLINES
Thunderstorms slow Oklahoma tornado cleanup
Tornado watch in effect for parts of west Oklahoma
Okla. reopens emergency operations command center
Line of storms brings flash floods to OKC area
Okla. House gives final approval to tornado relief
Mourners remember girl, 9, killed in Okla. tornado
Motorists urged to avoid I-35 in Moore
International leaders in energy touring Oklahoma
VIDEO LIST
 |
|
|
Newsmax Headlines
Sometimes the stories with the most impact come directly from the viewers. If you have a story that needs to be told, we want to hear it. Fill out the form below and let us know what stories need to be told.
|
|
|
 |
|
|
OKLAHOMA WEATHER
71°
From the FOX 25 First Forecast Center..
Good morning everyone...Not expecting organized severe weather but showers and t'storms from time to time could hamper tornado relief efforts. ...
Business News
Bernanke signals Fed to maintain stimulus efforts
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Chairman Ben Bernanke is telling Congress that the U.S. job market remains weak and that it is too soon for the Federal Reserve to end its extraordinary stimulus programs.
Consumer Info
BC-US--Dow Record-Three Personal Stories, 1st Ld-Writethru,1173
Dow Record: Three tales of ups, downs and changes
AP Photo FX102, FX103
Eds: With BC-US--Dow Record. Adds photos.
By SCOTT MAYEROWITZ
AP Business Writer
NEW YORK (AP) -- When the Dow first crossed 14,000, investors were overjoyed. ...
Science/Tech News
IN THE NEWS: TEEN ONLINE FAREWELL SONG ATTRACTS MILLIONS OF VIEWS
LAKELAND, Minn. (AP) -- High school student Zach Sobiech (SOH'-bee-eck) says he wanted to be remembered as "a kid who went down fighting and didn't really lose."
Get This
SWINGERS CLUB LAWSUIT-VEGAS
LAS VEGAS (AP) -- David Cooper wants to bring a little more sin -- to Sin City.
IE6 Float Fix
