Stevens Pass, Wash.
Four dead in avalanches: Four people were killed in avalanches in the Cascade Mountains about 80 miles northeast of Seattle. Three experienced skiers were swept away in an avalanche outside the Stevens Pass ski resort and dragged to their deaths a quarter-mile down a backcountry canyon. In a separate incident minutes earlier, Karl Milanoski, a 41-year-old snowboarder, triggered an avalanche that carried him over a 500-foot cliff near the Alpental ski resort. The three skiers who died, Jim Jack, Chris Rudolph, and Johnny Brenan, were part of a group of 13 professionals and journalists who were skiing beyond the boundaries of the Stevens Pass ski resort. The men skied past a sign warning them that the area was out-of-bounds and that skiing was at their own risk, said Katie Larson of the King County Sheriff’s Office. “I don’t want to make it seem trite, but sometimes nature is bigger than we are.” Seventeen people have died in avalanches so far this winter.
Lubbock, Texas
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Massive dust storm: An 8,000-foot-high cloud of dirt and debris blanketed parts of Texas last week, in what has been called the biggest dust storm to hit the U.S. in decades. Winds as high as 74 miles per hour knocked out power lines, took down trees, and damaged homes. Some 30 vehicles were involved in accidents on U.S. Highway 84, southeast of Lubbock, and a New Mexico truck driver and his wife were killed in a crash that injured at least 11 others, authorities said. Because of poor visibility, police shut down roads and urged drivers to avoid major highways until the dust subsided. “It was terrible,” said trucker Jeffery Robinson, who was caught in the storm. “At times it would clear up, and then you couldn’t see 50 feet because of the wind and blowing dirt.”
East Prairie, Mo.
Quake rattles nine states: A magnitude 4.0 earthquake shook the Midwest this week, sending shock waves through Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Tennessee, said the U.S. Geological Survey. The quake, whose epicenter was near East Prairie, sent rumbles as far away as Indiana, Alabama, North Carolina, and Georgia, said the USGS. The quake occurred in the New Madrid Seismic Zone, a 150-mile stretch that crosses the Midwest. “It’s been a while since we had a good shaker in the New Madrid region,” said Bob Herrmann, a St. Louis University geophysicist. “It is a reminder that earthquakes occur and we cannot ignore them.” Minor damage was reported. Opinion is divided on the likelihood of a bigger quake on the New Madrid fault, but communities in the region have taken precautions by retrofitting bridges and other structures.
Trenton, N.J.
Gay marriage veto: Gov. Chris Christie kept his promise and vetoed a gay marriage bill last week, hours after it was passed by the state legislature. Christie has repeatedly said that the matter of same-sex nuptials should be decided by the voters in a referendum, as soon as November. “An issue of this magnitude and importance, which requires a constitutional amendment, should be left to the people of New Jersey to decide,” Christie said. Steven Goldstein of the gay-civil-rights group Garden State Equality, called the veto “a brutally anti-gay act,” but stopped short of attacking the governor. “Frankly, I don’t think Chris Christie has an anti-gay bone in his body,” said Goldstein. He and other critics suspect that Christie vetoed the bill because he plans to run for president in 2016, and doesn’t want to alienate the GOP’s conservative wing.
New York City
Muslim monitoring defended: Mayor Michael Bloomberg defended the New York Police Department this week after it was revealed that the NYPD has monitored the activities of Muslim college students who live hundreds of miles from the city. The charge that police have tracked Muslim student associations on the Internet and undercover in pursuit of anti-terrorist intelligence was revealed by the Associated Press last week. The news sparked outrage at Yale, Rutgers, and several of the 14 other schools involved. Yale President Richard Levin called the practice “antithetical to the values of Yale, the academic community, and the United States.” Bloomberg dismissed Levin’s criticism as “ridiculous,” adding, “I don’t know why keeping the country safe is antithetical to the values of Yale.”
Washington, D.C.
Suicide attack foiled: A 29-year-old Moroccan man, wearing what he thought was a suicide vest and carrying an automatic weapon, was arrested last week as he was attempting to launch a terrorist strike against the Capitol building. Amine El Khalifi of Alexandria, Va., considered a lone-wolf terrorist, was taken into custody carrying an inoperable gun and inert explosives given to him by undercover federal agents, said police and government officials. The suspect was charged with plotting to carry out a bombing and attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction against federal property. Khalifi “allegedly believed he was working with al Qaida,” said U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride. He “devised the plot, the targets, and the methods on his own.” Of 17 terrorist plots uncovered on U.S. soil, 11 have involved individuals with no ties to terrorist organizations.
