Amtrak train derails; at least 23 hurt
HANFORD, Calif., Oct. 1 (UPI) -- An Amtrak train derailed in California Monday afternoon after colliding with a truck, injuring at least 23 people, authorities said.
The Fresno Bee reported 22 of the victims were on the passenger train. Kings County Emergency Medical Services said the 23rd was the driver of a truck that struck the train, the newspaper said. The condition of the injured wasn't known, but the truck driver had been pinned in his vehicle, county EMS Director Dan Lynch told the Bee.
The accident occurred at 12:20 p.m. in the Hanford-Corcoran area. There were 120 passengers on the train, Lynch said, and more injuries were possible.
Plane seats became loose during flight
NEW YORK, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- Federal agents said they are investigating the seats on an American Airlines flight from Boston to Miami became unbolted.
Flight 6885 had to make an emergency landing at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport when a row of seats in the coach cabin on the Boeing 757 became loose during a flight Saturday, ABC News reported.
Passengers in those seats were moved to other seats on the plane and no one was injured. The plane landed safely at JFK.
The Federal Aviation Administration, which has stepped up scrutiny of American Airlines during its bankruptcy, is investigating the incident.
Calif. to get Cesar Chavez Nat'l Monument
WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- A national monument will be built in California honoring the late farm worker leader and civil rights activist Cesar Chavez, the White House announced Monday.
President Obama will travel to Keene, Calif., Oct. 8 to announce the establishment of the Cesar E. Chavez National Monument on the property known as Nuestra Senora Reina de la Paz (Our Lady Queen of Peace), the White House said in a release.
The La Paz property is widely known for its link to Chavez and the farm worker movement. It was the national headquarters of the United Farm Workers, and was where Chavez and his family lived and worked from the early 1970s until his death in 1993 at age 66. His grave is there and will be part of the monument.
"Cesar Chavez gave a voice to poor and disenfranchised workers everywhere," the statement quoted Obama as saying. "La Paz was at the center of some of the most significant civil rights moments in our nation's history, and by designating it a national monument, Chavez's legacy will be preserved and shared to inspire generations to come."
The monument will be managed by the National Park Service in consultation with the National Chavez Center and the Cesar Chavez Foundation.
It will be the fourth national monument designated by Obama using the Antiquities Act.
Remains of missing Canadian found in Nev.
ELKO, Nev., Oct. 1 (UPI) -- The remains of a Canadian man missing since leaving his wife in their stranded van to seek help in March 2011 were found in Nevada's mountains, authorities say.
Elk hunters Rodney Thompson and Jay Doke came across the remains of Albert Chretien, 59, of Penticton, British Columbia, Saturday in a heavily wooded area of Merritt Mountain in Elko County near the Idaho state line, the Elko Daily Free Press reported. Searchers with the county sheriff's office collected the remains and items that confirmed they were those of Chretien the next day. Chretien's remains were taken to a local funeral home.
Chretien's 56-year-old wife, Rita, spent 48 days in their vehicle before being rescued May 6, the newspaper said. She survived on trail mix, hard candy and melted snow.
The couple had been traveling to a trade show in Las Vegas when they got stuck. Albert Chretien tried to hike back to State Route 225 to get help, but it was unknown what happened to him, Global News reported.
Rita Chretien said they had gotten lost by "foolishly following a GPS without a lot of experience" and that her husband had struck out on foot three days after they got stuck.
