Proud dad
The youngest daughter of Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (below) said in an interview published Thursday that she’s gay. Katherine Patrick said her father responded by giving her a bear hug and saying: “Well, we love you no matter what.”
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Fanning flames
Hundreds of firefighters Thursday struggled to gain control of a series of wildfires burning across Northern California, including a raging forest fire that forced hundreds to leave their homes in the mountains near Felton.
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Gas pains
Oil prices rebounded from a steep early loss to end modestly higher Thursday on Wall Street as gas prices reached a new record at the pump, rising to a national average of $4.06 a gallon. Experts say they are likely to keep rising.
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Crane accident
A cable snapped as a construction crane was being lifted off the ground Thursday at the Dallas Cowboys’ new stadium in Arlington, Texas, injuring at least three people, a team spokesman said.
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Yahoo plunges
Yahoo has ended all talks involving a business deal with Microsoft. The development, announced Thursday, is expected to lead to an advertising partnership between Yahoo and Google. Yahoo shares plunged more than 13 percent on the news.
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Undercover care
Hospitals and health clinics are increasingly turning to undercover patients to grade their health care experience, and the ethics council of the American Medical Association wants to see the practice continue, although some doctors are outraged.
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Massive flood
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa The Cedar River poured over its banks here Thursday, forcing the evacuation of more than 3,000 homes, causing a railroad bridge to collapse and leaving cars underwater on downtown streets. Officials estimated that 100 blocks were underwater. Rescuers had to use boats to reach many residents, and people could be seen dragging suitcases up closed highway exit ramps to escape the water.
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THE DIGITS
Tell Americans to spend, and they’ll spend. Retail sales jumped by the largest amount in six months in May as consumers began to receive economic stimulus payments from the government, according to a Commerce Department report Thursday.
57 million: Number of economic stimulus payments sent out in May
$50 billion: Amount of economic stimulus payments sent so far, just under half of the total aimed at consumers
1%: Jump in retail sales in May, the biggest increase since November
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AND FINALLY . . .
— Ron Paul to end campaign
— Georgia aquarium announces rare sea dragon pregnancy
— Man walks 25 miles to court for DUI sentencing
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FROM NEWS SERVICES
