Briefly
US Airways strives to avoid new mess
Philadelphia More than 100 US Airways executives and other staff volunteered to serve snacks, sort bags and help passengers find their way Sunday at Philadelphia International Airport to avoid a repeat of the bankrupt carrier’s Christmas debacle.
The airline reported no problems by Sunday afternoon, when about half the day’s expected 38,000 passengers had boarded flights or claimed bags.
During Christmas, hundreds of flights were canceled and thousands of bags piled up. Management blamed staff who’d called in sick. Unions blamed management.
Blaze at waste plant prompts evacuations
El Dorado, Ark. A fire at a hazardous-waste incineration plant forced hundreds of residents to evacuate Sunday, officials said.
No injuries were reported, and officials were monitoring air quality as smoke rose from the Teris plant in southern Arkansas.
Police estimated about 1,500 people within a few miles of the plant were evacuated.
Police said the fire began early Sunday at the plant, east of El Dorado, at a warehouse that stores hazardous waste.
Peterson lover’s book to hit stores Tuesday
Fresno, Calif. Scott Peterson’s mistress thinks about him periodically and, in a book to be released this week, wrote, “I sometimes wonder if he thinks about me.”
The book by Amber Frey, “Witness For the Prosecution of Scott Peterson,” is to be released Tuesday, but was mistakenly sold at a market in Modesto, where Peterson’s wife, Laci, disappeared before her body was discovered on a San Francisco Bay shoreline.
Frey testified in his murder trial. Peterson was convicted Nov. 12 of murder. On Dec. 13, the jury imposed the death penalty. Sentencing is set for Feb. 25.
An interview with Frey was to air today on NBC’s “Today” show and on “NBC News” on Tuesday.
Nightclub blaze sparks protests
Buenos Aires, Argentina Families on Sunday buried victims of a nightclub fire that killed at least 188 people and injured more than 700.
Also Sunday, Buenos Aires’ security chief resigned following revelations that some of the packed club’s emergency exits were locked.
The funerals preceded a protest as residents demanded a full accounting for Thursday’s calamity.
About 4,000 people, mostly teenagers, were inside the club for a concert of the Argentine rock band Los Callejeros when the fire broke out late Thursday. Many of the victims died from smoke inhalation.
Group lays down arms after seizing building
Lima, Peru The leader of a group that seized a remote police station, taking 10 officers hostage, and later allegedly ambushed a police vehicle, killing four other officers, agreed Sunday to lay down his weapons.
Antauro Humala’s pledge signaled the end of a standoff that began Saturday after about 100 gunmen seized the police station in Andahuaylas, 275 miles southeast of Lima, and demanded that President Alejandro Toledo resign – a demand Toledo rejected.
Authorities said the group ambushed a police vehicle and killed four police officers while wounding several more. One gunman was killed, media reported.