Zeta weakens, won’t threaten land
Miami Tropical Storm Zeta stalled and weakened Saturday in the open Atlantic, a day after it tied a record for the latest-developing named storm in an already infamous hurricane season.
Although the National Hurricane Center said Zeta was not expected to become a hurricane or threaten land, its development had been a surprise because it came a month after the season officially ended on Nov. 30.
The 27th named storm of the season, Zeta was located about 1,070 miles southwest of the Azores, the National Hurricane Center reported Saturday afternoon. Zeta had maximum sustained winds near 50 mph but was meandering with little overall motion.
Iraq’s ‘Baby Nora’ arrives in Atlanta
Atlanta An Iraqi infant with severe birth defects arrived in Atlanta on Saturday for medical treatment that was offered after U.S. soldiers discovered her during a raid on a home.
Baby Noor al-Zahra, or “Baby Nora” to the Americans, was responsive Saturday evening and in good condition, said Kevin McClelland, spokesman for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. He said it likely will be another week before she goes into surgery.
The 3-month-old child left Baghdad in a military transport plane Friday, accompanied by her grandmother and father.
U.S. troops discovered the baby three weeks ago during a raid of a house in Abu Ghraib, a poverty-stricken district west of Baghdad. The soldiers noticed paralysis in the baby’s legs and what appeared to be a tumor on her back.
They later learned the 3-month-old has spina bifida, a birth defect in which the backbone and spinal cord do not close before birth.
Detroit rapper shot while driving
Detroit Obie Trice, a protege of Eminem, was shot early Saturday while driving on a city highway, police said.
Someone in another car shot through the back window of 28-year-old Trice’s vehicle as he drove along the Lodge Freeway around 1:10 a.m., said Michigan State Police Sgt. Mario Gonzales.
The Detroit native managed to continue driving and got off the freeway in the suburb of Southfield, where his girlfriend, also in the vehicle, flagged down police, Gonzales said. The girlfriend wasn’t wounded.
Police didn’t release where the bullet struck Trice. He was taken to Providence Hospital, where he was treated and released, said hospital spokesman Brian Taylor.
There were no suspects in the shooting, which was under investigation by state police detectives, Gonzales said.
Trice contributed to the song “Drips” on Eminem’s 2002 album “The Eminem Show” and got more exposure by delivering the opening lines on the lead single “Without Me.”
Dinkins may run Harlem Boys Choir
New York Former New York Mayor David Dinkins is considering taking over the cash-strapped Harlem Boys Choir, now hobbling without a staff and facing eviction by the city.
Dinkins said he wants to help the fabled organization get out of its fiscal mess, perhaps becoming its interim board chairman.
“I truly do love children,” said Dinkins, flanked by Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., other elected officials and members of the choir in front of City Hall on Friday.
“The cause is right. I just got to find, got to convince myself that I’ve got the time to give it and make it a success.”
Rangel, who represents Harlem, appealed to the public for donations to keep afloat the choir, which has a $5 million debt.
He also called on Mayor Michael Bloomberg to let the group stay for free at the Choir Academy of Harlem, a public school at 2005 Madison Ave.
The chorus recently got an eviction notice from the city with an offer to operate only as an after-school program in the building.
The 30-year-old choir has been mired in fiscal problems for years.