In brief: Lost autistic teen found in wilderness
An autistic 18-year-old lost in the wilderness for four days was found sleeping under a bush Thursday, weak but apparently fine, and reunited with his family, searchers said.
“To the best of our knowledge, he was just hungry and thirsty and fatigued,” said Jim Reneau, one of the nine searchers who found Jacob Allen.
Allen, who wandered away from his parents while hiking Sunday, was found lying in a clearing about a mile from where his hat was found Monday.
Allen was in good condition Thursday night at Davis Memorial Hospital in Elkins, where he was to be kept overnight for observation, hospital spokesman Bill Phillips said.
Allen had no food or water with him, but Stadelman had said there were natural water sources in the search area, which consists of about 10 square miles.
PARIS, Mo.
Storm kills two in mobile home
Storms that raked the Plains and Southeast on Thursday tossed a mobile home in Missouri, killing both people inside, and spawned a tornado in Florida.
The storms continued throughout the day, pelting downtown Chicago with hail during the evening rush hour and spawning a damaging tornado in Kentucky as they swept eastward, officials said.
In rural northeastern Missouri, the state Highway Patrol said Kent Ensor and Kristy Secrease had sought refuge in Secrease’s mobile home as a tornado approached. Their bodies were found about 400 feet from where the home had been.
The mobile home’s frame was found three-quarters of a mile away, with debris as far as two miles away. The National Weather Service said the storm traveled a mile and had winds as high as 135 mph.
A tornado late Thursday morning in Pensacola, Fla., damaged the city’s major shopping mall.
Lisbon, Portugal
EU leaders OK key reform treaty
European Union leaders on Friday agreed on a reform treaty to replace their failed European constitution and give the 27-nation union a more influential say in world affairs, diplomats said.
The reform treaty – to be formally signed by the EU leaders in Lisbon on Dec. 13 – promises to accelerate decision-making so EU members can act more swiftly on global issues such as defense, energy security, climate change and migration.
The pact aims to achieve the same thing as the constitution that collapsed in 2005 when it was rejected in French and Dutch referendums: give the 27-nation union a more influential say in world affairs by translating its economic might into a bigger diplomatic punch.
While it lacks the constitution’s most contentious elements – such as an EU flag and anthem – it will give its foreign and security affairs chief a seat on the EU executive commission with control over the EU’s multibillion-dollar aid budget and its extensive network of diplomats and civil servants.