In brief: Floods, landslides batter Indonesia

WONDAMA, Indonesia – Days of torrential rain triggered landslides and flash floods in eastern Indonesia, killing at least 26 people and destroying hundreds of homes, officials and witnesses said Tuesday.

Residents in Wasior, a village in a hilly corner of West Papua province, combed the mud in search of missing relatives with their bare hands.

“I heard a roar and suddenly the river near my home broke its banks,” said Ira Wanoni, describing the scariest deluge, which occurred early Monday. “Water mixed with rocks, mud and logs gushed out. … Many people didn’t have time to save themselves.”

Decky Amnir, head of the local Disaster Management Agency, told reporters in Wondama district that at least 26 people were killed and more than 60 were sent to hospitals with injuries.

Mexico, others ask input on appeal

PHOENIX – Mexico and 10 other Latin American countries want a federal appeals court to consider their viewpoints in Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer’s appeal of a ruling that put parts of her state’s new immigration law on hold.

The countries are asking the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for permission to file friend-of-the-court briefs in Brewer’s appeal of the ruling, which arose from a lawsuit by the U.S. Justice Department.

The 11 countries say they have an interest in ensuring they have reliable relations with the United States that aren’t frustrated by Arizona.

Mexico is joined in the request by Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Paraguay and Peru.

California limits use of aid cards

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California officials are cutting off use of state-issued welfare debit cards at casinos across the country and on cruise ships, in the wake of Los Angeles Times reports that the aid cards have been used to spend or withdraw millions of dollars in benefits at vacation spots including the Las Vegas strip and on ships sailing from ports around the world.

More than $69 million meant to help the needy pay their rent and clothe their children was accessed in all 49 other states, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam, according to data obtained by the Times from the California Department of Social Services.

Department of Social Services Director John Wagner said the move is part of the Schwarzenegger administration’s commitment to “rooting out waste, fraud and abuse in these programs” and “to ensure these resources are going to the people they are intended for.”