NASA probe strikes comet
Pasadena, Calif. A space probe hit its comet target late Sunday in a NASA-directed, Hollywood-style mission that scientists hope will reveal clues to how the solar system formed.
It marked the first time a spacecraft touched the surface of a comet, igniting a dazzling Independence Day weekend fireworks display in space.
The successful strike 83 million miles away from Earth occurred just before 11 p.m. PDT, according to mission control at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, which is managing the $333 million mission.
It was a milestone for the U.S. space agency, which hopes the experiment will answer basic questions about the origins of the solar system.
The cosmic smash-up did not significantly alter the comet’s orbit around the sun and NASA said the experiment does not pose any danger to Earth.
Boy burned after fall into thermal pool
Yellowstone Park, Wyo. A 9-year-old Kentucky boy fell into a hot spring pool in Yellowstone National Park Sunday morning, suffering second-degree burns over 40 percent of his body.
Park officials said Matthew Luke Hoang of Lawrenceburg, Ky., was being treated at the burn center in Salt Lake City. He was stabilized at Lake Clinic in the park and then flown to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls, before being flown to Salt Lake.
Officials said the boy and his family had stopped at a small thermal area at about 9 a.m. The boy was playing with his dog and somehow fell into the pool, suffering second- and possibly some third-degree burns. His father immediately pulled him out of the hot water and called 911.
Several children hurt as school bus rolls
Topsham, Maine A school bus taking kids from a summer camp to an amusement park rolled over Sunday, injuring several children.
All 37 children aboard were taken to hospitals for treatment or as a precaution, said Maj. Randy Nichols of the Maine State Police. None of the injuries was considered life-threatening.
State Department of Public Safety spokesman Stephen McCausland said most of the injuries appeared to be bumps and bruises.
The bus, chartered from Poland’s Bus Service in Cornville, was part of a convoy of buses and vans carrying youngsters from Camp Modin to Funtown USA, a popular amusement area. Ten counselors and the driver were on board the bus.
The accident happened on Interstate 295 about 30 miles northeast of Portland. The bus veered onto the soft shoulder in the breakdown lane on a slight curve, Nichols said. The driver then overcorrected, causing the bus to skid sideways across both travel lanes and end up on its right side in the median.