In brief: Missing miners believed dead

Greymouth, New Zealand – All 29 workers missing underground in a New Zealand coal mine are believed to have died after a second explosion, police said.

Police superintendent Gary Knowles said the second explosion occurred midafternoon today, almost exactly five days after the first blast in the Pike River mine.

Two Democrats in House concede

Washington – House Republican gains from the midterm election reached 63 Tuesday, as two Democratic incumbents conceded defeat in outstanding races.

Rep. Dan Maffei conceded to Ann Marie Buerkle in New York’s 25th Congressional District, acknowledging Tuesday that although he had narrowed the gap as absentee ballots were counted, he was unlikely to prevail.

On Monday night, 14-term incumbent Solomon P. Ortiz conceded to Blake Farenthold in the 27th District of Texas. As with Maffei’s loss, the final margin was fewer than 1,000 votes.

Boy may have fallen from plane

Charlotte, N.C. – The father of a North Carolina teen whose mutilated body was found on a suburban Boston street said Tuesday he was struggling with the boy’s death amid reports authorities were investigating whether the student might have fallen from an aircraft’s wheel well.

Anthony Tisdale said he last saw his son Delvonte on Nov. 14 when they did yardwork together and the family had pizza for dinner. When the 16-year-old failed to return from school the following day, the family called police. The boy’s remains were found last week in Milton, Mass., several days after he was reported missing.

Other relatives described the boy as being unhappy in North Carolina and having missed Baltimore, a city he had lived in until he was 13.