In brief: First U.S. all-female quintuplets born

HOUSTON – A Houston hospital said a woman has delivered five girls in what it believes is the first set of all-female quintuplets born in the U.S.

The Woman’s Hospital of Texas said Danielle Busby had her babies by cesarean section April 8. Doctors say the children, born premature at 28 weeks, were doing well on Wednesday.

Dr. Jayne Finkowski-Rivera said the babies are only requiring modest help breathing.

Busby, her husband Adam and her eldest daughter, Blayke, welcomed Olivia Marie, Ava Lane, Hazel Grace, Parker Kate and Riley Paige. Their birth weights ranged from 2 pounds, to 2 pounds 6 ounces.

Danielle Busby said she never thought she would have six kids – much less six girls. She had intrauterine insemination for both pregnancies.

House bills address potential IRS abuse

WASHINGTON – House leaders used Wednesday’s tax filing deadline to pass a package of bills designed to protect taxpayers from potential abuse by the IRS, a response to recent scandals at the agency.

One bill would prevent IRS employees from using personal email accounts for official business. One would enact a taxpayers’ bill of rights, and another would require the tax agency to fire employees caught targeting individuals or groups based on their politics.

In all, the House passed eight bills and sent them to the Senate. Seven were passed without recorded votes, with no opposition. The other bill was passed by a vote of 424-0. It would require federal contractors to certify that they don’t have a “seriously delinquent tax debt.”

IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said the IRS has already addressed many of the issues raised by the bills.

Aquarium kills fish with medication

Texas State Aquarium accidentally killed almost all the fish in its two biggest indoor tanks, an aquarium spokesman told the Los Angeles Times.

The animals at the aquarium in Corpus Christi died Tuesday when a new medication was introduced into the water in an effort to control a parasite that was resistant to other treatments, spokesman Richard E. Glover Jr. said.

Such an incident “is extremely rare,” said Rob Vernon, spokesman for the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

“It appears to be a truly sad fluke,” Glover said.

As many as 100 fish were killed in the four affected tanks, the largest of which holds 125,000 gallons, Glover said.

Staffers worked through the night to save as many animals as possible and try to figure out what went wrong, he said.

Fire devastates block in Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS – Dozens of firefighters were called out to battle a huge fire that devastated a commercial block and injured some people in north Minneapolis.

The Minneapolis Fire Department said four people were taken to Hennepin County Medical Center. Their conditions were unknown. No firefighters were hurt.

The fire broke out shortly before 9 a.m. Wednesday in a building that houses several side-by-side businesses. Officials said the fire apparently started in an Unbank check-cashing and loan business.