California
Highway 1 stretch collapses into ocean
CARMEL - Engineers on Thursday were working to figure out when they'll be able to reopen a stretch of a coastal highway that collapsed into the ocean, blocking traffic to the scenic Big Sur region.
A 40-foot section of Highway 1 crumbled just after 5 p.m. Wednesday following several days of rainy weather. The entire southbound lane is gone, and the soil under the northbound lane also was giving way.
No one was injured in the slide, the California Highway Patrol said. Authorities have closed the two-lane road to traffic indefinitely.
The collapse occurred south of Carmel near Rocky Creek Bridge, one of the iconic arch bridges that make the stretch of roadway, also known as the Pacific Coast Highway, one of the country's best known scenic drives.
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The closure comes as spring tourist season is about to get under way.
Eight-pound gold nugget nets $460,000 at auction
SACRAMENTO - A bidder paid $460,000 for a roughly 8-pound gold nugget found in Northern California's Gold Rush country.
Spectrum Numismatics came away with the nugget on Wednesday after a feverish two minutes of bidding at the Golden West Auction in Sacramento. The company was bidding on behalf of an anonymous buyer.
What may be the biggest California gold nugget in existence was found in the unincorporated town of Washington in Nevada County last March with a metal detector.
At current gold prices, the nugget would have fetched less than $138,000. But auctioneers say its connection to the 19th century Gold Rush helped boost its value.
Colorado
Explosive device to blast prairie dog holes fought
BOULDER - Landowners have been using an explosive, state-approved device to blow up prairie dog holes - and some neighbors don't like it.
The Daily Camera reported Thursday the Colorado Wildlife Commission approved the "Rodenator" in 2006. It explodes burrows by igniting a propane mixture pumped into the holes.
Nearby residents in Boulder have complained the method is cruel, inhumane and extremely loud. Some have reported seeing prairie dogs on fire.
Boulder County sheriff's officials have estimated the explosions exceed the county's sound limit of 50 to 55 decibels.
Employees at a ranch where the device is being used say it isn't meant to kill the animals.
Connecticut
Researcher admits killing Yale woman grad student
NEW HAVEN - A former animal research technician pleaded guilty Thursday to killing a Yale University graduate student days before her 2009 wedding, and prosecutors revealed that he left behind evidence of a sexual assault and desperately tried to cover his tracks.
Raymond Clark III pleaded guilty to murder and entered an Alford plea to attempted sexual assault of 24-year-old Annie Le under an agreement with prosecutors that calls for a 44-year sentence. Under Connecticut's Alford doctrine, the defendant agrees that the state has enough evidence to likely get a conviction and a guilty finding is entered on the record.
The sex charge and related DNA evidence offered the first official revelation of a potential motive in the case.
Clark, 26, was accused of strangling Le, of Placerville, Calif. Her body was found upside down stuffed behind a research lab wall on Sept. 13, 2009, five days after she was last seen inside the Yale medical building.
Tennessee
Ferlin Husky, country music pioneer, dies at 85
NASHVILLE - Ferlin Husky, a pioneering country music entertainer in the 1950s and early '60s known for hits like "Wings of a Dove" and "Gone," died Thursday. He was 85.
The 2010 Country Music Hall of Fame inductee died at his home, hall spokeswoman Tina Wright said. He had a history of heart problems and related ailments.
With his resonant voice and good looks, Husky was one of the most versatile entertainers to emerge from country music. He was a singer, songwriter, guitarist, actor, and even a comedian whose impersonations ranged from Bing Crosby to Johnny Cash.
He was one of the first country musicians to bring the genre to television and helped spread its popularity in booming post-World War II California, an important step in country's quest for a national audience.
The Associated Press
