Thick, billowing smoke and flames fed by volatile chemicals leaking from a derailed train in Brooks, Ky., continued to belch into the sky Wednesday, frustrating officials long after the accident shut down a highway and forced evacuations. Fire officials used 2,000 gallons of foam and an "ungodly amount" of water to extinguish some of the flames. But other spots will likely have to burn out on their own, expected later Wednesday.
Cancer deaths in the United States have dropped for a second straight year, confirming that a corner has been turned in the war on cancer. After a decline of 369 deaths from 2002 to 2003, the decrease from 2003 to 2004 was 3,014 -- or more than eight times greater, according to a review of U.S. death certificates by the American Cancer Society.
Shoppers soon will be feeling the sting of higher prices from a wave of icy weather that has hit California farms. As much as three-quarters of the state's citrus crop withered in the field during the cold snap, but nearly every winter crop, from avocados to fresh-cut flowers, has suffered severely. Price hikes still won't be enough to offset the damage, as growers cope with nearly $1 billion in losses following four consecutive nights of subfreezing temperatures.
McDonald's said Wednesday that stronger-than-expected year-end sales, most notably in its European restaurants, will enable it to post fourth-quarter profits above Wall Street's estimates. Its stock hit a new seven-year high. The world's largest fast-food chain reported that global comparable sales, or those from restaurants open more than a year, rose 7.2 percent in December and 6.3 percent for the quarter to cap one of its most impressive years ever with a surge in momentum.
Seconds before a commuter plane crashed after going down the wrong runway, the co-pilot noted it was "weird" that the Lexington, Ky., strip had no lights, according to a transcript released Wednesday. The runway wasn't long enough for a passenger jet when Comair Flight 5191 took off in the pre-dawn darkness on Aug. 27, 2006. The crash of killed 49 of 50 people on board. The only survivor, co-pilot James Polehinke, lost a leg and suffered brain damage from the crash. He has told family members he remembers nothing about that morning.
