Happy birthday to me! Happy birthday to me!

August 18

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Since I took the night off yesterday, I have much to catch up on.

Around the world:


Somali minibus attack toll rises

More bodies have been discovered in Somalia, near the scene of an attack on two minibuses outside Mogadishu.

Local people returning to their farms after the attack said they had found a further 16 bodies, bringing to nearly 60 the number of civilians killed.

The Ethiopian forces started shooting after their military convoy was hit by a roadside bomb, witnesses said.

The transitional government backed by Ethiopian troops threw out Islamists in 2006, but unrest is continuing.

Islamist insurgents have been carrying out frequent raids in the Mogadishu area.

2 bombs explode in Spanish resorts; no injuries

MALAGA, Spain (AP) — Two small bombs blamed on Basque separatist group ETA exploded at tourist resorts in southern Spain on Sunday, authorities said. No injuries were reported, but more than 10,000 people were evacuated from a harbor area.

It is the height of the summer tourist season in Spain, and ETA has previously carried out attacks in vacation areas at this time of year in an effort to disrupt tourism.

The first blast occurred on a beach in Guadalmar at around 1 p.m. (7 a.m. EDT), and a second device exploded at a tourist marina parking lot in Benalmadena Costa two hours later, the Interior Ministry said.

Both towns are around 340 miles south of Madrid in the Costa del Sol resort area on a stretch of coastline popular with foreign tourists, especially the British.

Major U.S. Ally Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf Resigns

Pervez Musharraf, the former military general who became Pakistan's president and accepted more than $10 billion in aid from the United States to fight the war on terror, resigned in a speech broadcast to the nation today, saying the country would benefit from his stepping aside before impeachment proceedings against him could begin.

"Can the country face more confrontation? Can the country's economy face more destruction?" Musharraf asked during an hour-long address carried live on all Pakistani channels and on Western cable channels. "The honor and dignity of the country will be affected, and in my view, the honor of the office of president will also be affected."

"Therefore, after taking everything into consideration," he continued, "I am resigning from the presidency."

Travis AFB fire destroyed, damaged 270 homes

(08-17) 15:22 PDT FAIRFIELD -- Fairfield fire officials took stock Sunday of the damage from an unusual eight-alarm blaze at Travis Air Force Base that could have been an enormous tragedy - that is, if it had burned up anything that wasn't slated to be bulldozed anyway.

Pushed by strong and unrelenting wind gusts, Saturday's fire started in a field of dry grass along Parker Road outside the base at about 3:15 p.m. and spread inside. By the time the biggest fire in the base's 66-year history was contained several hours later, it had damaged or destroyed about 270 unoccupied homes.

Those homes are set to be demolished to make way for new base housing. Three nearby structures that are still being used - a chapel, an elementary school and a youth center - were all surrounded and saved, Fairfield Fire Marshal Morgana Yahnke said.

Grand Canyon evacuations halted after dam breach

(CNN) -- Authorities halted the evacuation Sunday night of a few hundred people who were initially thought to be in danger after rain breached an earthen dam at the Grand Canyon.

Rescue crews in helicopters evacuated about 170 people Sunday after water poured through Redland Dam, sending water down two canyons and threatening several hundred tourists and residents, said Gerry Blair, spokesman for the Coconino County sheriff's department.

A few hundred others were not evacuated, but they were on high ground and did not appear to be in immediate danger by Sunday night, he said. Authorities plan to decide Monday whether to evacuate them.

They also plan to resume the search Monday for "less than 20" people who were in the affected area and whose whereabouts are not yet known to authorities, Blair said.

The air evacuations were called off due to darkness at 8:30 p.m. Sunday (11:30 p.m. ET).

Dozens Rescued After Rain Floods Over 400 Homes in South Texas

McALLEN, Texas — Emergency workers rescued dozens of trapped residents Monday after torrential rains deluged more than 400 homes in southern Texas and forced the temporary closure of the main road through the Rio Grande Valley.

Officials used any available boat to pluck about 60 people from their flooded homes after more than 13 inches of rain fell on parts of Starr County.

The Department of Public Safety had recommended that U.S. Highway 83 be closed near Rosita, about midway between Roma and Rio Grande City, because a creek was more than a foot above the guardrails, said Starr County Judge Eloy Vera. Not even emergency vehicles were permitted to pass.

"That pretty much isolates Roma from the valley," Vera said. "We're real scared about that."

The highway was reopened Monday evening. About 10,000 people live in Roma, 210 miles south of San Antonio.

Briefing: Offshore drilling and the environment


Now get your solar power at night


Pretty kitty...