Four people were injured in Davie, Fla. Oct. 18 after an ambulance crashed.
An ambulance was en route to take a patient to a hospital on a routine call when the ambulance was involved in a crash on Griffin Road near 100th Avenue. Around 9 a.m., a woman driving a Ford Explorer T-boned the ambulance while it was moving through a green light, police said.
A witness said the Explorer had the green light and apparently didn’t see the ambulance coming through the intersection. The ambulance flipped on its side. One patient and three paramedics that were in the back of the ambulance were taken to Memorial Regional Hospital as a precaution for minor injuries. The driver of the Explorer was not seriously injured, and charges are pending.

Around the Nation

Recruiters now allowed to accept openly gay military applicants

The Pentagon told military recruits Oct. 15  they may accept openly gay and lesbian recruits, according to a Pentagon spokeswoman.
If candidates admit they are openly gay and qualify under normal guidelines, recruiters can process their application. Recruiters also may not ask applicants if they are gay.

Recruiters must also let applicants know there is a possibility that the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy may be reinstated, due to the reversal of the court decision.

Gay and lesbian groups are being warned not to come out to the military because the decision is still being appealed in courts.

Around the World

Thirty-one dead in China coal mine leak

The central China coal mine gas leak death toll rose to 31 Oct. 18 with the discovery of five more bodies, state media said.
Six other miners remain trapped underground, but rescue crews fear they have a very small chance of survival. The six have been identified, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency, citing a spokesman with the rescue headquarters.

A total of 276 miners were working underground when a gas leak occurred in Henan province. A total of 239 workers escaped, Xinhua said.

Gas leaked out in the accident reached 173,500 cubic meters in the accident.

China has one of the world’s deadliest records for miners, with poor safety standards accounting for thousands of deaths each year.

China announced last week it closed 1,355 small coal mines this year, Xinhua said.

The effort was part of a larger plan by the National Energy Administration to restructure the mining industry to prevent deadly accidents and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the news agency said.

Compiled by Spinnaker and Wire Services