News Briefs

Allende's Remains to be Examined

A Chilean court has ordered that the remains of former President Salvador Allende be exhumed for examination. Investigators will attempt to determine whether Allende killed himself or was killed during a 1973 coup that brought Augusto Pinochet to power.

In 1973, Allende's body was found in the presidential palace after the building was overtaken by troops. An official autopsy report concluded that Allende committed suicide with a rifle; his personal doctor confirmed this conclusion. However, some supporters have maintained that Allende was killed by soldiers.

After Allende's death, Pinochet's reign left thousands of political opponents missing or killed.

The inquiry is part of an investigation into historic rights abuses; the Allende case is one of 726 alleged rights abuses that experts are analyzing. The exhumation will take place toward the end of May.

Several U.S. States Devastated by Weather

Since Thursday, the southern U.S. has been pummeled by a string of severe storms and tornados. The death toll has risen to at least 35 people.

The storms first struck in Oklahoma before moving east toward Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Virginia, and North Carolina. The region has experienced severe thunderstorms with flash floods, tornados, and hail the size of grapefruits.

North Carolina was the last state to withstand the dangerous conditions. The state was devastated by 62 tornados, which left people dead across four counties. Governor Beverly Purdue declared a state of emergency and called this the worst storm system to hit the state in over two decades.

Fatalities have been reported in Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Mississippi, and North Carolina. Officials say the death toll will increase once emergency services search the damaged areas. The storms have now moved offshore and over the Atlantic Ocean.

Cancer Rates Drop in Western New York

The latest comprehensive statistics for cancer death rates across Western New York have shown an overall decline.

Cancer death rates were provided by the National Cancer Institute and include statistics from 2003 through 2007. Cancer death rates dropped for most counties; Erie County witnessed a 1.2 percent decline. Niagara County only saw a 0.5 percent drop. Statewide, there was a 2 percent decline.

Nonetheless, doctors caution that there is still cause for concern, as rates are higher than the state's average. Breast cancer in females and prostate cancer in males is more prevalent in Erie and Niagara Counties than elsewhere in the state.

Doctors have said that the reason cancer rates in WNY have not declined, as in the rest of the state, is because of the region's aging population.