Constitution Day gets little notice

Washington

Constitution Day is here and many teenagers know little about commemorating the document's signing.

A study being released today by a foundation that focuses on journalism and the First Amendment found that 51 percent of high-school students questioned had not heard of the day when they are required by law to learn about the Constitution.

The occasion is usually observed on or around Sept. 17, the day the document was adopted in 1787.

Just one in 10 students could remember how his high school marked the day last year, according to the study, paid for by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation in Miami.

Constitution Day was created by Congress in 2004. It was the brainchild of Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., who carries a copy of the Constitution in his pocket. The law requires any school and college receiving federal money to teach about the Constitution on or about Sept. 17.

Providence, R.I.

Former senator leaves the GOP

Former Sen. Lincoln Chafee said he has left the Republican Party because the national GOP has drifted too far from him on critical issues, including the war in Iraq, the economy and the environment.

"It's not my party anymore," Chafee, who represented Rhode Island from 1999 until 2007, told The Providence Journal in an article published Saturday.

Chafee said he is now an unaffiliated voter after leaving the GOP "in June or July."

He said he made the move because "I want my affiliation to accurately reflect my status."

Fawnskin, Calif.

2 raging wildfires force evacuations

Firefighters Sunday were battling two raging wildfires in Southern California that forced nearly 2,000 people to evacuate.

The larger blaze burned 15,433 acres — about 24 square miles — of dense, dry bush in the San Bernardino National Forest and was 12 percent contained. Elsewhere, a 50-acre grass fire in Helena, Mont., destroyed one unoccupied house and a few outbuildings Sunday, and forced the evacuation of about 500 people from a mobile-home park and several other homes, authorities said.

The fire was largely under control by early evening.

Greenville, Ohio

5 perish in fire at apartment

A fire that started in one duplex apartment spread to the other apartment Sunday morning, killing five people, including two children.

A separate house fire in Washington, D.C., killed two other people, authorities said.

Three people died at the scene in Greenville, and a fourth victim — a 5-year-old girl — died after she was taken to the hospital.

At least 10 people were inside the duplex when the fire began just after 9 a.m., said Greg Fraley, the city's mayor.

The fire began in one of the building's two apartments, and then spread, Greenville Fire Capt. Jeff Dohme said.

It was not yet clear what started the blaze.

Meanwhile, a house fire killed a 77-year old woman in Washington, D.C. Her son, who had run back into the burning home in an apparent attempt to rescue her, also died.

Seattle Times news services