2-year-old boy survives for days on cat food

Sacramento

In what police describe as a "miracle," a 2-year-old boy survived on cat food for up to six days on his own and was found Thursday after his mother died in their home.

The child — whom Sacramento County Child Protective Services (CPS) identified as Noah — and his mother were discovered after police forced their way into the home, officials said. A CPS worker had gone to check on the family because the mother suffered from chronic illness. No one answered the door, but the worker heard the child crying inside and called 911.

Police believe the mother had been dead for up to six days and the boy had been eating cat food and other items to survive. The boy is undergoing medical tests and was placed in protective custody.

Boston

Principal stands by pact comments

The principal of a Massachusetts high school who told Time magazine a group of students intentionally got pregnant stood by his comments Thursday, saying his information "was and is accurate."

In his first public statement, Gloucester High School principal Joseph Sullivan said he does not specifically remember using the word "pact" but does not dispute it.

The principal said his only direct source of information was the former nurse practitioner at the health center. He said he also heard "verbal staff reports and student/staff chatter."

Atlanta

Father-in-law guilty in slaying

A Mississippi businessman born in India was convicted Thursday of plotting to have his black daughter-in-law killed weeks after she wed his son because, prosecutors said, he believed she would bring down the family stock.

Prosecutors will seek the death penalty against Chiman Rai, 68, on charges that he masterminded the murder of Sparkle Michelle Rai. The 22-year-old was found strangled with a vacuum cord and stabbed more than a dozen times weeks after her March 2000 wedding to Rai's son, Ricky Rai.

Big Sur, Calif.

Wildfire edges closer to Big Sur

Flames from a huge wildfire burning through a national forest inched toward the scenic tourist town of Big Sur, where firefighters rushed Thursday to protect historic structures and hundreds of homes.

As the lightning-sparked blaze crept closer to California's coastal Highway 1, fire engines stood guard to rustic buildings as smoke and ash drifted over the Pacific Ocean.

Firefighters fortified their lines near populated areas but were letting the fire rage nearly unchecked through steep mountain forests.

The blaze in the Los Padres National Forest was only 3 percent contained and had burned nearly 37 square miles near the coast a mile south of Big Sur, officials said.

St. Louis

Rain keeps people from their homes

Strong Midwestern downpours may force residents to wait even longer to return to homes they evacuated because of fears of flooding, emergency management officials said Thursday.

Parts of northeast Missouri and west-central Illinois got as much as an inch of rainfall overnight Wednesday after powerful downpours the night before. Weather systems rolling across Iowa were expected to produce more rain, the National Weather Service said.

The rain was bringing new river crests and fresh anxiety. As calls for sandbagging slowed in one community, they popped up in another.

Also

Sentenced: Neil Entwistle, convicted of shooting to death his 9-month-old baby and wife as they cuddled together in bed, was sentenced Thursday in Massachusetts to two life prison terms without parole.

Tomatoes: The official toll from salmonella-tainted tomatoes continues to rise, as the government counted 756 confirmed illnesses Thursday.

Fire: American Foam, which sold flammable foam blamed for fueling a 2003 Rhode Island nightclub fire that killed 100 people, has agreed to pay $6.3 million to settle lawsuits from survivors and victims' relatives.

Solar energy: Faced with a surge in the number of proposed solar-power plants, the federal government has placed a moratorium on new solar projects on public land until it studies their environmental impact, which is expected to take about two years.

Seattle Times news service