North Carolina

Seven teens killed during police chase

A car trying to outrun a police officer ran off a road and crashed early Monday, killing all seven teenagers inside, the Highway Patrol said.

The driver was identified as a 15-year-old, and the father of one of the victims said none of the teens had licenses and the group had been borrowing cars for joyrides.

A police officer from Troutman began chasing the car after seeing the 2001 Dodge Intrepid weaving in its lane, the patrol said.

“They passed us going 85 to 100 miles an hour with the police car passing us,” said a witness, Brandon Jackson.

Troutman Police Chief Eric Henderson said Officer Keith Bills chased the car for about a mile until it flipped over after hitting an embankment, crashed into a tree and then skidded to a stop upside down in a creek.

New Hampshire

Parental notification law ruled unconstitutional

A federal judge Monday declared unconstitutional a state law that would have required parental notice before a minor could get an abortion.

The ruling came two days before the law was to take effect.

U.S. District Judge Joseph DiClerico said the measure did not adequately address cases in which a girl might need an immediate abortion to protect her health.

Republican Gov. Craig Benson and other supporters of the measure said they would either appeal or rewrite the law.

The law would have required abortion providers to notify at least one parent at least 48 hours before performing an abortion on a minor. Approval from the parent would not be necessary.

A girl could instead ask a judge for permission, which the judge would have to grant if the girl was mature enough or the abortion was deemed to be in her best interest.

Similar laws have been struck down in other states.

Washington, D.C.

Rising ocean salinity omen of climate change

Tropical oceans have become considerably saltier over the past 40 years while oceans around Earth’s poles have become less so — changes that could signal major changes in the planet’s weather patterns in the years to come.

A study in the Dec. 18 issue of the journal Nature found the changes to be greater than scientists had expected, and possibly more worrisome. Many of Earth’s basic weather patterns are determined by the oceans, which contain 96 percent of the planet’s water.

The level of saltiness of the North Atlantic, for instance, determines the speed at which the ocean conveyor — a deep-water flow that helps drive ocean circulation systems and moderates temperatures in northern Europe — pushes water around the ocean.

The observed increase in saltiness in tropical oceans suggests that higher temperatures are causing greater evaporation, the researchers said, while the drop in saltiness around the poles could be caused by melting of the freshwater icecaps.

Utah

Wind blamed in crash of motor home

Investigators said powerful winds may have caused a motor home to crash off a highway bridge near Draper, killing six family members and injuring four.

The victims included the mother and father and four of their children. One of the victims was an infant, and the others were 7, 6 and 4. Four others were injured, including a 12-year-old who is in critical condition.

It is not known why the vehicle left the road, but investigators said high winds from a snowstorm might have been a factor. Investigators had initially ruled out weather conditions as a cause, but the wind re-emerged as a focal point Monday.