One dies, dozens hurt as bus overturns in Houston

Houston

A chartered bus from Mexico veered off a Texas highway early Wednesday and overturned, killing one passenger and injuring dozens of others, at least six of them critically, authorities said.

The bus from Monterrey, Mexico, was headed to Houston when it crashed south of Victoria, authorities said.

"Driver fatigue is one of the factors under investigation," said Tom Vinger, spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety.

The bus was operated by Capricorn Bus Lines of Houston. Francisca Flores, manager of the family-owned company, said 47 people had been on the bus. Twenty passengers remained hospitalized Wednesday night.

Also Wednesday, a Greyhound bus collided with a tractor-trailer near Henderson, N.C., and about 50 people were taken to hospitals, Highway Patrol officials said.

San Francisco

Zoo set to reopen after tiger attack

The director of the San Francisco Zoo brushed off criticism Wednesday that two victims were denied help in the frantic moments after a fatal Christmas Day tiger attack, saying his employees acted heroically.

Meanwhile, authorities said they had discovered an empty vodka bottle in the vehicle the victims drove to the zoo and were investigating whether alcohol had played a role in the attack.

The zoo is set to open today for the first time since the tiger killed a teenager and injured his two friends, brothers ages 19 and 23. This week, an attorney for the survivors, Mark Geragos, said zoo officials were slow in responding to the tiger's escape.

Laurel, Md.

Escaped inmate dies in shootout

An inmate who escaped from a hospital Wednesday, briefly taking a worker hostage and stealing two getaway cars, was cornered hours later in a cemetery and killed in a shootout, authorities said.

Kelvin Poke, 45, overpowered guards at Laurel Regional Hospital and fired shots before fleeing, authorities said. Outside, he carjacked a vehicle and drove away, dumping the driver, a Maryland State Police spokesman said.

Officers later tailed a different vehicle into a cemetery, Poke got out and fired at police, who shot back, police said.

Seattle Times news services