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Disasters

Memorial for Columbia astronauts

Live from the Johnson Space Center in Houston, coverage of the memorial service for the seven astronauts killed as their space shuttle Columbia disintegrated upon re-entry on Saturday.

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Bush leads mourning at memorial for fallen astronauts

Thousands of people, led by President Bush, gathered in grief at the home of NASA's Mission Control Tuesday to honor the seven men and women who perished in the Columbia space shuttle disaster. Bush took a message to the astronauts' families: Their sacrifice was not in vain; America's space exploration will go on.

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The space shuttle Columbia aftermath

Live coverage of press briefings from NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. on the investigation into the cause of Saturday's Columbia disaster. National Public Radio's Neal Conan and Joe Palca host. NASA engineers are trying to determine how space shuttle Columbia broke apart during re-entry. They say conditions in the shuttle's final minutes point to a possible problem with its critical heat-protection tiles. NASA says new evidence shows that the temperature on Columbia's left side shot up and the ship was buffeted by greater wind resistance before it disintegrated over Texas, killing all seven astronauts aboard.

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Peshtigo: a tornado of fire revisited

You've heard of the Chicago Fire, back in 1871. Unless you are from Wisconsin, you probably haven't heard of another fire, the same night, that killed more than five times as many people. The Peshtigo Fire, near Green Bay, Wisconsin, was the worst in U.S. history. Two new books bring it to life.

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Survivors of hell

After the fire, shocked and badly burned survivors searched for their families. In this excerpt from Firestorm at Peshtigo, by Denise Gess and William Lutz, one survivor tells his devastating tale.

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Saved by the river

Peshtigo's Catholic priest, Rev. Peter Pernin, wrote a dramatic account of the 1871 fire. He hoped it would help raise money to rebuild the town. In this passage, Pernin describes how he and others survive by throwing themselves in the Peshtigo River.

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A firefighter's view

Father Peter Pernin rushed to the Peshtigo River, dragging a cart loaded with a wooden tabernacle containing the Holy Eucharist. In this excerpt from Ghosts of the Fireground, author Peter Leschak describes what it must have been like for the priest as he tried to save himself and the instruments of his faith.

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Wellstone colleagues join thousands for Minnesota memorial

An event that began as a poignant farewell to the late Sen. Paul Wellstone Tuesday evening culminated in a furious series of partisan speeches, with Wellstone's family and friends exhorting supporters to help his ballot replacement to victory next week.

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Fire destroys historic Stillwater prison

A landmark structure at the site of Minnesota's oldest prison crumbled in a spectacular blaze of flames Tuesday night.

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Drought grips parts of Minnesota

Most of Minnesota has had plenty of rain this summer, some areas have had way too much. But the southwest corner of the state is dry. Some areas are as much as five inches below normal rainfall for the year and that's hurting crops.

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