Hello! I'm Kristin Volk on this Thursday, August 16, 2007 with a UPI Headline Update.
More than three hundred people are dead following a major earthquake in southern Peru last night. Another one thousand are injured. The 7.9 quake centered 90 miles south of Lima and was felt for two minutes. But more than 100 hundred aftershocks were reported. The quake prompted tsunami warnings but they were later canceled.
Tropical storm Dean is gaining strength to become the first Atlantic hurricane of 2007. It's headed for the Caribbean with winds of 75 miles per hour. That's enough to make it a category one hurricane. It's expected to strengthen and reach islands like St. Lucia, Dominica and Martinique tomorrow morning.
Rescuers at a coal mine collapse in Utah are starting to drill a fourth hole after underground listening devices detected an unknown noise. Officials say it's not certain whether the sound was significant. The noise lasted for about five minutes, stopped and has not been detected since. Six miners have been trapped for ten days in a collapsed mine in Huntington, Utah.
The suicide rate among U.S. soldiers is reportedly the highest it's been in 26 years. Ninety-nine soldiers killed themselves last year. Iraq was the most common deployment location for soldiers who either attempted or committed suicide. Failed personal relationships, legal and financial problems and the stress of their jobs were reportedly factors motivating the soldiers to kill themselves.
That's all for now. Check out our wrap-up from the White House tomorrow on upi.com. Thanks for watching!
