Friday,  August 3, 2012 • Vol. 13--No. 020 • 30 of 33 •  Other Editions

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'There was blood everywhere:' 1 killed, dozens injured after Megabus crashes in Illinois

• LITCHFIELD, Ill. (AP) -- As a Megabus slammed into a bridge support pillar on an interstate highway in Illinois, the impact was so powerful that it flung 16-year-old passenger Baysha Collins from the upper-level seat where she was resting to a stairway leading to the lower level.
• From there, she heard moaning from her fellow passengers on the double-decker bus, the front end of which was so mangled from the collision that emergency crews had to use ladders to rescue those trapped inside. At least one passenger was killed and dozens of others were hospitalized following the Thursday crash, authorities said.

• "There was a lot of screaming and crying," said Collins, of Minneapolis, who was on her way to St. Louis to visit relatives. "There was blood everywhere. I was just in shock."
• Aditi R. Avhad, 25, a native of India, was killed in the crash, Illinois State Police Trooper Brad Lemarr said late Thursday. Lemarr said she was headed to Columbia, Mo., but he didn't know where she was currently living or from where she was traveling. Authorities also did not know where she was seated on the bus.
• At least 38 people -- nearly half of those on the bus -- were taken to hospitals or trauma centers, at least five who were transported by helicopter, Trooper Doug Francis said.
• ___

TJ Jackson steps up from relative obscurity as co-guardian of Michael's children

• LOS ANGELES (AP) -- TJ Jackson was one of Michael Jackson's favorite nephews. An heir to the family's musical talent and striking good looks, he is the son of Tito, one of the original Jackson Five. Largely unknown to the American public until now, he has been anointed as co-guardian of Michael's most prized treasures -- his three children.
• Suddenly, TJ is the chosen Jackson, the one designated to work beside Michael's mother to look after the welfare of his three cousins Prince, 15, Paris, 14 and Blanket,10, who will inherit the King of Pop's fortune.

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