Nation briefs 3/3/08

Oil spill to cost ship's owners $2 million

SAN FRANCISCO -- Agents for the owner of a cargo ship that dumped oil into San Francisco Bay have agreed to pay $2 million to the city of San Francisco. City Attorney Dennis Herrera said the agreement, announced Sunday, was an "initial payment" to cover some cleanup costs after the November crash, not a final settlement. Thousands of birds died, beaches closed and the crabbing season was delayed after the 900-foot Cosco Busan sideswiped the Bay Bridge. The crash cut a gash in the hull, and 54,000 gallons of oil were spilled.

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Third person dies after collision at Fla. airfield

TITUSVILLE, Fla. -- A third person has died after a fiery plane collision at a Florida airfield, the National Transportation Safety Board said Sunday. A fourth person remains in critical condition, NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson said. A chapter of the Experimental Aircraft Association was holding a pancake breakfast when the crash occurred Saturday. A witness provided a video to investigators, and NTSB officials will review it today, Knudson said.

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Coast Guard evacuates 2 passengers from ship

MIAMI -- The Coast Guard in Miami says it has plucked two ailing passengers from a cruise ship that was south of Cuba. Coast Guard officials say the 88-year-old man and 80-year-old woman were airlifted from the Holland America cruise ship Westerdam when the ship was about 80 miles south of the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay. Officials say a Coast Guard helicopter crew hoisted the two passengers late Friday. The man was taken to the Guantanamo Bay hospital and the woman was flown to a hospital in Miami. A spokesman for the Holland America Line is declining to comment.

-- From wire reports