NATION IN BRIEF : KENTUCKY : Trucker Tells Court of Fiery Bus Crash

A truck driver testified a pickup driven by an alleged drunk driver missed his vehicle while going the wrong way on an interstate highway before slamming into a church bus, killing 27 people in May, 1988. James Thom, a truck driver from St. Charles, Ill., said the bus was “blazing furiously” soon after it was struck by Larry Mahoney’s pickup. Thom, testifying during the third day of Mahoney’s trial in Carrollton, said he snatched some of the children from the burning bus amid “a constant barrage of screams.” Mahoney, 36, is charged with 27 counts of murder in the case. He also is charged with 12 counts of first-degree assault, 42 counts of wanton endangerment and one count of drunk driving.