Hospitals Flooded With Flu Patients

U.S. emergency rooms have been overwhelmed with flu patients, turning away some of them and others with non-life-threatening conditions for lack of space.

Forty-one states are battling widespread influenza outbreaks, including Illinois, where six people -- all older than 50 -- have died, according to the state's Department of Public Health.

At least 18 children in the country have died during this flu season, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The proportion of people seeing their doctor for flu-like symptoms jumped to 5.6 percent from 2.8 percent in the past month, according to the CDC.

Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago reported a 20 percent increase in flu patients every day. Northwestern Memorial was one of eight hospitals on bypass Monday and Tuesday, meaning it asked ambulances to take patients elsewhere if they could do so safely.

Dr. Besser's Tips to Protect Yourself From the Flu

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Most of the hospitals have resumed normal operations, but could return to the bypass status if the influx of patients becomes too great.

"Northwestern Memorial Hospital is an extraordinarily busy hospital, and oftentimes during our busier months, in the summer, we will sometimes have to go on bypass," Northwestern Memorial's Dr. David Zich said. "We don't like it, the community doesn't like it, but sometimes it is necessary."

A tent outside Lehigh Valley Hospital in Salisbury Township, Pa., was set up to tend to the overflowing number of flu cases.

A hospital in Ohio is requiring patients with the flu to wear masks to protect those who are not infected.

State health officials in Indiana have reported seven deaths. Five of the deaths occurred in people older than 65 and two younger than 18. The state will release another report later today.

Doctors are especially concerned about the elderly and children, where the flu can be deadly.

"Our office in the last two weeks has exploded with children," Dr. Gayle Smith, a pediatrician in Richmond, Va., said

It is the earliest flu season in a decade and, ABC News Chief Medical Editor Dr. Besser says, it's not too late to protect yourself from the outbreak.

"You have to think about an anti-viral, especially if you're elderly, a young child, a pregnant woman," Besser said.

"They're the people that are going to die from this. Tens of thousands of people die in a bad flu season. We're not taking it serious enough."

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Australian firefighters battle bush blazes, intense heat

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: Federal government steps in with fuel, personnel to help NSW fire effort


• More than 130 fires are burning across NSW during one of the hottest days on record


• 90% of the Australian state is under "severe" or higher fire warnings


• High temperatures and dry conditions have combined to create "dangerous day"

Editor's note: Are you there? Send your stories, images to iReport

(CNN) -- Soaring temperatures and strong winds have combined to create a "catastrophic" fire threat across the southeast Australian state of New South Wales.

Residents have been warned to remain vigilant as temperatures rise towards a predicted high of 43 degrees (109 degrees Fahrenheit) in the state capital of Sydney.

In some areas of the state, winds of more than 70 kilometers an hour (43 mph) were threatening to fan the flames of fires already burning. However, a change in wind direction had caused temperatures in certain parts of the state to fall, offering some relief.

A "catastrophic" fire risk has been declared in four areas of NSW, although the risk across 90% of the state is "severe" or above. A "catastrophic" warning carries the risk of significant loss of life and the destruction of many homes, according to the NSW Rural Fire Service (NSW RFS).

"I cannot say it more plainly: the risk is real and potentially deadly. People need to act now," the service's Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said.

The "catastrophic" fire threat had led many to fear a repeat of "Black Saturday" in 2009, when soaring temperatures and high winds fanned the flames of a series of bushfires across the state of Victoria, leaving 173 people dead and 500 injured, and destroying thousands of homes.

Australia battles bush blazes, intense heat

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On Tuesday afternoon, the Australian government announced that the state fire service would be granted access to Defence Force bases, fuel and personnel as part of the federal government disaster response plan.

Earlier, Prime Minister Julia Gillard warned it was "dangerous" day and urged people to "stay focused."

"The word catastrophic is being used for good reason," Gillard told CNN affiliate the Seven Network.

"It is very important that people keep themselves safe, that they listen to local authorities and local warnings."

Total fire bans were place in the states of NSW, Victoria and across the whole of Tasmania, the southern island state ravaged by fire in recent days.

On Tuesday afternoon, more than 130 fires were burning throughout NSW, with over 40 of those yet to be controlled, according to NSW RFS.

There were no reports of any homes having being destroyed but authorities warned that the dry, hot conditions were expected to stretch into the night.

"It's a long way ahead -- we've got a lot of daylight left and a lot of nighttime left under these conditions," Fitzsimmons said.

Thousands of firefighters were battling blazes on the ground, and more than 40 aircraft and 250 fire trucks had been deployed, a fire service spokeswoman said.

Thousands more firefighters were on standby in high risk areas, including 21 "strike teams," each consisting of five tankers to assist local brigades.

The fire service said it was relying on people to report fires in their areas, but that surveillance flights were also monitoring the landscape for smoke and flames.

Authorities said residents and tourists had responded well to early warnings to abandon properties under threat.

"If you are in a bushfire risk area -- if you are an at risk location, leaving early is the safest option," Fitzsimmons said.

Record high temperatures and the delayed state of the Australian monsoon season have created a tinderbox out of large swathes of bush and scrub land across the state.

The last four months of 2012 were "abnormally hot" across Australia, according to the Australian Bureau of Meterology. Average maximum temperatures were the highest since records began in 1910.

In the first days of the new year, extreme heat contributed to the spread of fires across Tasmania.

Firefighters are still on alert, tackling a number of blazes, as residents who were in the path of the earlier fires returned to the charred rubble of their homes. More than 100 properties were destroyed or damaged, though authorities warn more may be at risk.

Rescue workers are continuing to search for human remains as around 100 people have still not contacted friends or family, according to Tasmania police.

"It's vitally important that all people who were in the area at the time, and are OK, self-register their details with the National Registration and Inquiry Service operated by the Red Cross," said Acting Deputy Commissioner Donna Adams.

Meanwhile, police have charged a 31-year-old man for allegedly causing one of the worst of the fires by leaving a campfire unattended that was not completely extinguished.

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India says two soldiers killed in clash with Pakistan troops

SRINAGAR, India: Pakistani troops killed two Indian soldiers on Tuesday near the tense disputed border between the nuclear-armed neighbours in Kashmir and one of the bodies was badly mutilated, the Indian army said.

The firefight broke out at about noon on Tuesday (0630 GMT) after an Indian patrol discovered Pakistani troops about half a kilometre (1,600 feet) inside Indian territory, an army spokesman told AFP.

A ceasefire has been in place along the Line of Control that divides the countries since 2003, but it is periodically violated by both sides and Pakistan said Indian troops killed a Pakistani soldier on Sunday.

Relations had been slowly improving over the last few years following a rupture in their slow-moving peace process after the 2008 attacks on Mumbai, which were blamed by India on Pakistan-based militants.

"There was a firefight with Pakistani troops," army spokesman Rajesh Kalia told AFP from the mountainous Himalayan region.

"We lost two soldiers and one of them has been badly mutilated," he added, declining to give more details on the injuries.

"The intruders were regular (Pakistani) soldiers and they were 400-500 metres (1,300-1,600 feet) inside our territory," he said of the clash in Mendhar sector, 173 kilometres (107 miles) west by road from the city of Jammu.

In Islamabad, a Pakistan military spokesman denied what he called an "Indian allegation of unprovoked firing". He declined to elaborate.

On Sunday, Pakistan said Indian troops had crossed the Line of Control and stormed a military post. It said one Pakistani soldier was killed and another injured.

It lodged a formal protest with India on Monday over what it called an unprovoked attack.

India denied crossing the line, saying it had retaliated with small arms fire after Pakistani mortars hit a village home.

A foreign ministry spokesman said Indian troops had undertaken "controlled retaliation" on Sunday after "unprovoked firing" which damaged a civilian home.

The deaths are set to undermine recent efforts to improve relations, such as opening up trade and offering more lenient visa regimes which have been a feature of talks between senior political leaders from both sides.

Muslim-majority Kashmir is a Himalayan region which India and Pakistan both claim in full but rule in part. It was the cause of two of three wars between the neighbours since independence from Britain in 1947.

- AFP/fa

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Death of $1 million lottery winner now a murder mystery

Urooj Khan, 46, won $1 million before taxes on an Illinois lottery scratch ticket in June.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Urooj Khan, 46, won $1 million before taxes on an Illinois lottery scratch ticket


• He died suddenly weeks later; authorities first ruled his death "natural"


• Revisiting the case, they found he died of "cyanide toxicity," a medical examiner says


• Chicago police are investigating, but haven't made any arrests

(CNN) -- One day, Urooj Khan literally jumped for joy after scoring a $1 million winner on an Illinois lottery scratch ticket.

The next month, he was dead.

The Cook County medical examiner's office initially ruled Khan's manner of death natural. But after being prompted by a relative, the office revisited the case and eventually determined there was a lethal amount of cyanide in Khan's system.

"That ... led us to issue an amended death certificate that (established) cyanide toxicity as the cause of death, and the manner of death as homicide," Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Steve Cina said Monday.

Why did Khan, an Indian immigrant who was described as a well-liked, hardworking and successful businessman, die? And who is responsible?

Finding that out is now up to the Chicago police. No arrests have been made.

"We are investigating it as a murder, and we're working closely with the medical examiner's office," Chicago police spokeswoman Melissa Stratton said Monday.

On June 26, Khan was all smiles at a 7-Eleven in the Rogers Park section of Chicago. Surrounded by his wife, daughter and friends, he held an oversized $1 million check and recalled his joy upon playing the "$3 million Cash Jackpot!" game, where tickets sell for $30 apiece.

"I scratched the ticket, then I kept saying, 'I hit a million!' over and over again," the 46-year-old Khan said, according to a press release from the Illinois Lottery.

"I jumped two feet in the air, then ran back into the store and tipped the clerk $100."

The plan, he explained, was to use the money for his mortgage, paying off bills, a donation to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and investing more in his dry cleaning businesses.

Related: The problems with winning the lottery

"Winning the lottery means everything to me," Khan said.

He would have to wait a few weeks to collect his actual winnings, which amounted after taxes to about $425,000. According to CNN affiliate WGN, that check was issued July 19, but Khan never got to spend it.

The next night, Khan came home, ate dinner and went to bed, according to an internal police department document obtained by the Chicago Tribune. His family later heard him screaming and took him to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, the paper reported, citing the document.

That's where the Cook County medical examiner's office came in, investigating Khan's death because it was "sudden and unexpected," Cina said.

At the time, there were no allegations of foul play or evidence of trauma. So, following the office's policy, Khan's body underwent what Cina described as an "external examination (and) basic toxicology testing," neither of which turned up anything abnormal.

So the medical examiner ruled that Khan had died of arterial sclerotic cardiovascular disease -- which encompasses incidents like heart attacks, strokes and aortic ruptures -- and that his manner of death was natural, according to Cina.

A few days later, a family member approached the doctor who had examined the body "and said they felt uncomfortable that it was being ruled a natural and they suggested that we look into it further," the chief medical examiner said.

"So we did that," he added. "Forensics is not a static field. If new evidence comes to light, we'll revisit cases."

That meant more in-depth toxicology tests. In early September, new screening results came back indicating cyanide in Khan's blood. With that, the official manner of death was changed from natural to pending, Cina said, and Chicago police got involved.

In late November, a more detailed blood analysis came back showing "a lethal level of cyanide," and Khan's death became a murder case.

Chicago police haven't offered details, including a possible motive, about what they call an "ongoing investigation." Talking briefly with CNN affiliate WBBM and the Tribune, Khan's widow described her husband as kind and exemplary.

Jimmy Goreel, who runs the 7-Eleven where the winning lottery ticket was sold, offered similarly glowing comments about Khan.

"I would never think that anybody ... would hurt him," Goreel told WGN. "(He was a) nice person, very hopeful and gentle (and) very hardworking."

Related: Woman pleads not guilty in death of lottery winner

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Feds issue warning on Fisher-Price infant sleepers

WASHINGTON The government is warning consumers to inspect Fisher-Price Newborn Rock 'N Play Sleepers due to risk of exposure to mold for infants who use them.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission said Tuesday that its warning applies to 800,000 infant recliner seats, called sleepers, that were sold at stores nationwide and online since September 2009, with prices ranging between $50 and $85. The seats, designed for babies up to 25 pounds, feature a soft plastic seat held in a tubular metal rocking frame. The product has a removable fabric cover.

Mold can develop between the removable seat cushion and the hard plastic frame if the sleeper remains wet or is infrequently cleaned, the agency said.

Fisher-Price Newborn Rock 'N Play Sleepers could develop mold if wet.

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CPSC

Mold is associated with respiratory illnesses and other infections, the warning said.

Fisher-Price has received 600 reports of mold and 16 infants have been treated for respiratory issues, coughs and hives after they were in the Fisher-Price sleepers.

The agency said consumers should check for dark brown, gray or black spots that can indicate the presence of mold under the removable seat cushion. If mold is found, they are advised to immediately stop using the product and to contact Fisher-Price for cleaning instructions or further assistance.

Units currently in retail stores are not affected by the warning, but mold growth can occur after use of the infant sleepers.

For information: Call Fisher-Price at (800) 432-5437 Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST, or visit the company's website at service.mattel.com.

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Giffords, Kelly Say 'Enough' to Gun Violence

After she was gravely wounded by gunfire two years ago in Tucson, Ariz., former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, Mark Kelly, imagined a life out of the public eye, where she would continue therapy surrounded by the friends, family and the Arizona desert she loves so much.

Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly Speak Exclusively to Diane Sawyer

But after the slaughter of 20 first-graders and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., last month, Giffords and Kelly knew they couldn't stay silent.

"Enough," Giffords said.

The couple marked the second anniversary of the Tucson shooting by sitting down with Diane Sawyer to discuss their recent visit to Newtown and their new initiative to curb gun violence, "Americans for Responsible Solutions."

"After the shooting in Tucson, there was talk about addressing some of these issues, [and] again after [a movie theater massacre in] Aurora," Colo., Kelly said. "I'm hopeful that this time is different, and I think it is. Twenty first-graders' being murdered in their classrooms is a very personal thing for everybody."

Rep. Gabby Giffords on Meeting Newtown, Conn. Shooting Victims Watch Video

Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly Speak Exclusively to Diane Sawyer Watch Video

Gabrielle Giffords: Pledge of Allegiance at DNC Watch Video

Full Coverage: Gabrielle Giffords

During their trip to Newtown, Giffords and Kelly met with families directly affected by the tragedy.

"[The] first couple that we spoke to, the dad took out his cell phone and showed us a picture of his daughter and I just about lost it, just by looking at the picture," Kelly said. "It was just very tough and it brought back a lot of memories about what that was like for us some two years ago."

Full Coverage: Tragedy in Newtown

"Strength," Giffords said she told the families in Newtown.

"Gabby often told them, 'You got to have strength. You got to fight for something,'" Kelly said.

The innocent faces of the children whose lives were abruptly taken reminded the couple, they said, of 9-year-old Christina-Taylor Green, the youngest victim to die in the Tucson shooting at a Giffords constituent event.

"I think we all need to try to do something about [gun violence]," Kelly said. "It's obvious to everybody we have a problem. And problems can be solved."

Giffords, Kelly Call for 'Common Sense' Solutions

Giffords, 42, and Kelly, 48, are both gun owners and supporters of the 2nd Amendment, but Kelly had strong words for the National Rifle Association after the group suggested the only way to stop gun violence is to have a "good guy with a gun."

There was a good guy with a gun, Kelly said, the day Jared Loughner shot Giffords and 18 other people, six fatally, at her "Congress on Your Corner" event.

"[A man came out] of the store next door and nearly shot the man who took down Jared Loughner," Kelly said. "The one who eventually wrestled [Loughner] to the ground was almost killed himself by a good guy with a gun, so I don't really buy that argument."

Instead, Giffords and Kelly are proposing "common sense" changes through "Americans for Responsible Solutions."

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Depardieu exit causes French storm

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Russian President Vladimir Putin has bestowed Russian citizenship on actor Gérard Depardieu


• For Depardieu, a public war of words erupted, with many in France disgusted by his move


• Depardieu more than anyone, represents the Gallic spirit, says Agnes Poirier


• Majority of French people disapprove of his action but can't help loving him, she adds

Agnes Poirier is a French journalist and political analyst who contributes regularly to newspapers, magazines and TV in the UK, U.S., France, Italy. Follow her on Twitter.

Paris (CNN) -- Since the revelation on the front page of daily newspaper Libération, on December 11, with a particularly vicious editorial talking about France's national treasure as a "former genius actor," Gérard Depardieu's departure to Belgium, where he bought a property just a mile from the French border, has deeply divided and saddened France. Even more so since, as we have learnt this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin has bestowed the actor Russian citizenship.

Back in mid-December, the French media operated along political lines: the left-wing press such as Libération couldn't find strong enough words to describe Depardieu's "desertion" while right-wing publications such as Le Figaro, slightly uneasy at the news, preferred to focus on President François Hollande's punishing taxes which allegedly drove throngs of millionaires to seek tax asylum in more fiscally lenient countries such as Belgium or Britain. Le Figaro stopped short of passing moral judgement though. Others like satirical weekly Charlie hebdo, preferred irony. Its cover featured a cartoon of the rather rotund-looking Depardieu in front of a Belgian flag with the headline: "Can Belgium take the world's entire load of cholesterol?" Ouch.

Quickly though, it became quite clear that Depardieu was not treated in the same way as other famous French tax exiles. French actor Alain Delon is a Swiss resident as is crooner-rocker Johnny Halliday, and many other French stars and sportsmen ensure they reside for under six months in France in order to escape being taxed here on their income and capital. Their move has hardly ever been commented on. And they certainly never had to suffer the same infamy.

Agnes Poirier

For Depardieu, a public war of words erupted. It started with the French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, and many members of his government, showing their disdain, and talking of Depardieu's "pathetic move." In response the outraged actor penned an open letter to the French PM in which he threatened to give back his French passport.

The backlash was not over. Fellow thespian Phillipe Torreton fired the first salvo against Depardieu in an open letter published in Libération, insulting both Depardieu's protruding physique and lack of patriotism: "So you're leaving the ship France in the middle of a storm? What did you expect, Gérard? You thought we would approve? You expected a medal, an academy award from the economy ministry? (...)We'll get by without you." French actress Catherine Deneuve felt she had to step in to defend Depardieu. In another open letter published by Libération, she evoked the darkest hours of the French revolution. Before flying to Rome to celebrate the New Year, Depardieu gave an interview to Le Monde in which he seemed to be joking about having asked Putin for Russian citizenship. Except, it wasn't a joke.

In truth, French people have felt touched to their core by Depardieu's gesture. He, more than anyone, represents the Gallic spirit. He has been Cyrano, he has been Danton; he, better than most, on screen and off, stands for what it means to be French: passionate, sensitive, theatrical, and grandiose. Ambiguous too, and weak in front of temptations and pleasures.

In truth, French people have felt touched to their core by Depardieu's gesture. He, more than anyone, represents the Gallic spirit
Hugh Miles

For more than two weeks now, #Depardieu has been trending on French Twitter. Surveys have showed France's dilemma: half the French people understand him but there are as many who think that paying one's taxes is a national duty. In other words, a majority of French people disapprove of his action but can't help loving the man.

Putin's move in granting the actor Russian citizenship has exacerbated things. And first of all, it is a blow to Hollande who, it was revealed, had a phone conversation with Depardieu on New Year's Day. The Elysées Palace refused to communicate on the men's exchange. A friend of the actor declared that Depardieu complained about being so reviled by the press and that he was leaving, no matter what.

If, in their hearts, the French don't quite believe Depardieu might one day settle in Moscow and abandon them, they feel deeply saddened by the whole saga. However, with France's former sex symbol Brigitte Bardot declaring that she too might ask Putin for Russian citizenship to protest against the fate of zoo elephants in Lyon, it looks as if the French may prefer to laugh the whole thing off. Proof of this: the last trend on French Twitter is #IWantRussianCitizenship.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Agnes Poirier.

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Boom expected in mobile app industry

SINGAPORE: The rising use of mobile applications has been a boon for the industry.

The mobile appplication industry recorded a 68 per cent rise in global sales last year, from US$8.5 billion to US$14.3 billion.

With the growing shipment of tablets and smartphones, experts say sales growth may increase by almost four times by 2017.

Cooliris, a photo sharing and browsing application, has become the top-ranked iPad app in 75 countries.

The application has been installed two million times and there have been 300 million photo views in the past five months.

It has also distinguished itself from over 700,000 applications available in app stores across the iPhone and Android operating system.

For the company that develops Cooliris, the installations have translated to growing revenue, and it expects this growth to continue into 2013.

Meanwhile, its downloads increased by 30 times since it launched a localised version of the app in China through an integration with China's social networking platform Renren last month.

With Asia constituting 30 per cent of Cooliris' downloads, the app developer has plans to grow its presence in markets like China and Japan.

"We do see a better trend in Asia compared to Europe, in terms of engagement and consumers using the application. The affinity for consumers in Asia towards photos has always been higher and we see that translated in the engagements with the app," said Soujanya Bhumkar, CEO of Cooliris.

"The consumers are much more open when it comes to trying new things and in terms of partnership, companies understand the velocity and momentum of a Silicon Valley based startup."

Experts say Asia is fast becoming an important market for mobile application developers.

"China makes up 50 per cent of all installed base of users in Asia when we look at the smartphone market. It's really Asia where the high growth of devices and the access to app stores and apps is coming from. Also currently, Asia is where people do have money to spend," said Rachel Lashford, managing director at Canalys.

The number of smartphone users in China is growing to over 300 million.

This growth momentum has prompted more industry players to focus on Asia to expand.

Jake Saunders from ABI Research said: "We see the Asia Pacific market being the fastest growing and this is just simply due to adoption rates of people adopting and upgrading their smartphones, growth in population so for total application downloads, we're looking at from 9 billion to 70 billion downloads in 2017."

Looking ahead, experts say start-up developers will find it harder to survive in the industry.

They will have to look for more creative ways to monetise their products and beat the growing competition from free downloads.

- CNA/xq

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Terror expert picked for nation's spy chief

By CNN Staff

updated 9:37 AM EST, Mon January 7, 2013

John Brennan has been assistant to the president for counterterrorism and homeland security since 2009.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: Obama will announce John Brennan's nomination at 1 p.m. Monday, an official says


• He will nominate Brennan, his chief counterterrorism adviser, to head the CIA


• A list of White House talking points notes that Brennan has no party affiliation


• He has been White House counterterrorism and homeland security adviser since 2009

Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama will nominate John Brennan, his chief counterterrorism adviser, to be the next director of the CIA, a senior administration official said Monday.

Brennan, 57, has served as assistant to the president for counterterrorism and homeland security since 2009.

Obama's announcement of Brennan's nomination to the CIA post will occur at 1 p.m. Monday, along with the nomination of former Sen. Chuck Hagel to be the next secretary of defense, another senior administration official said.

If the Senate confirms the nomination, Brennan will replace retired Gen. David Petraeus, who stepped down from his job as CIA director in November amid revelations that he had engaged in an extramarital affair with his biographer.

Michael Morell, a career intelligence officer who was serving as the spy agency's deputy director, has been acting CIA director since Petraeus' resignation.

Petraeus resigned on November 9 amid an FBI investigation into whether his biographer, Paula Broadwell, had inappropriate access to classified information.

A list of White House talking points obtained by CNN describes Brennan as a close adviser to the president who has led efforts to target al Qaeda's leadership.

Brennan also has a deep understanding the CIA, where he worked for decades, the talking points say. "He has no party affiliation, and has worked around the clock to protect our country."

Returning to the Central Intelligence Agency would be a homecoming of sorts for Brennan, who spent 25 years there distinguishing himself as a Mideast and terrorism expert.

Brennan has shaped the White House's strategy to aggressively pursue suspected terrorists -- dramatically escalating the use of armed unmanned aircraft, often referred to as drones -- and to kill them in the ungoverned territories of Pakistan and in Yemen.

He was also intimately involved in the run-up to the raid on the Osama bin Laden compound in May 2011.

CNN's John Berman, Pam Benson and Jill Dougherty contributed to this report.

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Shell oil-drilling ship under tow again

ANCHORAGE, Alaska A Shell oil-drilling ship that ran aground near a remote Alaska island is under tow again.

The Unified Command for the operation in Anchorage says the Kulluk is being towed at about 5 mph to shelter in Kodiak Island's Kiliuda Bay.

Officials won't estimate its arrival because of weather conditions early Monday — winds of about 18 mph and 15-foot ocean swells.

There's a salvage crew of 10 people on board and one Royal Dutch Shell representative.

The Kulluk was refloated late Sunday from rocks.

The oil drilling vessel, which has no engines of its own, was being towed for maintenance when it ran aground during a powerful storm on New Year's Eve.

The Kulluk is a circular barge 266 feet in diameter with a funnel-shaped, reinforced steel hull that enables it to operate in ice. One of two Shell ships that drilled last year in the Arctic Ocean, it has a 160-foot derrick rising from its center and no propulsion system of its own.

Shell has reported superficial damage above the deck and seawater within that entered through open hatches. Water has knocked out regular and emergency generators, but portable generators were put on board late last week.

Officials said that, so far, there's no sign the hull of the Kulluk has been breached or that oil has spilled from the vessel. It is carrying more than 140,000 gallons of diesel and about 12,000 gallons of lube oil and hydraulic fluid.

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