Mississippi River Boat Stranded on Sand Bar

The Mississippi Queen, a replica of the 19th-Century paddle-wheel boats that plied the Mississippi River, ran aground on a sand bar for two hours today. The river boat, carrying about 400 passengers, lodged on a sand bar at a particularly tricky area in the drought-shrunken Mississippi 50 miles north of Memphis at 6 a.m. and was refloated with assistance two hours later.