Missouri
Midwestern river cities brace for floodwaters
CLARKSVILLE, Mo. – The fast-rising Mississippi River was making travel difficult Saturday, both on the river and for those simply trying to get across it.
The Mississippi, Missouri and other Midwestern rivers in at least six states have surged since torrential rains drenched the region in the last few days. At least two deaths are blamed on flash flooding and a third was suspected, while crews in Indiana were searching for a man whose car was swept away.
The National Weather Service predicted what it characterizes as “major” flooding on the Mississippi from the Quad Cities through just north of St. Louis by this weekend, with similar projections further south into early next week. Some smaller rivers are expected to see record flooding.
Florida
State joins others suing BP over oil spill
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The state of Florida filed a lawsuit Saturday against oil company BP and cement contractor Halliburton over the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, becoming the fourth state to seek damages for the 2010 disaster.
The suit, among other things, faults BP for not changing the batteries on the rig’s blowout preventer. Halliburton was blamed for installing faulty cement barriers that were supposed to gird the well against oil pressure.
The 40-page complaint by Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi was filed in U.S. District Court in Panama City. The federal court has jurisdiction under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990.
Bondi filed suit on the three-year anniversary of the tragedy that killed 11 rig workers in the Gulf of Mexico. Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi also have sued BP.
Illinois
FBI: Man tried to join al-Qaida-linked group
CHICAGO – A suburban Chicago teenager has been arrested on terrorism-related charges and accused of seeking to join an al-Qaida-affiliated group in war-torn Syria, the FBI announced Saturday.
Abdella Ahmad Tounisi, 18, was arrested Friday night as he attempted to board a flight from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport to Turkey, which borders Syria, the FBI said.
The head of the FBI office in Chicago, Cory B. Nelson, said in a statement announcing the arrest that there are no links between Tounisi’s case and the bombings at the Boston Marathon earlier in the week.
Tounisi, a U.S. citizen from Aurora, Ill., is charged with one count of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. If convicted, he faces a maximum 15-year prison term.
Washington, D.C.
World finance leaders issue sober assessment
WASHINGTON – World finance leaders Saturday issued a somber assessment of the global economy, saying the recovery remains uneven with growth and jobs in short supply.
The steering committee for the 188-nation International Monetary Fund issued a final communique that called for decisive action to bolster growth. However, the major economies remained at odds about the best mix of policies to pursue.
“An uneven recovery is emerging, but growth and job creation are still too weak. New risks are arising while several old risks remain,” the IMF group said.
“The commodity that is in shorter supply now is confidence,” Tharman Shanmugaratnam, chairman of the IMF panel and Singapore’s finance minister, told reporters. “We need to regenerate optimism and confidence.”
Associated Press
