Tornadoes strike Nebraska, Oklahoma
OKLAHOMA CITY – A storm that produced tornadoes across parts of southwestern Oklahoma bore down on suburban Oklahoma City during the evening rush hour Wednesday, and forecasters declared a tornado emergency for suburban Moore, which was hit hard two years ago.
Forecasters had warned that severe storms could hit much of Tornado Alley. Twisters were also reported in Kansas and Nebraska.
National Weather Service meteorologist Angela Pfannkuch said the rural town of Roseland, Nebraska, near Grand Island, was hit at 4:22 p.m. Wednesday.
Baltimore mayor seeks U.S. probe
BALTIMORE – Baltimore’s mayor was emphatic last week: She did not want federal oversight of her police department.
But it was hard to find any opposition Wednesday after Stephanie Rawlings-Blake changed course and asked the U.S. Justice Department to launch a broad civil rights investigation that could eventually force the city to make changes under the oversight of an outside monitor.
The Democratic mayor now says she’ll accept outside intervention to rebuild public trust in a city torn by riots over the death of Freddie Gray, a black man who suffered a fatal spinal injury in police custody.
Netanyahu forms new coalition government
JERUSALEM – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday completed the formation of a new coalition government, reaching a last-minute deal with a nationalist party just before a midnight deadline.
The late-night deal saved Netanyahu from the unthinkable scenario of being forced from office. But it set the stage for the formation of a narrow coalition dominated by hard-line and religious parties that appears to be on a collision course with the U.S. and other allies.
Kerry asks Saudis to pause Yemen war
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry sought to secure a pause in Yemen’s war as he arrived in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday to meet with the king and other top officials, citing increased shortages of food, fuel and medicine that are adding to a crisis that already has neighboring countries bracing for a mass exodus of refugees.
He was to hold further talks Thursday.
At a news conference in Djibouti, a nearby African nation that he visited on his way to the kingdom, Kerry said the United States was deeply concerned by the worsening humanitarian conditions in Yemen.
Associated Press
