FORT WORTH, Texas – Residents of some rural southeast Texas counties braced for more flooding along a river that is expected to crest at a record level just two years after it had run dry in places because of drought.
National Weather Service meteorologists predicted that the Brazos river would crest at 53.5 feet by midday Tuesday in Fort Bend County, three feet above the previous record and topping a 1994 flood that caused extensive damage.
During four days of torrential rain, six people have died in floods along the Brazos, which runs from New Mexico to the Gulf of Mexico.
CINCINNATI – The Cincinnati Zoo’s director on Monday defended the decision to kill a gorilla to protect a 4-year-old boy who entered its exhibit, noting it’s easy to second-guess after the child was recovered safely.
The male western lowland gorilla named Harambe was killed Saturday by a special zoo response team that feared for the boy’s safety. Video taken by zoo visitors showed the gorilla at times appeared to be protective of the boy but also dragged him through the shallow moat.
Director Thane Maynard said the gorilla was agitated and disoriented by the commotion during the 10 minutes after the boy fell.
POZZALLO, Sicily – It was the cries of children – and the moment they decided they must save themselves – that haunt the survivors of a shipwreck that claimed hundreds of lives.
Two Eritreans who arrived safely in Sicily told how the sea kept seeping into their rickety fishing boat despite all efforts to bail the water out. Eventually, the sea prevailed.
Between 400 and 550 on their smugglers’ boat didn’t make it, part of the estimated 700 migrants who perished in Mediterranean Sea shipwrecks over three days last week in the deadliest known tally in over a year.
NEW YORK – Nearly 40,000 striking Verizon employees will return to work Wednesday after reaching a tentative contract agreement that includes 1,300 new call center jobs and nearly 11 percent in raises over four years, but also makes health care plan changes to save the company money, the company and unions said Monday. The pact, subject to approval by union members, stands to end one of the largest strikes in the United States in recent years.
The Communications Workers of America and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers unions, which both represent the strikers, called the deal a victory for American workers.
WASHINGTON – The Secret Service says the White House has returned to normal operations after being placed on lockdown early Monday afternoon.
Secret Service spokesman Robert Hoback says someone at about 12:15 p.m. threw a metal object over the north fence along Pennsylvania Avenue and was arrested without incident. Hoback did not identify the person, though a witness saw a woman placed in handcuffs.
Associated Press
