Digest
|
Version 0 of 1. Widespread flooding in Louisiana and Mississippi has damaged thousands of homes and the risk of more flooding played out Sunday as rain-filled rivers rose over banks. In Louisiana, emergency officials said more than 4,958 homes were damaged. That number is expected to rise as more reports come in from areas still battling floodwater. Mississippi reported that 185 homes were damaged by floodwater and about 650 homes sustained minor damage. Louisiana Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser said he was worried that many flood victims don’t have flood insurance. Downpours — part of a system affecting Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee and Alabama — have submerged roads and cars, washed out bridges and forced residents to flee homes. At least three people have died in Louisiana, authorities said. On Sunday, Mississippi officials said they were still looking for two missing fishermen, but had no reports of injuries or deaths there. Meanwhile, a storm brought strong winds, periods of heavy rain, snow and high surf to California on Sunday, the fourth day of wet weather that has prompted road and school closures and left an officer injured. Dry conditions and warmer weather are forecast for Monday. A California Highway Patrol officer was in serious but stable condition Sunday after being struck by an out-of-control vehicle as he provided traffic control in snowy conditions on a portion of Interstate 80 near Donner Summit, the CHP Truckee office said. In counties north of San Francisco, rivers swelled and the flood risk was high. About 8½ inches of rain fell during a 72-hour period in the unincorporated town of Venado in Sonoma County. — Associated Press The body of a second tugboat crew member who disappeared after the boat crashed into a barge on the Hudson River north of New York City has been pulled from the river, authorities said Sunday. The 90-foot tugboat named Specialist hit a barge early Saturday near where the new Tappan Zee Bridge, which connects two counties north of New York City, is being built. The tugboat sank, spilling about 5,000 gallons of fuel into the water. The body has been identified as that of Timothy Conklin, 29, of Long Island. The body was brought back to shore after divers found it inside the tugboat about 11 a.m. Sunday. The third crew member aboard the tugboat when it crashed has been identified as Harry Hernandez, 56, of Staten Island. He remains missing. The body of Paul Amon, 62, of Bayville, N.J., was pulled from the water Saturday. Divers were expected to resume the search later Sunday, Westchester County police spokesman Kieran O’Leary said. The tugboat was damaged to the point that a full search was not possible, he added. — Associated Press One of two teenage girls accused of trying to kill a classmate near Milwaukee to appease the online fictional character Slender Man is being treated at a state mental hospital, the girl’s attorney said. A judge committed the 13-year-old to the hospital in January, the Journal Sentinel of Milwaukee reported Sunday. The girl had been diagnosed with early onset schizophrenia during a court-ordered competency evaluation in 2014. “She’s made substantial progress,” said the girl’s attorney, Anthony Cotton, adding that she recently began expressing remorse. “She’s starting to feel regular and normal emotions now.” Cotton plans to again ask that the girl’s $500,000 bail be reduced to a signature bond, which would allow her to return home and continue receiving treatment while awaiting trial. The other girl is being held at a West Bend juvenile jail. The two girls are charged with attempted first-degree intentional homicide in the May 2014 attack on Payton Leutner. — Associated Press Ethel Kennedy leads farmworkers protest in Fla.: Hundreds of protesters, many of them farmworkers led by Ethel Kennedy, demonstrated near the home of Wendy’s fast food chain’s chairman in hopes of convincing the company to pay a penny-per-pound fee for its tomatoes to supplement some farmworkers’ wages. The Palm Beach Post reported that the Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ march near billionaire Nelson Peltz’s home was peaceful Saturday. A federal judge had ruled that the coalition could use loudspeakers but said marchers must remain on the sidewalk. Kennedy, the 87-year-old widow of senator Robert F. Kennedy, led the charge onto the barrier island where protesters held signs to boycott the chain and some acted out a skit. Tomato harvesters make an average of about $10,000 during the six-month season, earning 50 cents for every 32-pound basket they fill. The coalition says the program can add $20 to $150 to their weekly checks. — Associated Press |