Amid U.S. Midwest flooding, residents in Missouri, Kansas rush to fill sandbags
Floodwaters that devastated swaths of Nebraska and Iowa rolled downstream along America’s longest river on Thursday, swamping more Midwestern farmland as waterfront communities in Missouri and Kansas hurried to shore up strained levees.
New Mexico compound suspects plead not guilty, targeted as Muslims: lawyers
Five people arrested last August at a New Mexico compound where the body of a toddler was found pleaded not guilty on Thursday to federal terrorism charges their lawyers say were brought largely because they are Muslims.
U.S. immigration arrests fall under Trump as resources shift to the border
U.S. immigration arrests fell under President Donald Trump at the end of 2018 compared to the same period a year earlier, a drop authorities attributed to a growing need to deal with “alarming rates” of migrant families at the border.
Trump signs executive ‘free speech’ order for U.S. colleges
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order linking “free speech” efforts at public universities to federal grants in an effort to combat what he considers a clamp down on conservative students’ abilities to share their views.
Man charged with sending bombs to Trump critics pleads guilty
A Florida man pleaded guilty on Thursday to using weapons of mass destruction and other crimes in connection with mailing explosives to prominent Democrats and other critics of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Climate change’s fingerprints are on U.S. Midwest floods: scientists
Climate change played a hand in the deadly floods in the U.S. upper Midwest that have damaged crops and drowned livestock, scientists said on Thursday, while a Trump administration official said more homework was needed before making that link.
Missouri governor declares state of emergency amid rising floodwaters in Midwestern U.S.
Missouri’s governor declared a state of emergency on Thursday as floodwaters that left a swath of destruction across Nebraska and Iowa surged downstream, swamping small towns, roads and farmland in the U.S Midwest.
Houston suburbs lift travel restrictions imposed after petrochemical fire
Two Houston-area cities told residents to stay indoors and closed schools on Thursday due to air pollution from a petrochemical plant fire, then lifted the travel restrictions after airborne levels of the chemicals abated.
Wisconsin judge blocks Republican-backed laws curbing Democratic governor’s powers
A Wisconsin judge on Thursday blocked legislation passed by Republican lawmakers during a December lame-duck session intended to curb the powers of newly elected Democratic Governor Tony Evers, calling the measures unconstitutionally approved.
Pastor convicted of hacking, insider trading gets five years prison: NY judge
A former hedge fund manager who also worked as a pastor was sentenced on Thursday to five years in prison after being convicted of insider trading on non-public corporate press releases stolen by computer hackers.
