Former Interior Secretary Udall dies at age 90
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Stewart Udall, an elder in a famed political family who led the Interior Department as it promoted an expansion of public lands and helped win passage of major environmental laws, has died at the age of 90. During his 1961-1968 tenure as interior secretary, Udall sowed the seeds of the modern environmental movement. He later became a crusader for victims of radiation exposure from the government's Cold War nuclear programs.
Fargo's fight against flooding nears its climax
FARGO, N.D. (AP) — A weeklong fight against flooding neared its climax in Fargo on Sunday, with miles of sandbags and clay dikes expected to hold back the bloated Red River at its crest with room to spare. City officials and residents were on the brink of declaring victory and ready to move out of flood fighting mode. They hoped for mostly dry weather to speed the river's fall by week's end. The forecast was cooperating, with only a small chance of rain in sight on Tuesday evening.
Police: Boy, 16, made racial comment at NJ Walmart
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) — A 16-year-old boy who police said made an announcement at Walmart ordering all black people in a southern New Jersey store to leave was charged with harassment and bias intimidation, authorities said Saturday. The boy, whose name is not being released because he is a juvenile, grabbed one of the courtesy phones at Walmart's Washington Township store Sunday evening and calmly announced: "Attention, Walmart customers: All black people, leave the store now," police said.
2 Baltimore officers shot during traffic stop
BALTIMORE (AP) — Baltimore police say two officers have been shot during a traffic stop and they are in serious but stable condition. The suspected shooter was killed by return fire. Spokesman Anthony Guglielmi (goo-lee-EHL'-mee) says the shooting happened about 12:21 a.m. Sunday.
3 deaths reported as snow storm strikes Plains
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — A powerful storm began blowing through Oklahoma and the southern Plains on the first day of spring Saturday, bringing heavy snow and strong winds a day after temperatures reached into the 70s. Forecasters said gusts of up to 40 mph could create drifts of blowing snow and blizzard conditions in what the National Weather Service called "a potentially life-threatening" storm. Authorities attributed at least three deaths in three states to the weather.
New threat puts Calif. police on heightened alert
HEMET, Calif. (AP) — The tense atmosphere surrounding a California police department plagued by booby trap attacks has been stepped up a notch following the latest threat against officers. Someone called 911 at about 5:45 p.m. Friday saying a police car would be blown up in the Hemet-San Jacinto area in the next 24 to 48 hours, Hemet Police Chief Richard Dana said.
Thousands rally to pull troops from 2 war zones
WASHINGTON (AP) — Thousands of protesters — many directing their anger squarely at President Barack Obama — marched through the nation's capital Saturday to urge immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. At least eight people, including activist Cindy Sheehan, were arrested by U.S. Park Police at the end of the march, after laying coffins at a fence outside the White House. Friday marked the seventh anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
Black support high for Obama's race-neutral stance
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — In this banking center walloped by the Great Recession, where unemployment just hit a 20-year high and as many as one in three black people are out of work, blacks could easily be frustrated with President Barack Obama's insistence that a rising economic tide for all will lift African-American boats. Yet despite surging discontent among some black advocates over Obama's refusal to specifically target rising black unemployment, it's hard to find average black folks here who disagree with the president's approach.
Struggling town turns out to bury fallen soldier
COLUMBIA FALLS, Mont. (AP) — Residents from the small communities just outside the mountains of Glacier National Park buried one of their own Saturday, a young soldier from Hungry Horse killed by Afghan insurgents earlier this month. Nicholas Cook is just the eighth soldier from Montana to be killed in Afghanistan, and the Army private's death has received a huge deal of attention across the state. About 300 people gathered for the funeral in Columbia Falls — a nearby town big enough to have a church to fit all those who turned out — including Gov. Brian Schweitzer and Sen. John Tester.
3 killed after small planes collide over Fla.
WILLISTON, Fla. (AP) — A single-engine plane and a kit-built aircraft collided in clear, sunny skies Saturday over central Florida, killing three people, authorities said. A Williston woman who thought she heard a gunshot discovered the kit-built plane upside down in a field near her house and called authorities, Levy Sheriff's Office Capt. Evan Sullivan. When emergency responders arrived, they found a second plane engulfed in flames in a dense wooded area several hundred yards away.
