Iowa, Mississippi begin to fall
IOWA CITY, Iowa, June 16 (UPI) -- Officials of cities along the Iowa and Mississippi rivers breathed a little easier Monday as the rivers retreated from their crests well above flood stage.
As water levels fell in Cedar Rapids, the city's much-criticized efforts to allow residents back into their homes ended Monday because officials said too many neighborhoods remained unsafe, the Des Moines Register reported. Police said inspectors found too many gas leaks and other dangers in flooded neighborhoods.
Area bridges were being inspected for safety, said Dave Koch, a city spokesman.
In Iowa City, home to the University of Iowa, 16 buildings on campus were flooded. Classes were suspended after at least 8 feet of water flooded the campus.
The National Guard has been called in to help several cities fortify their levees along the Mississippi with sandbags.
Iowa Gov. Chet Culver said about 36,000 Iowans were homeless because of the flood and declared 83 of the state's 99 counties disaster areas.
Cities along the Mississippi River from Iowa to Illinois watched the swollen river flood downtowns and cause traffic to be rerouted, the Moline (Ill.) Dispatch said.
Rock Island, Ill., officials monitoring the Rock River said that waterway seems to have calmed down.
The Mississippi crested between 5 feet and 6 feet above flood stage in several communities, including Rock Island, LeClaire and Keithsburg.
Nunn may be open to Dem VP run
WASHINGTON, June 16 (UPI) -- Former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn, D-Ga., has emerged as a real possibility as a running mate for likely Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama, sources say.
Obama, D-Ill., has been good friends with Nunn since he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2005 and they share a passion for seeking an end to nuclear arms proliferation, The Boston Globe reported Monday, adding that interviews with current and former government officials who know them say a pairing of the two is a real possibility.
Nunn, 69, served as a U.S. senator for Georgia for 24 years, amassing a record as a military expert who voted moderately on social issues but has always dismissed talk of vice presidential ambitions. Now, however, Nunn may be more open to run after endorsing Obama this year, the Globe said.
"(Nunn) sounds like he may be more open to it," Arnold Punaro, a retired Marine Corps general who served on his Senate staff, told the newspaper. "He has never before endorsed anybody. That was a surprise to me."
Unnamed sources said Nunn appeared more prepared to accept a vice presidential offer this time, which could help Obama's perceived lack of depth on national security.
Court to hear case to sue Cabinet officers
WASHINGTON, June 16 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to decide when a Cabinet member or other federal officials may be sued for a subordinates' violations of constitutional rights.
The issue arises from a lawsuit against former U.S. Attorney General John D. Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller, among others, based on actions others took during the capture of men of Arab descent or identified with as a Muslim, following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Scotusblog.com reported.
Ashcroft et al. vs. Iqbal doesn't challenge the roundup but the conditions in the federal facility in New York where many detainees were held.
The court also agreed to define the scope of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' duty to give a veteran full notice of information needed to determine a benefits claim.
In a third case the justices agreed to hear, the court will decide whether it is unconstitutional for a state to bar private damages claims against state prison employees, including claims under federal civil rights law.
The court also asked the U.S. Solicitor General for the federal government's opinion on state's ability to require railroad employees claiming damages from asbestos exposure to offer proof of medical condition before they may sue under the Federal Employees Liability Act.
Bhutto bomb attack suspect released
KARACHI, Pakistan, June 16 (UPI) -- A leading suspect in a failed attempt to assassinate former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has been released without charges, the man's lawyer says.
Qari Saifullah Akhtar had been accused of being involved in the double bombing attack aimed at Bhutto last October in Karachi in which 135 people died, but his attorney told the BBC Akhtar was freed this week.
Bhutto escaped unharmed from that incident, but was killed in December in Rawalpindi.
When Akhtar was arrested in February, Pakistan Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz said: "Most probably (Akhtar) is involved in the attack on Benazir Bhutto's rally. He is a big character," the BBC reported, adding Bhutto herself had accused Akhtar of involvement in her posthumously released memoirs.
Britain plans anti-Mugabe pressure tactics
LONDON, June 16 (UPI) -- Britain is gathering allies to put pressure on Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe if he steals the upcoming election, sources told The Times of London.
The newspaper, citing unnamed diplomatic sources, reported Monday that Britain is drawing up plans to urge South Africa to cut off electricity supplies to Zimbabwe and would try to ban the country's elite from sending their children to European schools should Mugabe win the June 27 presidential runoff through intimidation and tampering.
Mugabe's ZANU-PF party has been blamed for instigating the deaths of 66 supporters of the rival Movement for Democratic Change and its presidential candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai, after the MDC won an initial round of balloting in March. The Times reported Mugabe vowed over the weekend that Zimbabwe would never be ruled by the MDC, which he called "a puppet" of European powers.
The newspaper cited unnamed diplomatic aides saying that the run-up to the presidential election might become so bloody that the election cannot be conducted but also expressing hope that the anti-Mugabe vote will be so overwhelming that the president wouldn't be able to disguise its outcome.
