The nation in brief

— QUOTE OF THE DAY “We’re going to be playing a cat-and-mouse

game for the remainder of the hurricane season.” Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, on storms disrupting cleanup of BP’s oil spill Article, 1AHeavy rains close Chicago interstates

CHICAGO - Standing water on Chicago-area expressways turned what should have been an easy Saturday morning drive into a soggy, snarled mess after heavy rains across the Midwest closed roads, stranded residents and punched a hole through an Iowa dam.

In Chicago, officials say more than 7 inches of rain fell early Saturday, inundating the sewer system and overwhelming waterways. Water covered portions of several Chicago interstates and the commuter train tracks that run along them, leading crews to divert traffic and call in bus shuttles.

Portions of Interstate 290 west of downtown were closed for several hours.

In eastern Iowa, the Lake Delhi dam ruptured, sending a torrent into the Maquoketa River below and forcing the evacuation of hundreds of homes and vacation cabins in eastern Iowa. Officials estimated that 8,000 people were affected by the flooding. No injuries or deaths were reported.

Search for 4 lost in plane crash halts

LUDINGTON, Mich. - Authorities called off their search Saturday for four people missing since a small plane plunged into Lake Michigan a day earlier while flying a cancer patient to the Mayo Clinic.

The pilot, 66-year-old Jerry Freed of Alma, Mich., was rescued after the crash Friday morning several miles off the west Michigan coast. After combing the area for 27 hours, rescuers concluded there was little chance anyone else had survived, said Petty Officer Brandon Blackwell of the U.S. Coast Guard’s district headquarters in Cleveland.

Also aboard the plane were co-pilot Earl Davidson, Alma school superintendent Don Pavlik; his wife, Irene;

and Dr. James Hall. All were residents of Alma, which is 150 miles northwest of Detroit.

Don Pavlik was diagnosed earlier this year with cancer of the esophagus, said Tony Costanzo, the School Board’s vice president.

VA loosens medical marijuana rules

WASHINGTON - Patients treated at Veterans Affairs hospitals and clinics will be able to use medical marijuana in the 14 states where it’s legal, according to new federal guidelines.

The directive from the Veterans Affairs Department in the coming week is intended to clarify current policy that says veterans can be denied pain medication if they use illegal drugs.

Veterans groups have complained for years that this could bar veterans from VA benefits if they were caught using medical marijuana.

The new guidance does not authorize VA doctors to begin prescribing medical marijuana. But it will now make clear that in the 14 states where state and federal law are in conflict, VA clinics generally will allow the use of medical marijuana for veterans already taking it under other clinicians.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, there are 14 states and the District of Columbia with medical marijuana laws. They are: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. New Jersey also recently passed a medical marijuana law, which is to be implemented next January.

Nichols requests stay of restitution

OKLAHOMA CITY - Oklahoma City bombing coconspirator Terry Nichols wants a federal judge to suspend the $14.5 million in restitution he was ordered to pay for the destruction of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.

In a handwritten request submitted Friday, Nichols said he “is willing to work to earn money to pay for his restitution,” but there are no prison jobs for him to earn money because he is locked in his cell for all but 10 hours a week.

Nichols asked U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch to suspend the restitution order until the Federal Bureau of Prisons provides him with “full-time employment.”

Federal prosecutors say Nichols helped Timothy McVeigh assemble a fertilizer bomb that killed 168.

He was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Front Section, Pages 4 on 07/25/2010

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