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Oklahoma stricken
Tornado’s toll at 51, rise likely
MOORE, Okla. — A monstrous tornado at least a half-mile wide roared through the Oklahoma City suburbs Monday, flattening entire neighborhoods and destroying an elementary school as children and teachers huddled against winds of up to 200 mph. At least 51 people were killed, including at least 20 children, and officials said the death toll was expected to rise. Continue reading...
Slow tornado season suddenly on a streak
TULSA — Deadly tornadoes that have raked communities in middle America over the past week, including Monday’s twister that carved a path of destruction through the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore, contradict what had been a relatively quiet start of the 2013 tornado season. Continue reading...
U.S. races to beef up diplomats’ protection
WASHINGTON — By late this summer, the U.S. State Department plans to send dozens of additional diplomatic security agents to high-threat embassies, install millions of dollars’ worth of advanced fire-survival gear and surveillance cameras in those diplomatic posts, and improve training for employees headed to the riskiest missions. Continue reading...
Twister path followed ’99 Oklahoma storm
NEW YORK — Monday’s powerful tornado in suburban Oklahoma City loosely followed the path of a killer twister that slammed the region in May 1999. Continue reading...
Deadliest storms
A list of the 10 deadliest tornadoes in the United States since 1900: 695 deaths, March 18, 1925, in Missouri, Illinois and Indiana. Continue reading...
Chief of staff knew of IRS report
Carney defends decision not to inform Obama of probe
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama’s chief of staff was told an investigation had found that Internal Revenue Service employees improperly scrutinized Tea Party and small-government advocacy groups seeking tax-exempt status before the report was made public, White House press secretary Jay Carney said. Continue reading...
Obama praises Burma leader’s work
WASHINGTON — In a long-awaited White House visit, President Barack Obama on Monday told Burma’s president that he appreciates the Asian leader’s efforts to lead the country in “a long and sometimes difficult, but ultimately correct, path to follow” toward democracy. Continue reading...
In the news
President Barack Obama will make a weeklong trip to Africa starting June 26, the longest journey of his presidency to the continent of his father’s family. Continue reading...
Names and faces
A couple of stars from TV’s Chuck and Smash will soon be dating on Broadway. Producers said Monday that Zachary Levi and Krysta Rodriguez will headline the new romantic musical comedy First Date by Gossip Girl writer Austin Winsberg. The music and lyrics are by Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner. First Date centers on an uptight young investment banker who meets a serial dater at a local bistro. A chorus of diners become various characters — family members, clergy and old lovers. The show will be seen at The Longacre Theatre beginning July 9 with an opening set for Aug. 8. The show, co-produced by The 5th Avenue Theatre, played at A Contemporary Theatre in Seattle last year. Levi, who will be in the film Thor: The Dark World, follows fellow Chuck alumna Yvonne Strahovski to make his Broadway debut. Rodriguez, who plays Ana Vargas on Smash, was last on Broadway in The Addams Family, originating the role of Wednesday Addams. Continue reading...
The nation in brief
QUOTE OF THE DAY “It seems to be the answer of the administration whenever they’re caught doing something they shouldn’t be doing is ‘I didn’t know about it.’” Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, on the White House’s statement that President Barack Obama was unaware of the IRS targeting Tea Party and anti-tax groups Article, this page Judge: Arizona killer’s lawyers must stay PHOENIX — Defense attorneys for murderer Jodi Arias asked the judge to remove them from the case and declare a mistrial Monday, arguing the frenzy surrounding the case has created a modern-day witch hunt. Continue reading...
The world in brief
QUOTE OF THE DAY “Whenever we have hope and start to build our life again, whenever we feel healing from our wounds, a shock hits us and we feel that we lose again.” Haider al-Musawi, an Iraqi shop owner who witnessed one of Monday’s deadly bombings in a Baghdad market Article, this page N. Korea test-fires projectiles a 3rd day SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea continued firing short-range weapons over its own eastern waters Monday after a weekend of what it called “rocket launching tests” intended to bolster deterrence against enemy attack. South Korean officials were investigating exactly what it was that the North was testing. Continue reading...
2 proposals from senators look at visa overstays
The Senate Judiciary Committee adopted two proposals intended to keep foreign citizens from staying in the U.S. on expired visas, in an effort to build Republican support for a revision of immigration policy. Continue reading...
AP’s CEO: Phone probe ‘unconstitutional’
The president and chief executive officer of The Associated Press on Sunday called the government’s secret seizure of two months of reporters’ phone records “unconstitutional” and said the news cooperative had not ruled out legal action against the Justice Department. Continue reading...
Northeast commuters face challenge after train wreck
Traffic in southwest Connecticut could be a mess for as much as a week until service is restored to the commuter rail line affected by a derailment that injured scores of passengers, Gov. Dannel Malloy warned Sunday. Continue reading...
The nation in brief
QUOTE OF THE DAY “We’re not going to be intimidated by the abusive tactics of the Justice Department.” Gary Pruitt, president and chief executive officer of The Associated Press, on the government’s secret seizure of two months’ worth of AP reporters’ phone records. Continue reading...
