Rising Mississippi River threatening towns

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Mississippi River communities scrambling Tuesday to fend off the rain-engorged waterway got discouraging news: More rains looming across much of the nation's midsection threatened to slow the potential retreat of the renegade river.

Such an outlook may not be welcomed in the northeast Missouri town of West Alton, where a makeshift levee's breach Monday fanned worries that the 570-resident town — which was mostly swept away by a flood in 1993 — would be inundated again. A voluntary evacuation advisory before the breach was fixed was heeded by just 15 percent of the town's residents, but "everyone else is ready to go at a moment's notice" if the hastily shored-up barrier shows signs of giving way, Fire Chief Rick Pender said Tuesday.

For now, he said, "everything is stable," with much of the flooding corralled in a railroad bed acting as a town-protecting channel.

"There are some spots not looking pretty (as defenses), but they're still holding the water back," Pender told The Associated Press by telephone. "Everyone is just monitoring the sandbags and barriers, waiting for this water to come down."

The latest National Weather Service forecasts suggest that was to happen later Tuesday. But more rains expected in coming days, from St. Louis north to Minnesota and westward across some of the Great Plains, stood to drop another inch of precipitation here and there, adding more water to the Missouri River and the Mississippi River into which it feeds, National Weather Service hydrologist Mark Fuchs said.

"We're not talking about huge amounts, but any amount when the soil already is wet is going to slow the rivers' retreat," Fuchs said from his St. Louis-area office. "If you take that into account, there's not going to be a big drop in the river levels any time soon."

Across the river in Illinois, in the 28,000-resident city of Alton north of St. Louis, floodwaters already forced the closure of the local casino and the scenic "Great River Road" leading out of it to the north. By late Monday, floodwaters had swamped some of the Clark Bridge linking the city to West Alton, halting traffic from making it into Missouri.

Yet there was reason for optimism: The National Weather Service as of Tuesday afternoon said the river at Alton was expected to crest that evening, some 13 feet above flood stage.

The worst was yet to come south of St. Louis near Cape Girardeau, Mo., where the river was continued to swell higher until reaching a peak Thursday night, again some 13 feet above flood stage.

That rapid rise has produced a feverish sandbagging effort in nearby Dutchtown, where the river threatened to send water into about a third of the homes in the tiny town of about 100 people. It also was threatening to make another nearby community — Allenville, population 117 — an island. In Dutchtown, dozens of prison inmates bussed in were working shoulder to shoulder with other volunteers Tuesday, working to bolster the makeshift barrier.

"So far, the levees are doing fine," Dutchtown Alderwoman Shirley Moss said. "We still have a lot of water coming this way, and we're still all out here working. It's very treacherous, and you just don't know how much you need to do to prevent this water from coming into town.

"We're doing all we can, with all the help we can get."

Via Yahoo News!

Death toll from Syrian protests rising

Syrian security forces fired on anti-government protesters in several southern towns Friday.NEW: Up to 13 dead after security forces fired upon protestors FridayNEW: Government offers office hours for "listening to complaints" NEW: Complaints may also be left in boxes at police stationsActivists say about 830 protesters killed since protests began

(CNN) -- The death toll in Friday's violence in Syria rose to as many as 13 Saturday, according to human rights activists.

Syrian security forces fired on anti-government protesters in several southern towns Friday, according to organizers known as local coordination committees. The group issued a list of names in a statement Saturday of all but one of those they claim were killed.

Bullets flew Friday's early morning hours as hundreds took to the streets in Dael to chant for support of the military, separate from the security forces, said the witness, who refused to be named for fear of his safety.

Four people were killed there, according to protest organizers, and three died in the suburbs of Damascus. One death was reported in Al Zabadani, three in Homs and one in the village of Moart Shoreen, where 12-year-old boy lost his life, according to the group.

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The Syrian National Organisation for Human Rights group also confirmed those deaths by name, and added an additional fatality in Jabla, bringing the total to 13.

CNN has not been granted access into Syria and is unable to independently verify witness accounts.

Since March, Syria has been torn by street protests against political repression and a fierce security crackdown against demonstrators.

The government's harsh actions toward marchers and its thousands of mass arrests have drawn widespread criticism.

Roughly 830 people have been killed in the protests, according to the Syrian Human Rights Information Link.

That number does not include security personnel, many of whom have been killed in attacks by "armed groups," according to the Syrian government.

Protesters have set up local coordination committees across Syria to organize the demonstrations, typically on Fridays, though they have been met with brute force on a regular basis.

Every week, the demonstrations have particular themes. May 20 was "Freedom" Friday in honor of the Syrian Kurdish protesters. May 27 was themed around "Homeland Protector," in support of Syrian troops.

An e-mail from the coordination committees to participants says protesters will carry flowers for the soldiers and chant for the soldiers "to stand with them and support them."

"The protesters demand to their army that they should follow the lead of the Tunisian and Egyptian armies and defend the people against a group of mercenaries fighting for the regime."

The memo also warns against an even harsher response from security forces: "Because landlines and Internet are not working in many places, we are worried that the government repression of the demonstrations today may be severe. It will be more difficult than usual to deliver news out of Syria."

The clashes have spurred people to flee to other countries, such as Turkey and Lebanon.

The Syrian government has offered to hear complaints from citizens for four hours, one day a week, according to state media. "Interior Minister Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ibrahim al-Shaar on Friday specified Monday of every week for meeting citizens and listening to their complaints related to the Interior Ministry from 11 AM to 3 PM at the Ministry in Dummar," Syrian state news agency SANA reported Saturday.

Citizens may also "continue" to file "written complaints via the complaint boxes distributed in front of police departments" as well as on the ministry's website, SANA reported.

The United States has imposed sanctions on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and other senior officials. This month, U.S. President Barack Obama singled out Syria for criticism during a speech on the Middle East.

Still, in contrast to the sweeping multi-national push against Libya and its embattled leader Moammar Gadhafi, there has not been any similar movement yet regarding Syria.

Gerard Araud, France's ambassador to the United Nations, told reporters Friday night that it was unlikely that there will be any U.N. Security Council vote on Syria through at least the end of May -- when France's rotation as the council president ends.

Another diplomat on the Security Council said Thursday that members did not want to submit a resolution only to have it vetoed by China or Russia, both permanent members of the council.

"As France, I think we would like a vote as soon as possible," Araud said. "But personally, I don't feel we are there."

CNN's Arwa Damon and Richard Roth contributed to this report.

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Attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq 'rising'

Tens of thousands of followers of Shiite anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr rally in Sadr City in eastern Baghdad Thursday.Shiite militias in Iraq are targeting U.S. troops ahead of their planned end of the year withdrawalThe militias are using the attacks to take credit for the U.S. withdrawal, a U.S. general says Roadside bombings and mortar attacks have increasingly targeted U.S. troops, the general saysThe U.S. military believes the militias are backed by Iran, a charge it has denied

(CNN) -- Attacks against American troops in Iraq by armed militias are on the rise, an attempt to demonstrate their power ahead of an anticipated U.S. withdrawal at the end of the year, a top military spokesman said.

The attacks come as Iraq debates whether to request U.S. troops stay beyond a January 1, 2011, deadline that requires 46,000 American forces out of the country.

U.S. troops have increasingly been targeted by roadside bombings and mortar attacks, largely in Baghdad and southern Iraq, Army Maj. Gen. Jeffrey S. Buchanan, spokesman for U.S. Forces-Iraq, told CNN by telephone from Baghdad.

"This is one thing that I think all along we have really anticipated," Buchanan said.

While al Qaeda in Iraq, predominantly Iraqi Sunni insurgents, continue to launch strikes, Buchanan said the militia attacks against the U.S. are "designed for power and they want to claim credit for our redeploying, for us leaving."

In recent days, four U.S. vehicles were targeted by roadside bombs, including an explosion Sunday on the outskirts of Baghdad that killed two American soldiers. They were identified by the Defense Department as Sgt. 1st Class Clifford E. Beattie, 37, of Medical Lake, Washington, and Pfc. Ramon Mora Jr., 19, of Ontario, California.

Last week, U.S. soldiers caught a man suspected of conducting reconnaissance on American convoys, Buchanan said. The man was in possession of "a whole file of videos" believed to be used to improve the effectiveness of roadside bombings, he said.

The U.S. military has long accused Iran of providing money and weapons to Shiite militias, such as the Promise Day Brigade, Hezbollah and al-Haq, that in turn attack American troops. Iran denies it.

Overall, the numbers of attacks in Iraq have dropped drastically since 2007 when sectarian violence nearly tore the country apart. There have been 13 attacks a day in Iraq during the first four months of this year compared with 145 a day in 2007, Buchanan said.

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Nervous residents watch rising Mississippi River

NEW: "My house is completely submerged," Mississippi resident saysNEW: At Morganza Spillway, any number of 125 gate bays could be openedArkansas Farm Bureau estimates damage to state's agriculture to top $500 millionLouisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal says flooding could affect about 3 million acres Check out local reports on CNN affiliates WMC, WPTY, WSIL, KFVS, WPSD and WREG. If you're in an affected area, share your story with CNN's iReport.

Tunica, Mississippi (CNN) -- The swollen Mississippi River rolled south Wednesday, swamping emptied-out towns and businesses, and threatening untold damage to areas still recovering from a series of natural disasters.

In Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas, authorities and residents braced for the days ahead.

"I went through Katrina," said Lynn Magnuson of New Orleans. "I would not wish flooding on anyone, and this city is the last place on Earth that needs any more high water."

Open Story: Damage map

The river crested Tuesday at Memphis, just short of a record set in 1937.

The river in Memphis measured 47.8 feet Tuesday night, according to the National Weather Service. Flood stage in Memphis is 34 feet.

In Natchez, Mississippi, the river surpassed its record early Wednesday, exceeding 58 feet. Forecasts predict the river will crest in Natchez on May 21 at an overwhelming 64 feet. Flood stage in Natchez is 48 feet.

Floodwaters on rise in Mississippi, Louisiana

Mississippi has already had to close some casinos at Tunica, a key economic driver in that part of the state, as floodwaters seeped in.

About 600 people in the community of Tunica Cutoff have been driven from their homes, said Larry Liddell, a county spokesman.

"My house is completely submerged. You can't even see it from a photograph," said Michael Dewes, who fled the Tunica Cutoff community and is staying in a shelter. "It's completely gone."

In Louisiana, Gov. Bobby Jindal said as many as 3 million acres could be affected by the flooding. Some 500 National Guard members have been mobilized so far and 21 parishes have issued emergency declarations.

The river's crest is expected to begin arriving in Louisiana next week. Flooding is expected to be a major setback in the southern part of the state.

"After hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav and Ike -- as well as the oil spill -- Louisiana can ill afford another large-scale disaster," said Sen. Mary Landrieu, a Louisiana Democrat. "Billions of dollars in property is at stake, not to mention the threat to human life."

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said it was closing a major lock that allows for the transfer of barge traffic between the Mississippi and the Red River Basin.

On Tuesday, the Corps opened 44 more gates to the Bonnet Carre Spillway in Norco, Louisiana, north of New Orleans, sending millions of gallons of water rushing into Lake Pontchartrain and, eventually, the Gulf of Mexico.

In addition to 28 gates opened on Monday, it may consider opening an additional 38 on Wednesday, according to John Young, the Jefferson Parish president.

As the swollen waters inch closer, anxious Louisiana residents are demanding answers.

Some have posted on Facebook pages operated by the Corps, demanding answers about when certain spillways will be opened and what other areas are facing flooding.

Residents and officials are especially concerned about the Morganza Spillway above Baton Rouge, which was last opened in 1973. Opening it could help spare Baton Rouge and New Orleans from some of the flooding's damage, but it would flood populated and rural areas in the swampy Atchafalaya Basin. The basin is home to the Atchafalaya River and myriad tributaries.

The 4,800-foot spillway includes 125 gate bays, said operations manager Russell Beauvais. In 1973, 42 of them were opened.

After gates are opened, Beauvais said, it would take about three days for the water to fully reach Morgan City, a town of about 12,000 near the coast.

In Arkansas, meanwhile, the Farm Bureau estimated damage to the state agriculture could top $500 million as more than a million acres of cropland are under water.

In Helena, Arkansas, the river was above 56 feet Wednesday. Flood level in Helena is 44 feet.

A crest is defined as the high point of the water during a flood before it begins to recede. Observers generally know that cresting is occurring when the gradual rise stops and the water level becomes stable.

What does cresting mean?

The Mississippi is the highest it's been at Memphis since 1937 when it crested at 48.7 feet -- 14.7 feet above flood stage. That flood killed 500 people and inundated 20 million acres of land, said Col. Vernie Reichling, the Corps of Engineers Memphis District commander.

How the Mississippi River levees could fail

So far, the levees protecting the area have only shown minor weaknesses, which workers have been able to control, he said.

President Barack Obama signed disaster declarations for Tennessee, which will help direct federal aid toward recovery efforts in areas hit by severe storms, flooding and tornadoes.

Flooding also continues to be a problem in southeastern Missouri and southern Illinois, though the Mississippi and Ohio rivers have already crested in those states.

CNN's Ed Lavandera and Tracy Sabo contributed to this report.

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Haiti again feels pinch of rising food prices

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Marie Bolivar, a gray-haired woman with a raspy voice, crushes peanuts into paste for sandwiches which she sells by the roadside for 12 cents apiece. These days the paste is thinner, because the price of peanuts has jumped by 80 percent.

var data = blocks.columnist;if (data != undefined){document.getElementById('columnistmug').innerHTML=data;} By Ramon Espinosa, AP

A man carries five sacks of rice at the La Saline Market in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on April 21.

By Ramon Espinosa, AP

A man carries five sacks of rice at the La Saline Market in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on April 21.

But Bolivar, 60, says she still has trouble feeding her four children and paying the rent. "I can't survive like this," she said on a recent afternoon as she piled freshly crushed peanuts on a small plastic tray.

Soaring food prices aren't new in Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and heavily dependent on imports. Now those prices are rising again, mirroring global trends, while the cost of gasoline has doubled to $5 a gallon. Haitians are paying more for basic staples than much of Latin America and the Caribbean, an Associated Press survey finds.

More than half of Haiti's 10 million people get by on less than $2 a day and hundreds of thousands are dependent on handouts. Undernourished children are easy to spot by the orange tinge in their hair. "Haitians have less room to increase their expenditures on their food," said Myrta Kaulard, Haiti's country director for the U.N. World Food Program. "This is a serious concern."

Bolivar is one of many who cope as roadside vendors. They are getting squeezed from both ends ? rising prices and customers with less to spend.

It's ironic to hear Bolivar say "Everything was much easier a year ago," when a year ago Haiti had just endured a quake that killed 300,000 people and laid waste to large parts of the capital, Port-au-Prince. What she means is that food was much cheaper then because of the emergency supplies being rushed in.

But as the aid operation scales back and the market reasserts itself, prices are soaring again. Last month a cab strike was called to protest rising gasoline prices, but it fizzled because drivers were so desperate for fares.

One bit of good news has been the price of rice, Haiti's staple food. Pushed down by the free food being shipped in after the earthquake, it fell to $0.92 a kilogram in September, climbed to $1.38 in January and then began to fall, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.

But corn, which cost $0.68 a kilogram just before the quake, was almost double the price in March.

Incomes haven't risen, however. The minimum wage is $5 a day but most Haitians don't have a job that would pay them that minimum. So, like Bolivar, they cope through "degaje," a Creole term that means "making do."

It also depends where they shop. In a high-end grocery, a kilogram of white rice can cost as much as $3.03. But the street markets close after dusk, leaving customers dependent on supermarkets.

Nature and the outside world have all taken their toll. Erosion, deforestation, flooding and tropical storms make farming difficult. American imports are stiff competition for farmers. Haiti imports nearly all of its food, including more than 80 percent of its rice, known here as "Miami Rice." A whole chicken costs $8 in Haiti ? double the price in Peru. Argentines earn much more than Haitians, but pay less for a kilogram of rice.

The rise of garment factories in the cities since the 1970s has denuded the countryside of working hands. Bolivar is among those who moved here. She lives in a small cinderblock home in a slum in the relatively affluent city of Petionville.

"There was nothing for me in the countryside," she said.

The winding down of quake aid is meant in part to encourage quake survivors to leave their camps and to stabilize market prices. Groups such as the WFP have launched cash-for-work programs, school meals to ensure attendance, and efforts to get aid workers to purchase goods locally.

But for Bolivar, it's the cost of living that overshadows everything. She says she usually eats just once a day. One of her sons had to drop out of school because she owed $69 for two months of his tuition.

A daughter helps out from her earnings as a waitress at a Lebanese restaurant popular among Haiti's moneyed class and foreign aid workers.

Bolivar said she hopes things will get better under Michel Martelly, the musician elected as president on March 20. "We're waiting for all the promises he made," Bolivar said. "People want commercial activity. People want jobs. People want to eat."

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Rising Mississippi threatens U.S. town

A boy in Cairo, Illinois, looks over a levee wall holding back floodwaters from the Ohio River.NEW: 100 residents evacuated in Missouri floodway areaAn Illinois mayor asks some residents to be ready to evacuate in town of Cairo A federal judge ruled the Army Corps of Engineers may burst a Mississippi River levee The plan would flood more than 130,000 evacuated acres in southeastern Missouri

(CNN) -- An Illinois mayor urged some residents on Friday to make plans to evacuate the town as the flood-engorged Mississippi River reached record levels.

Cairo Mayor Judson Childs asked "senior citizens, people with medical conditions or special needs along with families with children that live in single-story homes" to be ready leave the flood-threatened town, according to a written statement.

Earlier on Friday, a federal judge ruled that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers may intentionally burst a Mississippi River levee in an effort to prevent the flooding of the town.

Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, ruled that a 1928 law permitted the breach of the levee to ease pressure on the Mississippi River.

The Corps' plan would flood more than 130,000 evacuated acres -- much of it farmland -- in southeastern Missouri, said Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster.

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Koster argues the corps is trying to protect the town of Cairo, located downstream.

James Pogue, chief spokesman in the Corps' Memphis office, said the Birds Point-New Madrid Floodway is a "safety valve" in the current crisis.

The floodway would help direct the flow of the excess waters.

"This allows us to do what nature will do anyway, (but) in a controlled system," he said.

Limbaugh said the Corps may implement the plan "only as absolutely essential to provide the authorized protection to all citizens."

He added that the Corps' plan does not suggest "arbitrary or capricious decision-making."

Birds Point is about 140 miles south of St. Louis. The floodway is about 35 miles from north to south and is four to 12 miles wide.

Maj. Gen. Michael Walsh ordered barges to be moved north on the river to prepare for the levee breach, Pogue said. "The decision was to move forward with the plan."

About 100 people were ordered from their homes in Birds Point-New Madrid due to utilities being cut off in the area, Pogue said.

The Corps, which has authority over flood control, will make a final decision before the barges and teams get to work at Birds Point, he said.

About 100 families live in the floodway, which has not seen such use since 1937.

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Obama Eyes Speculators for Rising Gas Prices, as Other Factors Play Role

AP

Wednesday: President Obama speaks during a town hall meeting at Facebook headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif.

With gas prices surging to $4 a gallon, one of President Obama's solution to break the back of rising costs is to have Attorney General Eric Holder form a task force to examine alleged fraud or manipulation of oil markets.

"We are going to make sure that no one is taking advantage of the American people for their own short-term gain," Obama said to applause at a town hall-style meeting at a renewable energy plant in Reno, Nev., on Thursday.

But commodity analysts are skeptical of the president's plan.

"This is a transparently political fishing expedition that insinuates that fraud or manipulation is distorting oil prices without providing even the flimsiest factual basis for such a suspicion," said Craig Pirrong, a finance professor at the University of Houston who specializes in commodity prices. 

The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline was $3.84 on Thursday, about 30 cents higher than a month ago and almost a dollar higher than a year ago.

For Americans, who on average buy about 500 gallons of gasoline a year, that's an extra $500 from their wallets. 

But that's not the only way consumers are hit by higher gas prices. More expensive oil imports means increases in the cost of food, airline tickets and products shipped or trucked from far-away locations, among other expenses. 

At his town hall, Obama bemoaned the higher price "at a time when things were already pretty tough." He renewed his proposal to end roughly $4 billion annually in various government subsidies to oil and gas companies "at a time when they're making record profits and you're paying near record prices at the pump. It has to stop."

But without congressional support for that plan, his primary tool right now appears to be the task force. 

The Financial Fraud Enforcement Working Group will focus some of its probe on "the role of traders and speculators" in the oil-price surge, Obama said, and will include several Cabinet department officials, federal regulators and the National Association of Attorneys General.

In a memo accompanying a statement announcing the task force, Holder promised to "be vigilant in monitoring the oil and gas markets for any wrongdoing so that consumers can be confident they are not paying higher prices as a result of illegal activity."

But he suggested a variety of legal reasons may be behind the spike in gas prices.

"Based upon our work and research to date, it is evident that there are regional differences in gasoline prices, as well as differences in the statutory and other legal tools at the government's disposal," Holder said. "It is also clear that there are lawful reasons for increases in gas prices, given supply and demand.

"Nonetheless, where consumers are harmed by unlawful conduct that has the effect of increasing gas prices, state and federal authorities will take swift action," Holder said, without citing any current evidence of intentional manipulation of oil and gas prices or fraud.

Stephen Moore, a senior economic writer for the Wall Street Journal editorial board and founder of the Club for Growth, said aside from the Middle East, part of the problem is Federal Reserve policy, which he describes as inflationary because it is pushing extra dollars into the economy.

"We're seeing inflationary effects through these gasoline prices but we're also seeing it in gold prices, copper prices and food prices. So I think (Federal Reserve Board Chairman) Ben Bernanke is as much responsible for these high gasoline prices as anyone," Moore said.

A McClatchy-Marist poll this month found that 36 percent of respondents blame tensions abroad for rising gas prices while 33 percent blamed oil companies. Eleven percent blamed Obama and Democrats, and 6 percent pointed to congressional Republicans. The nationwide poll of 1,274 adults was conducted April 10-14 with a margin of error of 3 percent.

Indeed, with the 2012 campaign ramping up, the White House is eager to show voters it's taking action to tackle rising gas prices. But Pirrong said the task force is hardly needed since the agencies already have tools to monitor for fraud and to take action.

"This is part of a broad effort by the administration to deflect criticism with regard to gasoline prices," he said.

As Obama targets traders, some media analysts argue that he is getting a free ride on the skyrocketing prices compared to former President George W. Bush who was largely blamed for soaring hikes near the end of presidency in 2008.

"The numbers are fascinating

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