Clouds break open over gulf
Houston – More than 10 inches of rain that fell Monday along parts of the Gulf Coast forced the evacuation of a Louisiana nursing home and stranded motorists in southeast Texas, where National Guard troops were on standby for more storms.
Rain from a second storm had begun to fall in Houston late Monday afternoon, hours after Mayor Bill White toured his city by helicopter and described seeing “block after block flooded.”
As much as 10 1/2 inches of rain was reported in the Houston area by the height of the morning rush hour.
No deaths were reported, but roads across the Houston area, including Interstate 10 and other major arteries, were flooded, and vehicles were stalled. Hobby Airport was closed for more than two hours because employees couldn’t get through the flooded roads to work. Water was waist-deep on a nearby Interstate 610 exit.
In Sulphur, La., emergency crews evacuated 120 patients from Holly Hill Nursing Home, which was inundated with up to 1 1/2 feet of water after debris clogged a storm drain near the back door. Residents won’t be able to return for at least a week, owner Elizabeth Fellows said.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry activated 50 Army National Guard trucks, four helicopters, 30 rescue boats, one airboat, seven swift-water rescue teams and a civil-support team from the 6th Army National Guard unit.
SEDONA, Ariz.
Wildfires threaten homes in two states
Fire crews struggled with hot, dry and windy weather Monday as they fought a wildfire creeping into northern Arizona’s Oak Creek Canyon.
The 1,500-acre fire started Sunday and spread quickly, forcing the evacuation of about 400 homes and businesses in the canyon and about 100 homes on the rugged north side of Sedona.
Authorities believe the blaze started in a transient camp.
In neighboring New Mexico, three fires started by lightning had burned almost 24,000 acres in the Gila National Forest. The biggest had charred nearly 11,000 acres and threatened 150 homes.
WASHINGTON
Pentagon “disorders” list homosexuality
A Pentagon document classifies homosexuality as a mental disorder, decades after mental health experts abandoned that position.
The document outlines retirement or other discharge policies for service members with physical disabilities, and in a section on defects lists homosexuality alongside mental retardation and personality disorders.
Critics said the reference underscores the Pentagon’s failing policies on gays.
Lt. Col. Jeremy Martin, a Pentagon spokesman, said the policy document is under review.
NEW ORLEANS
Recovery begins of cars hit by hurricanes
A forklift raised a muddy and battered car beneath an overpass Monday morning, marking the start of the cleanup of about 100,000 vehicles flooded by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
The cars, trucks and boats are being trucked to staging areas, where owners will have 30 days to reclaim them. Unclaimed vehicles will be sold as scrap.
STAMFORD, Conn.
FBI coke probe spurs calls for mayor to quit
Adversaries called on the mayor of Connecticut’s largest city to resign Monday.
Bridgeport Mayor John Fabrizi, a Democrat, was named in an FBI report that surfaced last week in which an alleged drug dealer claimed an associate had a videotape of the mayor using cocaine.
Fabrizi said he had made “poor choices in the past” but declined to be more specific.
U.S. Attorney Kevin O’Connor has said Fabrizi was not a target of the drug investigation.
SHANGHAI, China
Scientist: Nation plans moonwalk by 2024
China plans a manned lunar mission by 2024 that will include a walk on the moon’s surface, a top Chinese scientist was quoted as saying in a Hong Kong newspaper.
The announcement by lunar program vice director Long Lehao shows long-term preparations are moving ahead for the country’s ambitious space-exploration program. The program went into overdrive after China’s first successful manned space mission in 2003.
YANGON, Myanmar
Democracy leader turns 61 under arrest
Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi marked her 61st birthday Monday, alone and under house arrest, while her supporters around the world called for Myanmar’s military government to free her.
The military tightened security outside the barricaded home of Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy and the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico
Gitmo detainee’s case in slaying suspended
The U.S. military suspended a pretrial hearing for a Guantanamo Bay detainee accused of killing a U.S. Green Beret, saying Monday that base security first had to help investigate the recent deaths of three detainees.
Two Saudis and a Yemeni hanged themselves in their cells on June 10, according to the military. Their bodies were flown Friday from the U.S. base in Cuba to Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
The pretrial hearing for Canadian detainee Omar Khadr was to begin next Monday. The Toronto native is charged with murder and other crimes for allegedly throwing a grenade that killed a U.S. Special Forces soldier in Afghanistan and for planting mines targeting U.S. convoys.
