Minneapolis – With all the victims believed to have been recovered, federal investigators gave state transportation officials clearance Tuesday to pull away the concrete deck of the collapsed Interstate 35W bridge.
The cleanup and rebuilding steps kicked into a higher gear a day after divers pulled the body of construction worker Gregory Jolstad from the Mississippi River, about three weeks after the eight-lane bridge fell Aug. 1.
Additional nation/world news briefs:
GAYS MILLS, Wis.
Victims assessing damage from floods
Water-weary residents across the Midwest began counting their losses Tuesday as damage estimates from flash floods climbed into the tens of millions.
The rain moved into Ohio, where roads flooded, schools canceled classes and residents were rescued by boats.
The death toll from two storm systems climbed to 22.
“It’s heart-wrenching, man,” said Deb Holtz, 48, who found the furniture shop she runs in Gay Mills coated with mud. “Makes me want to cry.”
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan
Pakistan releases al-Qaeda suspect
A Pakistani man accused of aiding al-Qaeda and imprisoned in his home country for three years has been released, according to his lawyer, and American officials made clear their dismay at the news Monday.
Muhammad Naeem Noor Khan, 28, turned up at his home in Karachi on Monday, his lawyer, Babar Awan said.
Khan had been included in a group of people who were being held without charge, and he was listed as missing after his case came before Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Monday.
“He most definitely had terrorist links,” an American intelligence official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
LONDON
Ex-tabloid editor felt guilt over Di’s death
A former tabloid newspaper editor says he and other media figures bore some responsibility for the death of Princess Diana, killed in a car crash 10 years ago.
Phil Hall, former editor of News of the World, Britain’s largest-selling newspaper, spoke for an ITV documentary.
“I felt huge responsibility for what happened, and I think everyone in the media did,” Hall said.
He noted that the driver of the car, who also died in the crash in Paris, was found to be drunk.
“But my view is that if the paparazzi hadn’t been following her, the car wouldn’t have been speeding and, you know, the accident may never have happened,” Hall said.
