As the Missouri River continues to grow due to releases of water from reservoirs in the Dakotas, Omaha, Nebraska's metropolitan airport is scrambling to protect its property from flood water. Sandbagging and continuous monitoring of the levee system are underway to protect Eppley Airfield. But will it be enough to keep the Missouri River — which is expected to rise another two feet in Omaha and remain flooded through August — away from the airport?
California Gov. Gerry Brown has vetoed the budget sent to him Wednesday by the Legislature. Lawmakers had scrambled to meet their deadline. But Brown says the budget fails to raise taxes and makes severe cuts to vital public services. Robert Siegel talks with Sacramento bureau chief of member station KQED John Myers.
The Northern Rocky Mountain states are bracing for what could be major flooding this month. The snowpack in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Utah is at a record high for this time of year. As temperatures rise, that snow is melting. If it gets too hot too quickly, snow will come off the mountains faster than rivers can handle. Some have already overflowed their banks.
Ayman al-Zawahiri, the Egyptian eye doctor who long served as Osama bin Laden's deputy, has been officially chosen as al-Qaida's new leader. Zawahiri was already the group's operational commander and main spokesman, and he was widely expected to succeed Osama bin Laden. Some al-Qaida members have complained that Zawahiri is uninspiring and divisive as a leader, and terrorism experts say he will need to demonstrate that he can direct the terror network as skillfully as bin Laden did.
Last week on Mount McKinley, ranger Tucker Chenoweth had a day unlike any other. Over the course of one day, he helped rescue three different climbers. That is as many as he often has in one season. Melissa Block speaks with Chenoweth about those rescues.
