Bridge Collapse Prompts Questions; Gang Raids and Stun Grenades; Alleged Abuser Is Multimillionaire; Wildfires Spark Old Resentments; Grisly Mob Boss Trial in Windy City; Subway Plus SUV Embarrasses Mayor
Bridge Collapse Prompts Questions
The recovery work was slow and dangerous, an underwater minefield of sharp debris and strong currents, after the Interstate 35W highway bridge in Minneapolis crumbled into the Mississippi River on August 1. The eight-lane span, under renovation at the time, was listed as "structurally deficient" by federal inspectors in 2005. An average of 141,000 cars a day traversed the bridge.
Remarkably, the moment of collapse was captured by a security camera, giving investigators "the equivalent of a cockpit flight recorder," said one official from the National Transportation Safety Board. The NTSB has solicited citizen videos and photographs to help piece together the hows and whys of the tragedy that by week's end had claimed six lives and injured more than 100.
Lawmakers were predictably quick to call for reforms and a top-to-bottom review of the nation's bridge inspection system. But government officials have long been informed about the state of the country's infrastructure: One in eight bridges around the country has received a "structurally deficient" grade from the feds. President Bush, anxious to avoid the sort of scathing criticism that came on the heels of the administration's slow response to Hurricane Katrina, visited the disaster site to offer words of comfort.
Gang Raids and Stun Grenades
The predawn raid began not on the streets of Baghdad but just outside Los Angeles in a housing project known as Ghost Town. More than 400 officers spread out across the neighborhood, cordoning off city blocks and throwing flash grenades as part of a federal crackdown on violent and drug-peddling gangs across the country. Before the noonday sun was at its peak, 43 suspects were under arrest. Agents also seized firearms, four cars, four houses, and even a hotel that was allegedly used to funnel cocaine, crack, marijuana, and other drugs. But investigators didn't find everyone they were looking for. A dozen suspects remain on the loose.
Alleged Abuser Is Multimillionaire
In the '90s Judith Leekin collected children. Using aliases and different addresses, she adopted 11 children in all from New York City's foster care system and brought them to her Port St. Lucie, Fla., home. Last week she was accused of making them prisoners and pocketing some $2 million in child welfare over the years. The eight found living with her, including one who is blind and others who could barely walk, said they were often handcuffed together. In their midteens to mid-20s, most of her adoptees were uneducated and had never seen a doctor. Some were handicapped, a bonus for Leekin since New York gives up to $55 a day for special-needs kids up to the age of 21. The children were adopted before the city instituted measures, in 1999, to fingerprint prospective parents.
The case came to the attention of police after an 18-year-old girl was found wandering around a grocery store 200 miles away, where she had been abandoned by Leekin.
Wildfires Spark Old Resentments
This summer's pox of wildfires in the West, including a blaze in Montana last week that chewed up nearly 50 square miles near Helena, is stirring old resentments of the federal government in Boise, Idaho, as well.
It is being called a latter-day Sagebrush Rebellion, a reference to a 1979 campaign in which western states lobbied for more local control over federal territory administered by the Bureau of Land Management. Idaho Gov. C. L. "Butch" Otter, a rancher, and both of the state's senators have blamed federal safety regulations for slowing the response time to wildfires that quickly spread to hundreds of square miles. The federal government is in charge of about two thirds of Idaho's land.
Nearly 5 million acres have burned this year. In 2006, nearly 10,000 wildfires claimed 10 million acres, making it a record year for damages.
Grisly Mob Boss Trial in Windy City
Jurors were visibly sickened by the grisly autopsy photos in the major organized crime trial of reputed Chicago mobsters. The handful of alleged bosses, including Joseph "Joey the Clown" Lombardo, are charged with gambling, loan-sharking, and 18 killings, including the savage murder-by-beating of Tony Spilotro, the inspiration for Joe Pesci's character in the 1995 film Casino. Old mobsters, some brought out of the witness protection program to testify, said that Spilotro had angered his former family members by "bringing too much heat" on them and wooing the wife of a Las Vegas casino executive.
Subway Plus SUV Embarrasses Mayor
Sure, he likes to say that he rides the subway "virtually" everyday. But last week it came to light that New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg supplements his commute with a couple of gas-guzzling SUVs. Bloomberg bypasses a local station five minutes from his home, opting instead for the express station some 22 blocks away. His spokesman points out that at least he still rides the subway. "Zips his card through, stands on the platform, and waits for a train to come." Just like the average subway rider? asked a reporter. "Who," the spokesman responded, "is the average Manhattan subwaygoer?"
With Alex Kingsbury, Emma Schwartz, Nikki Schwab, Chris Wilson and Associated Press
This story appears in the August 13, 2007 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.