Dangerous storms threaten Midwest
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Tornadoes were spotted across the Midwest and Plains Saturday as an outbreak of unusually strong weather seized the region, and forecasters sternly warned that “life-threatening” weather could intensify overnight.
Storms were reported in Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska and Oklahoma. Emergency officials in Iowa said that either high winds or a tornado damaged a hospital in Creston, southwest of Des Moines, but officials said no one was injured. In Nebraska, baseball-sized hail shattered windows and ripped siding from houses.
In Oklahoma, more than 5,000 people gathered for a rattlesnake hunt in Woods County scattered when a tornado touched down there, said the county’s emergency management director, Steve Foster.
National Weather Service forecasters issued sobering outlooks that the worst of the weather would hit around nightfall.
N.M. plant wants to process horses
ROSWELL, N.M. (AP) — The owner of a New Mexico slaughterhouse is defending his plan to become the first plant in the nation since 2007 to handle horses after an outcry from politicians and animal activists.
In interviews with the Roswell Daily Record and the Albuquerque Journal on Friday, Valley Meat Co. owner Rick De Los Santos said he’s trying to revive his failing business and that what he’s proposing is legal.
The horses he plans to process are being slaughtered anyway in Mexico and his operation would be overseen by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and meet much higher standards, he said.
The company’s application for federal inspections at the plant just outside Roswell triggered an outcry when it became public Friday, with New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez calling on the USDA to deny his application.
If his application to the USDA is approved, De Los Santos said horse meat will be exported to Mexico and be for Mexican consumption.
Top NRA official
criticizes media
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A top National Rifle Association official levied sharp criticism against the national media on Saturday, accusing it of sensationalizing the Trayvon Martin case and ignoring other crimes that happen across the country every day.
NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre didn’t mention the Martin case by name during his speech at the group’s annual meeting in St. Louis, but he accused the media of “sensational reporting from Florida.”
