Residents assess tornado damage

Residents assess tornado damage

BILLINGS, Mont.

Survivors of a tornado that tore into Montana’s largest indoor arena and leveled several commercial buildings returned to a scene of devastation Monday — awestruck that a twister so destructive caused no major injuries.

Under sunny, blue skies, owners of damaged businesses in Billings picked through the rubble of their storefronts, salvaging what they could from rain-soaked piles of debris.

Local officials said a 12,000-seat arena that suffered extensive damage would have to be gutted and, if there is structural damage, possibly razed.

But residents and local leaders said Billings got off surprisingly easy given the force of Sunday’s twister, which snapped trees and power lines, lifted the roof off the Rimrock Auto Arena and left debris scattered across hundreds of acres.

Court upholds anti-terror law

WASHINGTON

The Supreme Court upheld the government’s authority Monday to ban aid to designated terrorist groups, even when that support is intended to steer the groups toward peaceful and legal activities.

The court left intact a federal law that the Obama administration considers an important tool against terrorism. But human-rights organizations say the law’s ban on providing training and advice to nearly four dozen organizations on a State Department list squanders a chance to persuade people to renounce extremism.

The justices voted 6-3 to reject a free-speech challenge from humanitarian-aid groups to the law that bars “material support” — everything from money to technical know-how to legal advice — to foreign terrorist organizations.

John Glenn: Keep space shuttles flying

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.

Mercury astronaut John Glenn wants NASA’s space shuttles to keep flying until a reliable replacement is ready, no matter how long it takes.

Glenn joined the national debate Monday over America’s future in space and became the latest ex-astronaut to speak out on the matter. He issued a nine-page statement in which he questioned the decision to retire the shuttle fleet and rely on Russia to take astronauts to the International Space Station.

“We have a vehicle here. Why throw it away? It’s working well,” the first American to orbit Earth said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.

Illegal immigration

FREMONT, Neb.

Voters in the eastern Nebraska city of Fremont were deciding Monday whether to ban hiring or renting property to illegal immigrants, the latest proposal in a series of immigration regulations taken up by communities around the country.

The town has watched as its Hispanic population surged in the past two decades, largely due to the jobs available at the nearby Fremont Beef and Hormel meatpacking plants. The city also has an enviably low unemployment rate that matches the Nebraska rate of 4.9 percent.

Associated Press