Buffalo faces possible flooding

Buffalo faces possible flooding

BUFFALO, N.Y.

Residents of western New York soon may have to worry about the water in their basements as well as the snow on their roofs.

After a three-day onslaught that dumped a historic 7 feet of snow on the Buffalo area and killed at least 12 people, the sun came out Friday, but so did predictions of flooding caused by rain, temperatures up to 60 degrees and blocked catch basins.

“We are preparing now for more flooding than we’ve seen in a long, long time,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. “We still have that challenge to look forward to.” Cuomo said the state was sending in pumps, boats, helicopters and high-axle vehicles that can operate in 4 to 5 feet of water.

House GOP sues over health law

WASHINGTON

House Republicans filed a federal lawsuit Friday accusing the Obama administration of exceeding its constitutional powers in carrying out President Barack Obama’s prized health care law, giving legal voice to conservatives who have long protested that he has abused his office’s authority.

Democrats said Obama had acted legally and mocked the case as an unwinnable, politically motivated attack. Legal experts expressed doubts that the GOP would prevail or that the case could be concluded during Obama’s presidency.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Obama “has chosen to ignore the will of the American people” and cast the battle as one with important implications.

“If this president can get away with making his own laws, future presidents will have the ability to as well,” said a Boehner written statement.

US to provide $68M to reform justice system in Mexico

MEXICO CITY

The U.S. Embassy in Mexico says the U.S. government will provide $68 million over five years to assist Mexico’s effort to reform its court and justice system.

The U.S. government’s Agency for International Development will oversee the plan, known as Promoting Justice.

Mexico’s slow, cumbersome paper-based trial system is being changed to something that more closely resembles the U.S. court system, though without juries. Lawyers will question and cross-examine witnesses in open court, and defendants will be considered innocent until proven guilty.

Some of Mexico’s 31 states have implemented parts of the reform, including changes aimed at speeding up trials and allowing leeway for nonprison sentences.

$139M deal reached in school abuse case

LOS ANGELES

The Los Angeles Unified School District will pay $139 million to end remaining litigation involving an elementary-school teacher convicted of committing numerous lewd acts on his students, according to the settlement announced Friday.

The deal involving 81 students puts a legal end to the saga that began when Miramonte Elementary School teacher Mark Berndt was arrested in 2012 and accused of blindfolding students and feeding them his semen on spoons and cookies. Another 65 cases were settled earlier for $30 million. The combined total of nearly $170 million is believed to be the largest ever for a school sex-abuse case, according to lawyers for the victims.

Plaintiff’s lawyers had planned to present evidence at trial next month that the school district was aware of sexual misconduct by Berndt over three decades but failed to act until a photo processor at a pharmacy contacted police about pictures of blindfolded children being fed some substance.

Associated Press