TommieMedia

MINNEAPOLIS — An engineering company that consulted on the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis said Thursday it should not have to pay punitive damages because it didn’t know about the design flaw that caused the bridge to collapse in 2007, killing 13 people and injuring 145.

PHOENIX — The U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Arizona’s new law targeting illegal immigrants, setting the stage for a clash between the federal government and the state over the nation’s toughest immigration crackdown.

KABUL, Afghanistan — “We are in this to win,” Gen. David Petraeus said Sunday as he took the reins of an Afghan war effort troubled by waning support, an emboldened enemy, government corruption and a looming commitment to withdraw troops even with no sign of violence easing.

NEW ORLEANS — Gulf of Mexico cleanup crews working to block millions of gallons of oil from reaching land may soon have a giant on their side, if a weekend test of a new skimmer goes well.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Investigators searched a central Minnesota property Wednesday where an 11-year-old boy was abducted at gunpoint nearly 21 years ago and never heard from again.

Authorities said little about the search in St. Joseph. But aerial photos taken by the St. Cloud Times showed as many as 17 vehicles, all-terrain vehicles and trailers on the property.

BROWNSVILLE, Texas — Hurricane Alex churned westward through the Gulf of Mexico early Wednesday, far from oil spill cleanup efforts but on a collision course with Mexico and the southern Texas coastline.

WASHINGTON — Challenged by Republicans, Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan said Tuesday the Pentagon’s recruiters had access to Harvard Law School students “every single day I was dean” and rejected GOP claims she maneuvered to thwart them.

NEW YORK — Thousands of marchers and a rainbow of floats filled the streets of New York and other U.S. cities on Sunday as people celebrated gay pride, part of a weekend of events marred by a shooting death Saturday at a street party in San Francisco.

Scores of scientists who have toiled for years in obscurity now find themselves in the middle of a media frenzy, trying to explain the Gulf oil spill to the public. “I usually spend my time analyzing samples and looking at squiggly lines, which is not very sexy,” Louisiana State University’s Edward Overton said with a chuckle. “Who would have thought Letterman would invite me, a scientist, on his show?”

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama says he has accepted the resignation of Gen. Stanley McChrystal with regret, but is certain that it is the right decision for the country’s national security and the future of the U.S. mission in Afghanistan.

PRETORIA, South Africa — Landon Donovan scored a stunning goal in the first minute of injury time, advancing the United States to the second round at the World Cup with a 1-0 win over Algeria.

WADENA, Minn. — Police and National Guard soldiers are blocking entry to tornado-damaged neighborhoods in Wadena as the northwestern Minnesota town prepares to start cleaning up after the devastating storms.

WASHINGTON — BP will set aside $20 billion to pay the victims of the massive oil spill in the Gulf, senior administration officials said Wednesday, as President Barack Obama met with the oil giant’s top executives. BP is acting under heavy White House pressure in dealing with the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history.