Environment

Mississippi River Flo_Lea(4).jpg

The Pyramid Arena sits protected by a flood wall from the swollen Mississippi River on Tuesday, May 10, 2011, in Memphis, Tenn. The Mississippi crested in Memphis at nearly 48 feet on Tuesday, falling short of its all-time record but still soaking low-lying areas with enough water to require a massive cleanup. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

20110510-232550-pic-875968015.jpg

At Texas A&M, Mark Turgeon often was looking up at Big 12 powers Kansas and Texas. In the ACC, it will be Duke and North Carolina. (Associated Press)

20110510-201919-pic-671168614.jpg

PHOTOGRAPHS BY BARBARA L. SALISBURY / THE WASHINGTON TIMES Metro officials (above, from left) Bob Golden, Jack Requa and Richard Sarles ride Tuesday on a new Xcelsior XDE40 bus while Robert Miles (below) drives. The new hybrid-electric models are about two feet shorter and 3,000 pounds lighter than existing Metro buses but can seat several more people.

20110510-193323-pic-31755286.jpg

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOGRAPHS Cars stand submerged in overflow water from the Wolf River on McMiller Road in Memphis, Tenn. After weeks of rising to historic levels, the Mississippi River reached a crest just shy of the forecasted 48 feet at the Memphis gauge.

20110510-193323-pic-686566867.jpg

Robert and Carrie Medders and their daughter, Aleigha, 6, take advantage of the swollen Mississippi River floodwaters to cool off on Tuesday in Memphis, Tenn.

1198-1-4246b.jpg

Delegate Carolyn J.B. Howard

20110510-174802-pic-614827349.jpg

ASSOCIATED PRESS Afghan soldiers and U.S. soldiers with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force check inside the Traffic Department building, a Taliban stronghold, after a two-day assault in Kandahar, south of Kabul, on Monday.

JAPAN.jpg

A villager is helped to wear protective gloves at a gymnasium for a brief visit to their houses located near the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, for the first time since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, in Kawauchi, Fukushima prefecture, northern Japan, Tuesday, May 10, 2011. (AP Photo/Kyodo News)

Obama_Star(3).jpg

President Barack Obama walks from Marine One across the South Lawn to the White House, Friday, May 6, 2011 in Washington, as he returns from Kentucky. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

20110509-190226-pic-207060251.jpg

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOGRAPHS Flood waters from the Mississippi River encroach on Mud Island and parts of downtown Memphis, Tenn., on Monday. The Mississippi crept toward the highest level ever in the river city, flooding pockets of low-lying neighborhoods.

Japan Earthquake Chan_Live.jpg

In this May 3 photo, people wearing rubber boots walk through a flooded street at high tide after helping residents clean up debris in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. The area in this part of the city sunk nearly 2 feet 7 inches following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. (Associated Press)

Mississippi River Flo_Lea.jpg

Floodwater surrounds two pickup trucks outside a garage in Memphis, Tenn., on Sunday, May 8, 2011. Residents were told Sunday to flee their homes for higher ground as the mighty Mississippi River edged toward the city, threatening to bring more flooding to parts of an area already soaked. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

20110508-204333-pic-6493485.jpg

Republican primary voters in New Hampshire say it's natural to be attracted to a new face. Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty could be among the beneficiaries of that phenomenon if Mr. Romney falters.

20110508-204333-pic-83487632.jpg

Associated Press photographs Polls in New Hampshire show former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is the man to beat in the first-in-the-nation Republican primary, despite the reservations of some grass-roots activists in the Granite State.

memphis.jpg

A tugboat heads under the Harahan Bridge in Memphis, Tenn., next to Tom Lee Park which is beginning to be flooded by the Mississippi River on Friday, May 6, 2011. Memphis Police began distributing more than 1,000 evacuation notices to area homeowners on Friday. (AP Photo/Lance Murphey)

Mississippi Flooding_Live.jpg

A driver tries Thursday to drive on a submerged portion of Mississippi Highway 465 on his way to Eagle Lake, near Vicksburg, Miss., before rising flood waters stopped him. Residents along Mississippi River tributaries are evacuating ahead of the possible record flooding. (Associated Press)