Nation in brief: Many homeless after storm

All residents were accounted for Wednesday after crews scoured the mangled remains of houses and trailer homes in the wake of tornadoes that killed at least 10 people in this border community and its Mexican neighbor. The storm killed two people in Louisiana and Arkansas.

Twisters cut across a nearly 4-square-mile area in a rural community southeast of Eagle Pass on Tuesday night, destroying two empty elementary schools, a church, business and homes.

Maverick County Judge Jose Aranda said that all residents were accounted for, but that 50 to 200 families were left homeless. Across the Rio Grande in Piedras Negras, three people were killed and 300 homes were damaged.

RALEIGH, N.C.

Deadly chemical found in hogs

A farm in western North Carolina has been quarantined after a chemical blamed for more than a dozen pet deaths was found in its hogs, state officials said Wednesday. None of the hogs have entered the food supply. The farm received a shipment of contaminated feed last week, said Mary Ann McBride, assistant state veterinarian for the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service has said fewer than 10 hog farms in six states received contaminated feed containing the chemical melamine.

Investigators previously found melamine in at least two imported Chinese vegetable proteins used to make pet foods. Pet food companies have recalled more than 100 brands since the first reports of animal deaths.

CHICAGO

Iowan suspected in bomb threats

An Iowa machinist was arrested Wednesday and charged with sending dud pipe bombs and threatening letters to investment companies in Denver and Kansas City in an effort to drive up stock prices. Authorities said he signed the messages “The Bishop.”

John P. Tomkins, 42, of Dubuque, Iowa, was arrested on his way to work, and federal agents began searching his home and a storage facility, the U.S. attorney’s office said.

Investigators have said “The Bishop” mailed more than a dozen letters to financial institutions for 18 months. The letters included references to heaven and hell and threatened recipients if the prices of certain stocks did not move to certain levels, often $6.66; the number ‘666’ is associated with Satan.