Crews begin storm cleanup
Crews began cleaning up downed trees and restoring power across northern Illinois on Tuesday after a line of powerful storms ripped through the area, spawning at least two tornadoes.
The National Weather Service confirmed that tornadoes touched down in the Chicago suburbs of Bloomingdale and Bolingbrook late Monday. A third tornado touched down in Griffith, Ind.
Another line of thunderstorms left tens of thousands without power early Tuesday in north-central Illinois.
More than 100 flights were canceled at O’Hare International Airport on Tuesday morning.
New York
Pakistani woman appears in court
An MIT-educated Pakistani woman linked to al-Qaida appeared in federal court Tuesday to face charges she tried to kill U.S. employees in a gunfight in Afghanistan after police said they discovered suspicious documents about explosives and landmarks in her handbag.
Aafia Siddiqui, wearing a burgundy head scarf and recovering from a gunshot wound, was ordered held without bail on one count each of attempted murder and assault stemming from the July incident. She had been arrested Monday in Afghanistan and flown to New York to be formally charged.
“Your honor, she’s been shot,” a defense attorney told a federal magistrate when asked to explain why her client preferred not to stand during the hearing. “She has a wound, and it’s oozing.”
Magistrate Ronald Ellis set a Monday hearing to determine whether Siddiqui should be released on bail.
San Antonio
Officials want sect kids in foster care
Texas child welfare authorities asked a judge on Tuesday to place eight children from a polygamist sect’s ranch back into foster care, saying their mothers refuse to limit their contact with men accused of being involved in underage marriages.
Child Protective Services filed petitions asking District Judge Barbara Walther to place the six girls and two boys belonging to four mothers back in foster care.
The children, ranging in age from 5 to 17, will be allowed to remain with their mothers until a hearing scheduled for Sept. 25.
Idledale, Colo.
Mountain lion snatches, kills dog
A mountain lion crept through an open door into a house outside Denver, snatched a Labrador retriever from a bedroom where two people were sleeping and left the dog’s dead body outside, wildlife managers said Tuesday.
No one else was hurt.
Wildlife officials later trapped the 130-pound male cat using the dog’s body as bait and shot it.
Colorado Division of Wildlife spokesman Tyler Baskfield said the cat entered the house through open French doors early Monday and fled with the Labrador after the owners woke up.
“The people got up and looked around and saw the mountain lion’s tail leaving the house,” Baskfield said.