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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

In brief: Prison locked down after inmates brawl

From Wire Reports

TUCSON, Ariz. – An Arizona prison complex remains on lockdown after a fight broke out among 400 inmates.

State Department of Corrections spokesman Bill Lamoreaux said the staff quickly stopped the fight that broke out Sunday morning at a minimum-security unit of the Arizona State Prison Complex in Tucson.

Lamoreaux said two staffers suffered minor injuries and 17 inmates were taken to area hospitals with injuries. The extent of the inmates’ injuries wasn’t immediately available.

The prison is investigating the cause of the fight, which broke out in the Whetstone Unit. Nearly 1,250 prisoners are housed in that unit, which is one of eight at the prison.

Crews level half of sinkhole-ravaged home

SEFFNER, Fla. – Crews on Sunday razed more than half of the Tampa-area home perched over a huge sinkhole that swallowed a man three days ago, managing to salvage some keepsakes for family members who lived there.

Jeremy Bush, 35, tried to save his brother, Jeff, when the earth opened up and swallowed him Thursday night. On Sunday morning, Bush and relatives prayed with a pastor as the home – where he lived with his girlfriend, Rachel Wicker; their daughter, Hannah, 2; and others – was demolished and waited for firefighters to salvage anything possible from inside.

Hillsborough County Administrator Mike Merrill said the remaining walls of the home would be knocked down today before crews turn to clearing as much debris as possible to allow officials and engineers to see the sinkhole in the open. Officials also will determine what will happen to the two homes on either side of the now-demolished house; experts say the sinkhole has “compromised” those homes, but it’s unclear whether steps can be taken to save them.

New Orleans loses water after boiler fails

NEW ORLEANS – Taps in New Orleans briefly went dry Sunday after a boiler’s heating flame went out of control in the immense steam generator that powers pumps for the city’s water treatment plant.

Marcia St. Martin, executive director of the city’s Sewerage and Water Board, said the outage lasted less than 20 minutes Sunday morning. Twitter came alive with residents bemoaning the loss about 9 a.m., and Mayor Mitch Landrieu tweeted to his followers that the city was looking into the matter.

The loss of pressure opened the way for possible contamination and water samples are being taken citywide, St. Martin said.

She said all sample collections should be complete by Sunday afternoon, and results should be available about 24 hours later. It takes that long to detect high levels of intestinal bacteria that could cause diarrhea.

Until the results are in, officials said, more than 300,000 residents on the Mississippi River’s east bank should boil water for drinking, brushing their teeth, preparing food or anything else that might bring tap water into their bodies.

Most of New Orleans, including the French Quarter and Central Business District, is on the east bank. The treatment plant there provides about 135 million gallons of drinking water a day, compared with 11 million from the west bank treatment plant.

On Sunday, Water pressure at the main gauge had never fallen below the state’s threshold of 15 pounds per square inch for boil advisories, but a precautionary notice was issued after hours of consultation with state Department of Health and Hospitals officials, city spokesman Ryan Berni wrote in an email.

Graham, McCain want answers on Libya

WASHINGTON – Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham and John McCain say they want answers from the Obama administration and are willing to oppose the administration’s choice to be the new CIA director until they get them.

Graham said Sunday he and McCain “are hell-bent on making sure the American people understand this debacle called Benghazi.” The South Carolina Republican said he wants to understand what happened in September at the U.S. Consulate in Libya that left four Americans dead.

McCain said he also wants answers about policies on torture and the Arizona senator said he deserves them.

The Senate Intelligence Committee is scheduled to vote early this week on John Brennan’s nomination. Brennan is currently President Barack Obama’s counterterrorism adviser.

Graham and McCain spoke to CBS’ “Face the Nation.”