Nation in brief: Standoff ends in ‘granddad’ arrest

Baton Rouge, La. – The man dubbed the “Granddad Bandit” by the FBI and suspected in 25 bank robberies across 13 states was captured Wednesday at his home after a lengthy standoff that ended peacefully, authorities said.

Police and FBI agents surrounded the Baton Rouge home in the morning and, nearly six hours later, walked out with a stocky, balding man with graying hair and glasses.

The FBI identified him to the public for the first time as 52-year-old Michael Francis Mara and arrested him on a warrant charging him with robbing a bank in Richmond, Va.

Last week, the FBI began posting pictures of the “Granddad Bandit” on billboards across the country.

It was unclear if the robber was actually a grandfather.

Flooding kills teen, forces evacuations

Des Moines, Iowa – A 16-year-old girl died Wednesday when raging floodwaters swept three cars off a road near Des Moines, and hundreds had to evacuate their homes as widespread flooding struck Iowa after three nights of rain.

In Ames, flooding contributed to a water main break that forced the city to shut off water to its roughly 55,000 residents and left Iowa State University’s basketball arena under 4 to 5 feet of water.

Rivers and creeks rose after storms dumped 2 to 4 inches of rain on central and eastern Iowa overnight Wednesday, with 6 inches in some spots, the National Weather Service said. A snowy winter and wet spring and summer “set the stage” for the flooding, but the recent storms were the big problem, weather service meteorologist Jim Lee said.