Rescue efforts intensify amid Midwest flood

OMAHA, Neb. — Authorities were using boats and large vehicles on Saturday to rescue and evacuate residents in parts of the Midwest where a recent deluge of rainwater and snowmelt was sent pouring over frozen ground, overwhelming creeks and rivers, and killing at least one person.

Rescue efforts in eastern Nebraska were hampered by reports of levee breaches and washouts of bridges and roads, including part of Nebraska Highway 92, leading in and out of southwest Omaha.

Authorities confirmed that a bridge on that highway that crosses the Elkhorn River had been washed out Saturday. In Fremont, west of Omaha, the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office issued a mandatory evacuation for some residents after floodwaters broke through a levee along the Platte River.

Electoral vote allocation

Colorado has joined a list of states that plan to allocate their electoral votes to whichever candidate wins the nationwide popular vote.

Democratic Gov. Jared Polis signed the measure into law Friday, uniting Colorado with 11 other states and the District of Columbia in the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact.

The bill will only take effect, however, if the law is passed by states representing at least 270 electoral college votes, which is the amount needed to win the presidency.

Child’s body found

MILWAUKEE — A child’s body found wrapped in a blanket along a Minnesota highway is believed to be that of a missing 2-yearold girl whose mother police have said was fatally shot by her former pimp, authorities announced Saturday.

The discovery of the child’s body came hours after officials had put out a plea asking “the entire nation” to help find Noelani Robinson, whose father, Dariaz Higgins, is charged with killing her mother in Milwaukee on Monday.

School police bill

Baltimore lawmakers Saturday killed legislation that would have allowed city school police officers to carry guns while patrolling in schools.

The city’s state House delegation voted 10-5 against the bill — effectively killing it for this General Assembly session.

Before the vote, Del. Cheryl Glenn — the bill’s sponsor — urged her colleagues to support the measure as a way to protect schoolchildren in Baltimore.

But Del. Brooke Lierman argued that there’s little evidence that arming school police officers inside buildings would make children safer.