Arizona

Grand Canyon flooded to restore beaches

Scientists flooded the Grand Canyon on Sunday to restore beaches and save fish and plants that have been disappearing since sediment-free water began flowing from a man-made dam 40 years ago.

A torrent of gushing water raced down the Colorado River and into the canyon, carrying badly needed natural sediment with it, as four giant steel tubes at the base of Glen Canyon dam were opened.

“The sediment, sand, mud and silt play an important role in the ecosystem,” said Chip Groat, director for the U.S. Geological Survey.

An estimated 800,000 metric tons of sediment were expected to be stirred up during the 90-hour run.

Minnesota

Rhodes Trust names American scholars

A Paralympic basketball gold medalist who has campaigned to improve access for the disabled in the developing world and a scientist-turned-political philosopher who worked on ways to control the invasive kudzu plant were among the 32 Americans selected Sunday as Rhodes Scholars for 2005. Final interviews were conducted this weekend in St. Paul.

The scholars, chosen from 904 applicants endorsed by 341 colleges and universities, will enter Oxford University in England next October.

Harvard University had the most selectees with five, followed by the U.S. Naval Academy with three.

The Journal-World reported Sunday that Kansas University senior Ruth Anne French was one of the scholars.

Washington, D.C.

Report: Congress must save Amtrak

Though Congress approved a $1.2 billion subsidy for Amtrak, the money-losing passenger railroad still is careering toward a major disruption in service.

To save it, the Transportation Department’s inspector general says, Congress must do more. Considering current Amtrak policies, says Inspector General Kenneth Mead, it’s up to lawmakers to determine what must go and what may stay to restructure Amtrak and stop the hemorrhaging.

“Without clear direction from the Congress, Amtrak has taken the position that it should essentially maintain the status quo,” Mead wrote in an assessment being released today.

Wisconsin

Five dead, three injured in hunting squabble

A dispute among hunters over a tree stand in northwestern Wisconsin erupted into a shooting that left five people dead and three injured Sunday, a television station reported.

The shooting suspect, a man from the Twin Cities area, was arrested Sunday afternoon, Sawyer County Chief Deputy Tim Zeigle told KSTP-TV of St. Paul, Minn.

The shootings happened about noon near Birchwood. The station quoted authorities as saying the shooting began after a hunting party saw a hunter they didn’t know occupying their tree stand.

That led to a confrontation. One victim used a walkie-talkie to call for help, but when other hunting partners came to the scene they also were shot, the station reported.