The Springfield News-Leader from Springfield, Missouri • Page 2

2A April 24, 2011 NATIONWORLD Sunday News-Leader THE NATION'S NEWSPAPER St Lows picks. up after storm Newsline SUNDAY, APRIL 24, 2011 rsf. r. fc-a BvlefTRoberson.AP Aftermath: Families and neighbors assess the destruction Saturday in Bridgeton, Mo. There were no serious injuries from the storm, which damaged about 750 homes in the region.

Tornado strike confirmed at Lambert Airport The Associated Press ST. LOUIS A severe storm that struck the St Louis area flattened homes in the suburbs around the main airport, which was closed for most of Saturday after being hit by a tornado. Crews had worked through the night Friday to try to clean up Lambert Airport, boarding up windows and sweeping up shattered glass. That effort pressed on Saturday, with police standing guard at spots where windows had been blown out No passengers were evident Nearby, people wandered through neighborhoods where roofs had been torn off homes and multiple houses were flattened. Vivi Magana, 17, and her parents were trying to clean up the mess left at their Bridgeton home on Saturday.

A huge tree in the front yard had been pulled out by the roots. An even larger tree in the back was split down the middle. A sliding glass door was shattered, and holes were in the roof. Magana said the family was in the living room Friday night when her mother heard a roar of wind. As they rushed to the basement Magana saw a lawn chair smash through the glass door.

When the wind stopped, they emerged from the basement. "Everyone was screaming to make sure we were all OK," Magana said. Dozens of homes in the neighborhood sus--tained significant damage. Roofers were going door-to-door, offering free temporary repairs. Insurance adjusters arrived in trucks to help their clients.

Neighbors helped each other pull trees from roofs and pick up metal pieces, glass and splintered limbs from yards. "It's crazy like something you'd see in a movie," Tim Kreitler, 27, said as he helped a neighbor clean up. Amid such damage, officials appeared awed that no one was seriously injured. "It almost feels like a little bit of divine intervention when you look at the devastation," said Gov. Jay Nixon, who flew over the area to survey the damage.

Nixon said President Obama pledged federal assistance Saturday during a phone conversation. About 750 homes in the St Louis region were damaged, the governor said. At the airport director Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge said the facility had reopened for some arriving flights Saturday night She expected roughly eight or nine arrivals into St Louis from Delta, AirTran and Southwest She said about 70 of the scheduled inbound and outbound flights would go on as planned starting at 6 am today. The National Weather Service confirmed a tornado had hit the airport, ripping away a large section of the main terminal's roof. National Weather Service meteorologist Scott Truett said it was possible that a tornado that touched down near the St Charles County town of New Melle was the one that ripped into the airport and apparently other parts of St Louis County.

If that was the case, the tornado sustained itself for roughly 30 miles. Many of the windows in the airport's main terminal had been blown out sending glass and rain into the building. Elsewhere on the property, trees were toppled and power lines downed, limiting access even hours after the storm passed. But the airfield itself was fully functional, Hamm-Niebruegge said. Across the nation Trump skipped primaries for 21 years The New York City Board of Elections says Donald Trump didn't vote in any primary elections for 21 years.

The board says the possible Republican presidential candidate voted in a primary election in the 1989 primary for mayor, then didn't vote in another primary for 21 years. TV station NY1 was the first to report the information. The real estate mogul has said he's weighing a presidential bid for 2012. Forecast could hinder Texas wildfires Firefighters continued to make gradual progress containing massive, wind-whipped wildfires that raged across Texas on Saturday while expressing worry that a change in the weather early next week could spark a new outbreak. "With the winds gusting up to 60 mph, it would mean winds blowing the fire and helping it grow but also that we cannot attack it from the air, which has been one of (our) big strategies we have had up until now," said C.J.

Norvell, a spokeswoman for a team of federal firefighters and officials who are helping in West Texas. That fire has grown to about 205,000 acres and was being fought Saturday by nearly 300 firefighters. The blaze was reported to be 75 contained, but the threat of windier conditions made the work more urgent. Speed limit for Golden Gate cyclists? Plans to put the brakes on bicyclists riding across the Golden Gate Bridge has cycling enthusiasts crying foul in this city of two-wheeled activism. Officials who oversee San Francisco's signature landmark think speed limits are necessary to lower the accident rate.

The proposed bicycle speed limit would be 10 mph on most of the Golden Gate. Officials say some riders have been clocked going double that Around the world Is White House hunt overdone? Marathon plays into Obamas' athleticism, but critics see politics at work Library of Congress via AP Easter 1923: Although President Harding and first lady Florence Harding were no-shows, their dog, Laddie Boy, entertained children on April 2, 1923, for the annual egg roll. By Molses Castillo, AP Holy march Vl I In Guatemala: A Christian holds up a miniature glass coffin bearing a statue of Jesus Christ outside the San Felipe church in Antigua on Saturday. Christians around the world celebrate Jesus Christ's resurrection today. -f I it By Richard Wolf and David Jackson USA TODAY WASHINGTON He has a $14.3 trillion national debt, an 8.8 unemployment rate, two wars and a re-election campaign to worry about.

Even so, President Obama is making time Monday to have 30,000 people over for eggs. Not just any eggs: Easter eggs. And not just any people: More people than on any other day of the year. People from every state. Famous people like singer Colbie Caillat and TV star Kelly Ripa.

the Harlem Globetrotters and Sesame Streets Elmo. The White House Easter Egg Roll has been a fixture since 1878. Its evolution into a star-studded, 11 -hour eggs-travaganza featuring live music, dancing, sports and even yoga has been building over the past 30 years. During George W. Bush's last years as president, he hosted Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers.

Last year, Justin Bieber showed up. This year, the hit singer is Caillat Since Barack and Michelle Obama entered the White House, the event has taken on a certain athleticism. The traditional egg-rolling and egg-hunting will be accompanied by basketball and tennis training, football and baseball obstacle courses, a yoga garden and farmer's market Even the theme carries an admonition from the first lady's Let's Move initiative: "Get Up and Go!" "It's natural when you're in there to want to make it better every year," says Debra Dunn, who ran the White House visitors' office in the Bush administration from 1989-93. "Do you think people would want to line up and do this if they were only going to roll an egg?" Well, perhaps. Anita McBride, who was first lady Laura Bush's chief of staff, says that because the White House can put on quite a show, it should.

In 2007, it was her then-9-year-old son who suggested inviting the Jonas Brothers. "People have a certain expectation," McBride says. "At the White House, we always should be showcasing the best America has to offer." This year's event will be the longest yet -starting at 7:30 am and ending at 6:20 p.m. in order to accommodate five groups of 6,000 guests for two hours apiece. Nothing that happens at the White House the rest of the year not even state visits by foreign leaders are as crowded.

"It was one of the most coveted things I got to invite people to," says Sally McDonough, who was Laura Bush's press secretary. "People walk out of there happy, happy, happy." Why all the fuss? 1 )j v) li Yemen president to step down Yemen's embattled president agreed Saturday to a proposal by Gulf Arab mediators to step down within 30 days and hand power to his deputy in exchange for immunity from prosecution, a major about-face for the autocratic leader who has ruled for 32 years. The protest movement demanding President Ali Abdullah Saleh's immediate departure said Saturday that it also accepted the latest draft of the deal but with reservations. A day earlier, protesters staged the largest of two months of demonstrations, filling a five-lane boulevard across the capital. By Tim Wendel with wire reports through an online lottery.

Keeping up with the Joneses. Each administration feels a need to put its imprimatur on the event First lady Pat Nixon unveiled the first Easter Bunny. Rosalynn Carter brought in farm animals. Nancy Reagan added Hollywood-style clowns and characters. Elisabeth Meinecke, deputy managing editor ofTownhall.com, a conservative news and opinion website, says the Obamas may be at risk of overdoing it during tough economic times.

"I'm not against kids being healthy and "working out but it's very agenda-driven," Meinecke says, pointing to the logo a bunny working out "I think they're getting a little carried away." Although the White House would not cite the cost for the event, those involved in past productions say the costs were underwritten by corporate donors. In some years, they could get a photo with the president and first lady. Most celebrities performed for free. Taxpayers do pick up the tab for staffing, which includes the National Park Service and Secret Service. It's also one of the rare events that doesn't have political overtones.

Even the souvenir wooden eggs given to participants with the Obamas' signatures come in politically neutral purple, green, yellow and pink no red or blue. "It's a chance for kids in Washington to have the opportunity to actually walk in the White House gates and feel a sense of the history," says Sheila Tate, first lady Nancy Reagan's press secretary. She adds, "I don't know what the White House gardeners think about it" h- fife- in'i'-lililMkWMll l1 I ''IT TT-" lit HlJ By Garrett Hubbard, USA TODAY Federal aid: President Obama coaches a young participant during last year's event Tradition. The event dates to Rutherford B. Hayes' administration, when it was moved to the South Lawn from the grounds of the U.S.

Capitol. Lawmakers there had banished it because of the mess it left and a tight landscaping budget Public diplomacy. Over the years, its popularity has grown, creating a backlog of disappointed children who didn't make the cut This year, 205,739 tickets were requested ft fc 4 Kelbv Creek is a residential ccr.r.;y thc City of yet set txl than 700 1 cf 7.7.