U.S. News
Mississippi River crests at Davenport, testing barriers
The peak was slightly lower than forecast but still high enough to test the region's flood defenses and to keep officials on guard. Many larger cities have flood walls but Davenport relies on temporary sand-filled barriers and allows the river to flood in riverfront parks.

Maine 19-year-old will plead guilty in Chicago-area mosque attack plot
All three alleged plotters believed in a radical form of Sunni Islam that views the Shiite branch of Islam as nonbelievers, officials said, and had reportedly pledged allegiance to the Islamic State.

Army Corps further delays decision on Great Lakes oil tunnel
A federal review of plans for a Great Lakes oil pipeline tunnel will take more than a year longer than originally planned, officials said Thursday, likely delaying completion of the project — if approved — until 2030 or later.

Rep. Darin LaHood says FBI wrongly sought surveillance info about him
At a hearing of the House Intelligence Committee, LaHood pressed FBI Director Chris Wray to acknowledge that his agency and others had at times violated the rules on the use of data collected through electronic snooping.

Federal protection granted for imperiled freshwater mussels
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said it was granting protection to longsolid and round hickorynut mussels, which have declined in many Eastern and Midwestern streams.

Flights canceled, highways closed as winter storm wallops US
More than 192,000 customers in Michigan and nearly 89,000 in Illinois were without electricity Wednesday evening, according to PowerOutage.us.

Boeing bids farewell to an icon, delivers last 747 jumbo jet
Since its first flight in 1969, the 747 has served as a cargo plane, a commercial aircraft capable of carrying nearly 500 passengers, a transport for NASA's space shuttles, and the Air Force One presidential aircraft.

Ex-Chicago student gets 8 years for spying for Chinese government
He allegedly swore an oath of allegiance to the Chinese Ministry of State Security while studying at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago and even enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserves.

Massive winter storm brings rolling blackouts, power outages
More than 200 million people were under an advisory or warning on Friday, the National Weather Service said. The weather service's map “depicts one of the greatest extents of winter weather warnings and advisories ever,” forecasters said.

Postal worker holdup leads to muscle car theft ring arrests
One of the men admitted to the FBI that he and another associate had been in contact through Instagram with people in the Detroit area to get stolen vehicles, and that they would then "sell to buyers in other areas, including Chicago and Indianapolis,” the complaint said.
