LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Strong winds and flooding led to the deaths of at least three people in the South on Thursday as powerful thunderstorms moved through several states.

In Arkansas, two people were killed as strong winds toppled trees. Craighead County Coroner Toby Emerson said one man died in Jonesboro when a tree fell on his home, while Arkansas Department of Emergency Management spokesman Brandon Morris said another person was killed when a tree fell on a van in in the town of Black Rock.

In southern Tennessee, a 72-year-old man died Thursday morning when his vehicle was swept downstream as he apparently tried to cross a flooded roadway, according to the Highway Patrol.

WSMV-TV said a search was underway in Hickman County, Tennessee, for a 6- or 7-year-old child missing after a car became stuck in water Thursday afternoon.

Alabama and Georgia were also in the path of the storms.

About 30,000 people were without power in Shelby County, Tennessee, on Thursday afternoon. There were reports of downed trees and power lines, blocking some roads.

The storms damaged numerous homes and businesses in Arkansas, and strong winds blew over a freight train on a Union Pacific line, blocking U.S. 49 in the northeast part of the state.

"Right now the issue is the cargo boxes that are causing the problem, those that have spilled out across the highway," Arkansas State Police spokesman Bill Sadler said.

He said winds also blew over about a half-dozen tractor-trailers. No serious injuries or hazardous cargo were involved in those incidents.

Further north, the National Weather Service confirmed a tornado touched down outside Sioux Falls, South Dakota. No injuries were reported from that twister that resulted from a strong, isolated thunderstorm that dumped about an inch of rain within 20 minutes.

Deadly storms rock the South

Three people were killed by winds and flooding as a powerful weather system crossed through the region.
Tractor-trailers, train blown over

North Korea says it is holding an American tourist

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — An American tourist has been detained in North Korea for allegedly committing an unspecified crime, the country's official news agency reported Friday.

The Korean Central News Agency said that authorities were investigating the American for allegedly committing acts inconsistent with the purpose of a tourist visit. It did not give details

"American citizen Jeffrey Edward Fowle entered the DPRK as a tourist on April 29 and acted in violation of the DPRK law, contrary to the purpose of tourism during his stay," KCNA reported, referring to the country's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

He is the third American currently held in North Korea.

In April, North Korea said it had detained a 24-year-old American for improper behavior while he was being processed to enter the country as a tourist. He was identified as Miller Matthew Todd — possibly putting his surname first. It said he entered the country on April 10 with a tourist visa, but tore it up and shouted that he wanted to seek asylum. The brief report said he chose the North "as a shelter."

North Korea has been holding a Korean-American missionary, Kenneth Bae, since November 2012. Bae was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for what the North says were hostile acts against the state.

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This Jan. 20, 2014 file photo shows American missionary Kenneth Bae speaking to reporters at Pyongya …

North Korea has been pushing to promote tourism as part of efforts to earn badly needed foreign currency, but the country is also extremely sensitive about how visitors act while in the country.

Friday's announcement came as tension on the Korean Peninsula remains high with North Korea keeping up rhetoric against the U.S. and South Korea following its seres of missile and rocket launches earlier this year. The North's state media have also unleashed racist and sexist slurs against U.S. and South Korean leaders.

The peninsula is still in a technical state of war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. About 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea to deter potential aggression from North Korea.

The U.S. and North Korea do not have diplomatic relations, but Sweden, which has an embassy in Pyongyang, oversees consular issues for the United States there.

In March, North Korea deported an Australian missionary detained for spreading Christianity in the country after he apologized for anti-state religious acts and requested forgiveness.

North Korea arrests another U.S. tourist

The state news agency says a U.S. citizen is being held for allegedly committing an unspecified crime.
3rd American detained

SEATTLE (AP) — Police say a Seattle Pacific University student on Thursday disarmed a lone gunman who entered a building and shot four people.

A hospital spokeswoman says one man has died and three other people are injured, one critically.

Police say the student building monitor disarmed the gunman as he was reloading. Several students held the gunman until police arrived.

Police say the gunman is under arrest. The Otto Miller building where the afternoon shooting took place has been secured.

Harborview Medical Center spokeswoman Susan Gregg says a man in his 20s has died and a critically injured 20-year-old woman has been taken to surgery. Gregg says a 24-year-old man and a 22-year-old man are in satisfactory condition.

Gregg says the hospital is not expecting any more injured people from the shooting.

About 4,270 students attend the private Christian university, located in a residential neighborhood about 10 minutes from downtown Seattle.

Students lauded for ending campus shooting

One man is dead and 3 others are hurt at Seattle Pacific University, but more deaths were prevented.
Gunman subdued

Associated Press Videos

VA Chief: 18 Vets Left Off Waiting List Have Die

By Susan Cornwell and David Lawder

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate negotiators reached a bipartisan deal on Thursday to ease healthcare delays at the Department of Veterans Affairs as the agency's acting boss revealed that 18 veterans on a secret waiting list had died while waiting for VA care in Phoenix.

The Senate plan was quickly put together to address a crisis that has embarrassed the Obama administration and worried lawmakers in the run-up to November's mid-term elections.

If passed, it would allow veterans more access to private doctors and give the VA new authority to open 26 clinics, hire more doctors and nurses and fire poor-performing staff.

It was reached after rare bipartisan negotiations led by Senator John McCain, a Republican, and Bernard Sanders, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats.

The scandal over widespread schemes to mask the long delays prompted allegations from VA doctors in Phoenix that 40 veterans had died while waiting for appointments at VA facilities there. Last week, it brought the resignation of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki.

Acting VA secretary visits Phoenix facilityPlay Video

His replacement, VA Acting Secretary Sloan Gibson, told reporters in Phoenix that VA staff in recent days had contacted 1,700 veterans whose names appeared on secret waiting lists for care and found that 18 of them had already died.

Gibson said some of the 18 had initially contacted the VA for "end of life care" but he added that it was "inexcusable" that so many veterans were left languishing on a secret waiting list and vowed change.

"This is not what our veterans deserve; this will not stand," said Gibson, who joined the VA in February. "I will not be part of some effort to maintain the status quo here."

Sanders, who chairs the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, said lawmakers from both parties are "appalled" by the delays and cover-ups in Phoenix and elsewhere.

"We have a crisis on our hands and it is imperative that we deal with that crisis," Sanders said on the Senate floor.

The proposed legislation, targeted for a Senate vote next week, would authorize leases for 26 new major clinics in 18 states and use $500 million in leftover funds to hire new VA doctors and nurses to speed veterans' access to care.

In a two-year pilot project, veterans would be able to seek outside healthcare at VA expense if they experience long wait times for appointments or if they live more than 40 miles (64 km) from a VA hospital or clinic.

Sanders said the VA would determine the appropriate wait time trigger but added that it may be longer than the agency's now-abandoned 14-day goal.

The bill would allow the immediate firing of VA executives responsible for the cover-ups and other deficiencies. It would offer them the opportunity to appeal within seven days, with a final decision due within 21 days.

The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC), an independent watchdog agency, said on Thursday it was probing 37 allegations that VA whistle blowers who disclosed poor scheduling practices were unfairly disciplined.

(Additional reporting by Emily Stephenson in Washington and David Schwartz in Phoenix; Editing by Bill Trott and Cynthia Osterman)

Bipartisan VA health bill reached in Senate

Republican John McCain and independent Bernard Sanders broker a deal to address delays in veteran care.
Will face full Senate vote

The Pentagon says Beijing military spending has ballooned with an eye toward exerting influence abroad.
Areas of expansion