Super Typhoon Soudelor developed into the world's most powerful storm of the year Tuesday as it took aim at Japan, Taiwan and China after trashing the Northern Marianas.

The storm was roaring across the western Pacific Ocean packing wind gusts up to 220 miles per hour (354 kph) according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center which rated it a maximum category five.

It was stronger than Cyclone Pam, the previous strongest storm of 2015, which killed at least 15 people when it slammed into Vanuatu, also in the Pacific, five months ago.

No deaths have been attributed to Soudelor, but it left a trail of destruction across the Northern Marianas where acting governor Ralph Torres declared a "state of major disaster and significant emergency" after it struck late Sunday.

Nearly 400 people were packed in emergency shelters after Soudelor ripped roofs off houses and left residents without power, water and wastewater services.

"I've seen multiple primary power poles down; I've seen cars flipped over the road; I've seen lots of torn roofs," John Hirsh, executive director of the American Red Cross in Saipan, told Pacific Daily News.

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Super Typhoon Soudelor is seen in an enhanced infrared NOAA satellite image taken in the Western Pac …

Damage was "extensive" across the island and there had been significant damage to public infrastructure, he said.

Many roads were impassable in Saipan -- the Northern Marianas main island, the seat of government and hub of the local economy -- while in the harbour at least three vessels were ripped from their moorings.

In Hagatna, on neighbouring Guam, the weather service warned boats to stay away from exposed reefs and beaches because of "hazardous surf" and "life threatening" rip currents.

It said Soudelor would continue to intensify as it swept across open water for the next 24 hours before starting to weaken.

It was expected to be down to category four or three by the time it hit southern Japan, Taiwan and China from late Thursday.

Tropical typhoons and cyclones typically form in the western Pacific between May and October with Pam the most destructive so far this year.

In addition to the fatalities in Vanuatu, about 75,000 people needed emergency shelter after their homes were destroyed and almost all food crops were wiped out.

Typhoon Maysak slammed into the Federated States of Micronesia in late March killing at least four people and leaving more than 5,000 in need of food, shelter and other emergency assistance.

Extreme Weather Hits Eastern Hemisphere (video)

Most powerful storm of 2015 targets Japan

Super Typhoon Soudelor leaves a trail of destruction across the Northern Marianas and has wind gusts of up to 220 mph.
Residents without water, power

'Deputy Sumner responded to the call and did what he is sworn to do'

A Kentucky sheriff is standing behind a deputy officer who restrained two elementary schoolchildren with disabilities using handcuffs last fall, saying he did nothing wrong.

"Covington Schools' personnel requested assistance from the police during school hours after school administrators' efforts to deescalate and defuse a threat to others had proven unsuccessful," Kenton County Sheriff Chuck Korzenborn said in a statement Tuesday, a day after a lawsuit against Kevin Sumner, a Kenton County deputy sheriff and school resource officer, was filed in federal court. "Deputy Sumner responded to the call and did what he is sworn to do and in conformity with all constitutional and law enforcement standards."

According to the lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Children's Law Center and law firm Dinsmore & Shohl in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky on Monday, Sumner restrained the 8-year-old boy once and 9-year-old girl twice in three separate incidents, shackling their arms behind their backs and causing them pain and emotional trauma.

A video released by the ACLU shows an officer, identified as Sumner, shackling the boy, identified as S.R. in the lawsuit, with handcuffs clasped around his biceps inside the vice principal's office at the school.

"You don't get to swing at me like that," Sumner can be heard telling the crying third grader as he is handcuffed. "You can do what we ask you to or you can suffer the consequences."

An unidentified member of the school's staff videotaped the Nov. 13, 2014, incident, the ACLU said.

Federal Lawsuit Over Kids With ADHD Allegedly Hand …Play video

According to the lawsuit, the 52-pound boy, who had been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), was restrained by Sumner for 15 minutes.

When the boy's parents arrived at the school to take him home, Sumner allegedly told them he would "return to the school with his handcuffs if [the boy] did not behave."

The boy's parents say he experienced physical pain, anxiety and "significant emotional stress" as a result of being shackled.

The suit alleges that Sumner used the same shackling tactic on the 9-year-old girl, identified as L.G, on two occasions in October 2014.

The fourth grader, who had been diagnosed with ADHD, weighed about 56 pounds at the time of alleged incidents. In an Oct. 3 incident report cited by the lawsuit, Sumner stated that the girl was "attempting to injure the school staff" and that she remained handcuffed for 20 minutes before a "medical crisis team" could arrive.

ACLU sues school officer who handcuffed disabled s …Play video

In the second incident, on Oct. 23, the girl was restrained for 30 minutes. According to the complaint, the girl's mother witnessed Sumner holding her daughter's hands "over her head while handcuffed in a shoulder hypertension position." She continues to suffer emotional stress as a result of the second handcuffing, the lawsuit claims.

In 2012, the Kentucky Board of Education adopted regulations prohibiting school personnel from using mechanical restraints such as handcuffs on students.

"Physical restraint shall not be used ... as punishment or discipline" or "to force compliance," the law states.

"Shackling children is not OK. It is traumatizing, and in this case it is also illegal," Susan Mizner, disability counsel for the ACLU, said in a statement. "Using law enforcement to discipline students with disabilities only serves to traumatize children. It makes behavioral issues worse and interferes with the school's role in developing appropriate educational and behavioral plans for them."

The lawsuit also names Korzenborn for allegedly failing to adequately train and supervise Sumner, and the Kenton County Sheriff's Office for "disability-based discrimination" in its treatment of the children — a violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act.

"In this particular case, all the facts and circumstances have not yet been presented," Korzenborn said Tuesday. "I steadfastly stand behind Deputy Sumner who responded to the school's request for help. Deputy Sumner is a highly respected and skilled law enforcement Deputy, and is an asset to the community and those he serves."

The ACLU is seeking "an order requiring a change in policies by the Kenton County Sheriff's Office, additional training for school resource officers in dealing with young children and children with special needs" and unspecified monetary damages.

Korzenborn's full statement:

(Kenton County Sheriff's Office)

Sheriff defends officer who shackled school kids

The officer acted properly when he used handcuffs to restrain a boy with disabilities, a Kentucky sheriff says.
ACLU files lawsuit

FBI looking into security of Clinton private email account: Washington Post

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FBI Looking Into Security Of Clinton Private Email Account

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The FBI has begun looking into the security of Hillary Clinton’s private email setup, contacting in the past week a Denver-based technology firm that helped manage the unusual system, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday, citing two government officials.

The FBI last week also contacted Clinton's lawyer, David Kendall, with questions about the security of a thumb drive in his possession that contains copies of work emails Clinton sent during her time as secretary of state, the Post said.

Clinton's use of her private email account linked to a server in her New York home for her work as America's top diplomat came to light in March and drew fire from political opponents who accused the Democratic presidential candidate of sidestepping transparency and record-keeping laws.

"The government is seeking assurance about the storage of those materials. We are actively cooperating," Kendall said in a statement.

At least four emails from the account used by Clinton while she was secretary of state contained classified information, according to a government watchdog. Clinton has said she did not send or receive any secret information using that account.

A lawyer for the Denver company, Platte River Networks, declined to comment, as did multiple Justice Department officials, the Post said. Reuters was not immediately able to reach a representative of the company for comment.

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Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton addresses supporters at a campaign kickoff event i …

At this point, the FBI probe is preliminary and is focused on ensuring the proper handling of classified material, the Post said.

Nick Merrill, a spokesman for Clinton’s campaign, declined to comment on the FBI’s actions.

The server installed in her Chappaqua, New York, home as she was preparing to take office as secretary of state was originally used by her first campaign for the presidency, in 2008, the Post reported, citing two people briefed on the setup. A staffer who was on the payroll of her political action committee set it up in her home.

Responsibility for setting up and maintaining the server that handled personal email communications passed through a number of different hands, starting with Clinton staffers with limited training in computer security and eventually expanding to Platte River, the Post reported.

(Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by Ken Wills)

Report: FBI investigating security of Clinton emails