US & World News, Monday 5/26

US & World Summary --- At Least Eight Dead As Storms Pound Nations Midsection (Parkersburg, IA) -- Residents in parts of storm-ravaged Iowa and Minnesota are waking up to quite a mess this morning. This, after a major storm system spawned a string of tornadoes that wreaked havoc on the region and left at least eight people dead. Meanwhile, police and National Guard troops were on heavy patrol last night in Windsor, Colorado in neighborhoods hard hit by a devastating tornado earlier in the week. Weld County Police Chief Tom Michaels says some of the residents dont have much left but they want to make sure what they do have remains secure. --- Hillary Clinton Pens Op-Ed To Deflect Criticism White House hopeful Hillary Clinton has penned an op-ed for the "New York Daily News" as she continues to defend herself after making controversial remarks last week regarding the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy. Clinton was blasted for bringing up the untimely assassination as an example of how anything can happen on the presidential campaign trail and one reason why shes refusing to back down. In yesterdays "Daily News" piece she said some took her comments about RFK out of context and interpreted them to mean something completely different and completely unthinkable. --- Shooter Injures Four People At Wedding (Pope County, AR) -- Four people, including the bride and groom, were wounded when a gunman opened fire at an outdoor wedding ceremony Saturday in Pope County, Arkansas. The incident occurred in the community of Piney Creek. Authorities have charged 29-year-old Patrick Duvall with four counts of battery. At last report, investigators had not determined a motive for the shooting and had not released the names of the victims. --- Cars Stall After Filling Up With Record High Priced Gasoline (Maple Valley, WA) -- On a day of record gas prices, some drivers in Washington state are dealing with an even greater headache -- contaminated fuel. A number of cars have stalled after filling up at stations in Maple Valley and Seattle. Two Safeway gas stations had to be shut down after at least nine vehicles gassed up and then stalled within a block of the station. The "Seattle Post-Intelligencer" reports the contaminated fuel came from a Shell refinery that supplies gas stations in Snohomish and King counties. Safeway employees say they called the refinery and Shell confirmed it had delivered contaminated fuel. --- Obama Most Favored To Picnic With While most Americans will spend the Memorial Day weekend picnicking with family and friends, a majority of voters say if they could invite one presidential candidate to their outing, it would be Senator Barack Obama. Thirty-five percent of voters say they would rather chat at a picnic with the Illinois senator, while 33-percent prefer Senator John McCain and only 27-percent want to spend their time with Senator Hillary Clinton. (Copyright 2008 by Newsroom Solutions) RNS-05-26-08 0841CDT