syria s president and his cronies. new sanctions as the u.s. calls for an end to the security crackdown. waiting for water levels to fall, for thousands of people forced out of their homes by the mississippi floods, life becomes a waiting game. and the disaster that rocked an economy to its foundations, japan sinks back into its third recession in a decade. dominique strauss-kahn has resigned as head of the international monetary fund to focus on clearing his name. his decision follows charges he tried to rape a hotel maid in new york. strauss-kahn denies the allegations but since he was arrested on saturday, he s come under increasing pressure to step down. one european minister said he should reflect on whether he was damaging the imf. just a few hours ago, strauss-kahn said this in a letter to the imf board, quote, i deny with the greatest possible firmness all the allegations against me. i want to protect the institution i have served with honor and devotion. and i
blago, he is back on trial in federal court in chicago on influence peddling charges. we have a shot in the lobby. you may see that famous head of hair come through. on remote 270, you know what that is? that is the target on the international space station. the shuttle endeavour getting ready to dock. president obama speaking right now at the coast guard academy. he is delivering the commencement address here. on remote 241, where shepard smith will appear later this evening. looking at the flooded mississippi. anxious eyes as the residents see whether the swollen river will overflow some of the dikes. our chief meteorologist. rick reichmuth is in the fox weather center. a lot of the comes by letting water out of spillways. they are letting out of the bonne spillway into the lake
as spills in the gulf of mexico. nature has taken care of it. it does not mean it is good. it is bad. it should never happen again. but it was not the end of the gulf of mexico. neil: how would you rank this disaster? guest: well, i think that there are other events what are happening that are far worse if you want to look at disasters when we build dikes on the mississippi river and channeled it into the gulf of mexico, that is why southern louisiana is washing away. we look at the nutrients coming down the mississippi river and creating the dead zones off the coast of louisiana, these are chronic, happening year round and i don t think this disaster, the spill and blow out spill, because they were able to shut it off quickly i don t think it
cases full of anxiety, as rivers across the upper midwest are expected to crest. the city of oslo minnesota, is now an island. surrounded on every side by the searching red river. downtown, more like a ghost town. usually there s people across the street here, in front of you and watch out for them. well, we can see nothing. reporter: half of the 350 residents have moved out. bingo. reporter: those that remain find ways to pass the time. some volunteer to keep watch over this wall of dirt. it s the city s only protection. you are thinking okay, these dikes can hold, things are going to break so that s kind of main worries and concerns that you have. reporter: the red river is expected to crest today, still the roads here can be impassable for the next two weeks. in valley city, north dakota, where the coast guard is on patrol in the waters and high above, the cheyenne river will also crest today. forecast is for over 20 feet. i live half a block from the river. so it s ki
right there. that is wildfires. they continue to burn through tens of thousands of acres across north and west texas. bracing for what could have been one of the biggest outbreaks of wildfires in state history. the texas forest service now says fifth verse gotten the upper hand finally. six new fires that started today were quickly brought under control. and that is north of the texas border. that s in oklahoma today. the governor extended a state of emergency for seven counties to help battle wildfires. a prolonged drought isn t helping, and fire fighters on the ground and in the air battle hot spots for this enormous grass fire near the town of cleveland. more than 350 people were forced to flee the area. so far, there have been no reports of injuries. and folks in fargo, north dakota, are breathing a little easier tonight. that s because so far those dikes and sandbags holding back the bloated red river have worked.