JIM LEHRER: Rivers kept rising across the Midwest today, and officials warned of record flooding. The regional death toll rose to 15. President Bush declared a major disaster in Missouri.
NewsHour correspondent Kwame Holman narrates our report.
KWAME HOLMAN: At dawn in Eureka, Missouri, the first day of spring brought a welcome sight for flood-stranded drivers: sunshine. Christine Ellis (ph) spent the night trapped in her truck as the water rose around her.
MISSOURI RESIDENT: It was very scary. It seemed like the truck was moving. I kept asking these guys up here if it was moving, and they said, "No, it's just the water."
KWAME HOLMAN: Much of southeastern Missouri was underwater after storms dumped more than a foot of rain since Monday.
MISSOURI RESIDENT: The Meramec and the Big River, this is the big river here, they're both coming up very quickly. Some roads are not being marked as quickly as can be done because the water comes so fast.
KWAME HOLMAN: The Meramec River broke through a levee this afternoon in St. Louis County, inundating homes and leaving more people stranded. The threat of flooding also loomed elsewhere with dozens of rivers spilling over their banks. Many still were rising and not expected to crest until tomorrow or Saturday, with 10 states under warnings.
Ohio had its share of trouble, as homeowners pumped feet of standing water out of their basements. And in east Texas, high winds combined with rain to cause damage. Eddie Sparks survived in his trailer.
TEXAS RESIDENT: It's in concrete, and we drilled holes to put them bolts in. And I feel like that might add a little touch to help saving us.
KWAME HOLMAN: And in neighboring Arkansas, search crews kept looking for two people swept away on Tuesday by rushing water.
JIM LEHRER: The National Weather Service warned today of more flooding this spring. It said moisture is unprecedented for this time of year, especially over most of the Midwest, Northeast and New England. The wet conditions could benefit regions hit by drought last year.
Wall Street headed back up today, as financial stocks rallied. It was the last trading day of the week, with markets closed tomorrow for Good Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 261 points to close at 12,361. The Nasdaq rose 48 points to close at 2,258. For the week: the Dow gained 3.5 percent; the Nasdaq was up 2 percent.
In the presidential campaign today, Democrat Barack Obama blamed the war in Iraq for driving up oil prices in recent years. He spoke in Charleston, West Virginia.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), Illinois: When you're spending over $50 to fill up your car because the price of oil is four times what it was before Iraq, you're paying a price for this war. When Iraq is costing each household about $100 a month, you're paying a price for this war.
JIM LEHRER: Obama's Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, campaigned in Indiana. There she laid out a plan to help the housing market. She proposed a $30 billion emergency fund to buy foreclosed homes and restructure mortgages.
Republican John McCain spent the day in London after visiting Iraq. He met with Prime Minister Brown, but he said it's not for him to tell Britain to slow its pullout from Iraq.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), Arizona: We appreciate enormously the long service and sacrifice of the British men and women in the military, both in Iraq and Afghanistan. And I fully appreciate that British public opinion has been frustrated by sometimes our lack of progress in both areas.
JIM LEHRER: We'll have more on the campaign right after this news summary.
Vice President Cheney urged NATO today to step up its commitment in Afghanistan. He made the appeal during a visit to Kabul, where he met with President Karzai. They discussed the threat from insurgents, especially in the volatile south.
The vice president said American support for Afghanistan is "firm and unshakable," but he said the U.S. will ask the allies to do more.
DICK CHENEY, Vice President of the United States: The United States and the other members of the coalition need to have a sufficient force here to be able to ensure security, to deal with the threat that's been represented by continued activities by the radicals and extremists and the likes of the Taliban and al-Qaida.
JIM LEHRER: Later, Mr. Cheney said the U.S. and other nations will not let Afghanistan crumble back into a failed state. He told U.S. troops the coalition has no intention of letting extremists "shoot their way" back into power.
The U.N. today urged Kenya to prosecute those involved in the worst of the post-election violence. More than 1,000 Kenyans were killed after the disputed presidential vote last December.
The U.N. report said, "Perpetrators of gross human rights violations should under no circumstances be recommended for amnesty." It also said, "The vast majority of bullet wounds and ensuing death were caused by the police." We'll have more from Margaret Warner in Kenya later in the program tonight.
China sent another 80 truckloads of troops rolling into Tibet today. It was the latest move in a crackdown on protests against Chinese rule. Authorities in Tibet said dozens of people had been arrested in the capital city of Lhasa. Rioting broke out there last week.
British actor Paul Scofield died Wednesday at his home in England. He had leukemia. In 1966, Scofield's performance as Sir Thomas More in "A Man for All Seasons" earned him an Academy Award. But he spent most of his career on stage and was called the greatest Shakespearean actor of his generation. Paul Scofield was 86 years old and we'll have more on him at the end of the program tonight.
