
Barge operators along a key stretch of the Mississippi River braced Monday for months of restricted shipping as crews prepared to begin blasting rock formations that are impeding navigation on the drought-plagued waterway.

Crews scrambled to make repairs Wednesday near the busiest lock on a vital Mississippi River commerce corridor near St. Louis as hundreds of barges and tugboats remained snarled in a backlog that was growing worse by the hour.

Five minutes into the second half, Maryland forward Tianna Hawkins took two dribbles down the lane and forced the ball into the hoop for the basket and the foul.