World/Nation

• More GM recalls due to ignition problems

DETROIT - General Motors is recalling another 3 million cars because of a defect that causes a similar problem to one that led to an earlier massive recall of small cars, and is linked to 13 deaths.

The ignition switches in Chevrolet Impalas, Cadillac Devilles and five other models can slip out of the "run" position if the keychain has too much weight on it and the car is jarred, for example, by hitting a pothole. To fix the problem, GM will revise or replace the key.

Similar to the 2.6 million small cars GM began recalling in February, drivers of the newly recalled models could experience an engine stall, loss of power-assisted steering and brakes, and the air bags may not inflate in a crash. GM says the latest recall involves six injuries and no deaths, and is related to the design of the key. A mechanical defect in the switch is at the heart of the other recall.

GM is in the midst of a companywide safety review, and has now issued 44 recalls this year covering more than 20 million vehicles - nearly 18 million the U.S. The latest recall is likely to spark more questions about GM's commitment to safety when CEO Mary Barra testifies for the second time before a House panel investigating why it took GM 11 years to recall the small cars.

Barra endured some harsh questions in April, but refused to answer most pending the release of an internal investigation. GM released those results on June 5, blaming a dysfunctional corporate structure and poor decisions by some employees for the crisis. The company also announced plans to establish a fund to compensate the families of those who died, plus those injured in more than 50 crashes.

• Tornadoes sweep across northeast Nebraska

PILGER, Neb. - At least one person was killed and 16 others were in critical condition on Monday after massive tornadoes swept through northeast Nebraska, destroying more than half of the town of Pilger, hospital and emergency officials said.

The National Weather Service said at least two twisters touched down within roughly a mile of each other. Emergency crews and residents spent the evening sorting through demolished homes and businesses in the town of about 350, roughly 100 miles northwest of Omaha.

"More than half of the town is gone - absolutely gone," Stanton County Commissioner Jerry Weatherholt said. "The co-op is gone, the grain bins are gone, and it looks like almost every house in town has some damage. It's a complete mess."

Stanton County Sheriff Mike Unger estimated that 50 to 75 percent of Pilger was heavily damaged or destroyed in the storm. The local school is likely beyond repair, he said.

• Mississippi sues credit-reporting firm over errors

WASHINGTON - Mississippi has sued Experian, the world's largest firm that collects detailed information about consumers to evaluate their financial trustworthiness. The lawsuit - and a separate investigation of the industry by 32 other states led by Ohio - represent a significant new legal challenge to the industry over allegations of paperwork errors and violations of consumer protection laws.

Errors can jeopardize people's ability to get loans and pass job-related background checks. Experian has even wrongly reported that consumers are on a federal terrorism watch list, the lawsuit alleges.

Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood's complaint accuses Experian Information Solutions of knowingly including error-riddled data in the credit files of millions of Americans, jeopardizing their ability to obtain loans, employment-related background checks and sensitive government security clearances.

The lawsuit against Experian was filed without fanfare last month in a Biloxi state courthouse and transferred to Mississippi federal court late last week.

Experian and its competitors gather and maintain records of consumers' credit history from banks, debt collectors and other sources, keeping files on more than 200 million Americans. Banks, prospective employers and other parties pay the credit bureaus to review this data, using it to determine whether a borrower is financially stable and a good credit risk. Consumers with blemishes like missed credit card payments or recent bankruptcies on their credit will struggle to get loans, while those with a long record of timely debt repayment are courted by lenders.

• Judge lifts U.S. oversight of Chicago hiring

CHICAGO - Who you know may not be enough to land a job at Chicago's City Hall anymore.

A federal judge on Monday ended nine years of federal oversight of Chicago municipal hiring, agreeing the nation's third-largest city has put effective mechanisms in place to curb illegal patronage, or the hiring of people based on their political or personal connections.

Landing a job with the help of friends in high places was long part of the way things worked in The City That Works, and it helped Mayor Richard J. Daley, the legendary iron-fisted boss of Chicago from the 1950s until the mid-'70s, assemble his ruthlessly efficient Democratic machine.

It was often said, only half-jokingly, that Chicago officials' attitude about job-seekers was: "We don't want nobody that nobody sent."

But this week, nearly a half-century after a lawyer by the name of Michael Shakman first sued over the use of "clout," as they call it in Chicago, U.S. District Judge Sidney Schenkier decided that the city has begun to change its ways and has earned the right to police itself.

- The Associated Press