Mississippi River levee hearing set for Thursday in Cape

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A federal judge has scheduled a Thursday hearing on Missouri's lawsuit to prevent the destruction of a levee along the Mississippi River.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has not yet decided whether it will punch a large hole in a levee on the Missouri side of the river to protect the Illinois town of Cairo from flooding. Missouri's attorney general sued Tuesday to try to stop the plan.

U.S. District Judge Stephen Limbaugh Jr. set a 10 a.m. Thursday hearing in Cape Girardeau on the request for a temporary restraining order.

Missouri's lawsuit contends the levee breach should be blocked because the corps' plan would flood 130,000 acres of land, contaminating water with farm chemicals and other pollutants.