State, nation & world briefs: UK credit rating slashed, Cameron insists economy is robust

LONDON— Prime Minister David Cameron insisted Monday that Britain’s shock vote to leave the European Union won’t send the economy into a tailspin, even as the country was stripped of its top credit rating and stock markets and the pound continued a downward spiral.

Calling the vote a “seminal event” that “will lead to a less predictable, stable and effective policy framework in the U.K,” Standard & Poor’s knocked the U.K.’s sovereign rating by two notches, from AAA to AA. Hours later, Fitch Ratings followed suit, downgrading the country to AA, from AA+.

Both agencies said they were keeping a negative outlook on their ratings, which means they could downgrade the country further. Standard and Poor’s cited risks to the economy and public finances, the pound’s role as an international reserve currency and “risks to the constitutional and economic integrity of the U.K.” as Scotland’s strong vote to remain in the EU could raise the prospect of another referendum on Scottish independence.

Speaking earlier in the day as the House of Commons met for the first time since last week’s referendum, Cameron insisted the British economy was robust and could withstand the shockwaves.

“It is clear that markets are volatile, there are some companies considering their investments and we know this is going to be far from plain sailing,” Cameron told lawmakers. “However, we should take confidence from the fact that Britain is ready to confront what the future holds for us from a position of strength.”

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Austin man drowns after canoe tipped over in lake

GEORGETOWN — Police say a 36-year-old man drowned in a Central Texas lake after the canoe he was riding in with his daughter tipped over.

Georgetown police tell the Austin American-Statesman that several bystanders in the water helped the 9-year-old child return to shore Saturday at Lake Georgetown, but they were unable to rescue Jonathon Mendosa.

Divers recovered the Austin man’s body about 2 ½ hours later.Police said Mendosa was at Jim Hogg Park for a family event when he and his 9-year-old child went out on the water in a canoe without wearing life jackets.Judge blocks part of Mississippi LGBT marriage lawJACKSON, Miss.— A federal judge ruled Monday that Mississippi clerks cannot cite their own religious beliefs to recuse themselves from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves’ ruling blocks the state from enforcing part of a religious objections bill that was supposed to become law Friday.Reeves is extending his previous order that overturned Mississippi’s ban on same-sex marriage. He says circuit clerks are required to provide equal treatment for all couples, gay or straight.Mississippi’s religious objections measure, House Bill 1523, was filed in response to last summer’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling that legalized gay marriage nationwide. That ruling is called the Obergefell case, after the man who filed it.“Mississippi’s elected officials may disagree with Obergefell, of course, and may express that disagreement as they see fit — by advocating for a constitutional amendment to overturn the decision, for example,” Reeves wrote Monday. “But the marriage license issue will not be adjudicated anew after every legislative session.”Homes burned, looted in Iraqi city after defeat of militantsFALLUJAH, Iraq — Dozens of homes were looted and burned as Fallujah was liberated from the Islamic State group, and Iraqi government forces Monday accused the retreating militants. Some provincial police, however, blamed the fires on Shiite militias operating with the federal police.The allegations of sectarian incidents in Fallujah are on a much smaller scale than those that unfolded in another Sunni-majority city, Tikrit, after government-sanctioned Shiite militias helped retake it from the IS group. The Iraqi government had sought to try to prevent similar abuses in the Fallujah campaign.Iraqi forces declared Sunday they had “fully liberated” Fallujah from the Sunni-led extremist group that took over the city 40 miles (65 kilometers) west of Baghdad more than two years ago. The operation, backed by airstrikes from a U.S.-led coalition, began May 22, and involved a number of different Iraqi security forces: elite special operations troops, federal police, Anbar provincial police, and an umbrella group of government-approved mostly Shiite militias.Thick clouds of black smoke billowed over the Julan neighborhood in northwestern Fallujah, one of the last strongholds of the militants, from dozens of burning homes.Special forces Lt. Gen. Abdul Wahab al-Saadi who led the operation to retake the city, said IS militants had torched hundreds of houses in Fallujah’s north and west as they fled Sunday, just as the fighters did in many other neighborhoods in the last five weeks.Police had previous run-ins with mom who killed daughters FULSHEAR— Officers had been called out 14 times since 2012 to the home of a mother who killed her two daughters and was fatally shot by police, a Texas sheriff’s office said Monday.Some of the calls were related to alarm issues, the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. But officials said that due to legal constraints by the county attorney, they couldn’t describe the other calls for service.Sheriff’s office spokeswoman Caitilin Espinosa had told People magazine that prior calls had involved a “mental crisis” related to 42-year-old Christy Sheats.Sheriff Troy Nehls said a family argument led to the shooting Friday evening at a home just outside the Houston suburb of Fulshear. Prior to the shooting, Sheats convened a family meeting in the living room that was attended by her husband, Jason Sheats, and her daughters, Taylor Sheats, 22, and Madison Sheats, 17, according to the sheriff’s office.“During that meeting, Christy Sheats held up a gun and shot both girls,” the sheriff’s office said.Jason Sheats and the daughters ran outside, where Madison Sheats collapsed and died. Jason Sheats ran to the end of a cul-de-sac.Taylor Sheats was shot again by her mother on the street. A witness told investigators Christy Sheats then went back in the home, reloaded her gun and shot Taylor once more.