Floods in Indian state mean travail for millions

Devastating monsoon floods are ravaging India's northern Uttar Pradesh state, the Press Trust of India reported Thursday. Officials say almost 7 million people in more than 13,000 villages are affected by the floods, which have damaged or destroyed 240,000 houses. Thousands of acres of rice padies are underwater and crop losses totalling millions of dollars are feared. Floodwaters from the Ganges River also pose a threat to the sacred Hindu city of Varanasi, where some areas are already waist-deep in water.