CRIMINAL CHARGES POSSIBLE IN FLINT

lansing, mich. » Flint’s water crisis, after a switch in the source allowed dangerous levels of lead and potentially caused deadly cases of Legionnaires’ disease, could result in criminal charges as serious as involuntary manslaughter, a top investigator said Tuesday.

The emergency will prompt Gov. Rick Snyder to propose an additional $ 195 million of aid in his annual budget proposal Wednesday, including $ 25 million to replace old lead and copper pipes.

Snyder also plans to call for $ 165 million for infrastructure needs acrossMichigan in the 2016- 17 budget.

If approved by lawmakers, state spending on the Flint water disaster will top $ 232 million over this fiscal year and next.

Todd Flood, who was appointed as special counsel by state Attorney General Bill Schuette last month because Schuette’s office is defending the state in lawsuits, said manslaughter charges could be on the table if government officials were grossly negligent in their handling of the city’s water change and the aftermath.

The maximum prison sentence is 15 years.

Islamic State blast kills 10.

A suicide car bomber dispatched by the Islamic State struck near a police officers’ club in the Syrian capital Tuesday, killing at least 10 people and destroying cars.

Syrian state TV reported the toll and showed footage of the aftermath in Damascus, including several damaged vehicles. The police officers’ club was next to a vegetable market.

The Britain- based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition group that tracks the civil war, said the blast