5 Dead after tornado, flooding from storms lash central U.S.; NEWS BRIEFING; Staff and news services; Christians shutter renowned Jerusalem church to protest ; Nigerian government admits that 110 girls still missing; EU leader urges Macedonia to solve name dispute with Greece; Calif. Democratic Party won’t endorse Feinstein; 4 critically injured by explosion and fire in Britain

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - The death toll rose to at least five on Sunday after severe thunderstorms swept through the central U.S., spawning a tornado that flattened homes, gale force winds and widespread flooding from the Upper Midwest to Appalachia.

The system that stretched from Texas to the Canadian Maritime provinces had prompted several emergency declarations even before the dangerous storms arrived.

In southwestern Michigan, the body of a 48-year-old man was found floating in floodwaters Sunday in Kalamazoo, authorities said.

In Kentucky, authorities said three people died. Two bodies were recovered from submerged vehicles in separate incidents Saturday.

A body was recovered from a vehicle that was in a ditch in in western Kentucky near Morganfield.

And a male's body was pulled from a vehicle in a creek near the south-central Kentucky community of Franklin on Saturday.

About 20 miles away, a 79-year-old woman died after a suspected tornado destroyed her Adairville home and it collapsed on her earlier Saturday.

The fifth death was in northeast Arkansas, where an 83-year-old man was killed after high winds toppled his trailer home Saturday night.

In Middle Tennessee, the National Weather Service on Sunday confirmed an EF-2 tornado with maximum winds of 120 mph hit Clarksville on Saturday, destroying at least four homes.

The governors of Missouri, Indiana and Illinois declared disaster emergencies.

Christians shutter renowned Jerusalem church to protest

JERUSALEM - The leaders of the major Christian sects in Jerusalem closed the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built on the traditional site of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection, for several hours on Sunday to protest an Israeli plan to tax their properties.

The Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic and the Armenian Apostolic leaders responsible for the site issued a joint statement bemoaning what they called a "systematic campaign of abuse," comparing it to anti-Jewish laws issued in Nazi Germany.

The Christians are angry about Jerusalem municipality plans to tax their various assets around the city and a potential parliament bill to expropriate land sold by the Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches. The churches, which are major landowners in the holy city, say it violates a long-standing status quo.

Nigerian government admits that 110 girls still missing

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria - Nigeria's government acknowledged Sunday that 110 girls remained missing nearly a week after Boko Haram militants attacked their town. Frustrated family members already had compiled a list of missing girls and said officials were slow to respond.

The fate of the girls is not known, but witnesses said the Islamic extremists specifically asked the location of the girls' school. Some witnesses reporting seeing young women taken away at gunpoint.

Information Minister Lai Mohammed made the announcement Sunday after meetings with family members, some of whom criticized the government for taking days to make such an announcement.

Many fear the girls were abducted as brides for Boko Haram extremists.

EU leader urges Macedonia to solve name dispute with Greece

SKOPJE, Macedonia - European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker urged Macedonian officials Sunday to resolve a long-standing naming dispute with neighboring Greece so the country can open membership talks with the European Union.

Juncker is on a Balkans tour that includes stops in Albania, Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Montenegro, all countries aspiring to EU membership.

Kicking off his tour in Skopje with Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev and President Gjorge Ivanov, Juncker praised Macedonia for the "pace of reforms" needed to join the EU and for concluding a friendship treaty with Bulgaria.

Greece argues that Macedonia's name implies territorial claims to Greece's Macedonia province.

Calif. Democratic Party won't endorse Feinstein

SAN DIEGO - U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein failed to win the official endorsement of the California Democratic Party as she seeks her fifth term, another sign that the party is divided over how best to battle Republicans in Washington.

Democratic activists were eager to back her primary challenger, state Senate leader Kevin de Leon, who touts himself as a fresh face with stronger progressive credentials.

However, he too failed to earn the 60 percent support needed to win the endorsement Saturday at the Democrats' annual convention. That means neither candidate will get the party's seal of approval or extra campaign cash leading into the June primary.

Though party activists rebuked Feinstein, she has millions of dollars in campaign funds, and polling shows she is popular with many Democratic voters.

4 critically injured by explosion and fire in Britain

LONDON - Four people were hospitalized in critical condition following an explosion that left a building in the English city of Leicester in flames Sunday, local emergency agencies said.

The Police Department said on its website there was no indication the emergency was terrorist-related.

"The cause of the explosion will be the subject of a joint investigation by the police and Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service," the Police Department said.

The incident occurred just after 7 p.m. on a crowded street that leads into Leicester's city center and was being treated as a search-and-rescue operation. The street is a mix of apartments and small shops.

University Hospitals of Leicester said the four people at a local hospital are critically injured.

A judge overseeing a class-action lawsuit over the quality of health care in Arizona's prisons will hold hearings this week.

The hearings were called after the judge repeatedly voiced frustration over what he described as the state's "abject failure" to carry out improvements it promised in 2015.

The White House said President Donald Trump will attend Friday's funeral in North Carolina for the Rev. Billy Graham.

The evangelist and spiritual adviser to numerous presidents died last week. He will be afforded the rare tribute of lying in honor in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on Wednesday and Thursday.

Caption: Time to rock and sock: Robots fight during the ROBO-ONE tournament Sunday in Tokyo. According to organizer Biped Robot Association of Japan, the competition is aimed at improving robotic technology and boost the appeal of bipedal walking robots.

Matt Roberts/Getty