A murderer who escaped from a Pennsylvania jail and was captured two weeks later told authorities he had been planning to carjack someone and flee to Canada or Puerto Rico, a law enforcement official said Thursday. Interviewed at a state police barracks hours after his capture Wednesday morning, Danelo Cavalcante, 34, revealed to investigators he planned to get a car in an effort to slip a tightening law enforcement perimeter, Deputy U.S. Marshal Robert Clark told The Associated Press.

LEOMINSTER, Mass. (AP) — Hurricane Lee looks poised to wallop New England later this week even as the region still deals with the impact of days of wild weather that produced torrential rain, flooding, sinkholes and a likely tornado. A hurricane watch stretches from Stonington, Maine to the U.S.-Canadian border, where hurricane conditions, heavy rainfall and coastal flooding are possible Friday night and Saturday, the National Hurricane Center said Wednesday night.

LEOMINSTER, Mass. (AP) — Parts of New England already soaked with rain were expecting more precipitation on Wednesday, as residents in Massachusetts and Rhode Island spent the day cleaning up the flood damage while bracing for Hurricane Lee as it barreled north toward the region. Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey issued a state of emergency Tuesday night following the “catastrophic flash flooding and property damage” in two counties and other communities.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A federal judge has blocked part of a public health order that suspended the right to carry guns in public across New Mexico’s largest metro area, with criticism mounting and political divides widening over the Democratic governor’s action. The ruling Wednesday by U.S. District Judge David Urias marks a setback for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.

POTTSTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A murderer who brazenly escaped from a Pennsylvania jail was captured Wednesday in the woods by a team of tactical officers, bringing an end to an intensive search that terrified residents as the fugitive broke into homes for food, changed his appearance, and stole a van and rifle during two weeks on the run.

LEOMINSTER, Mass. (AP) — Heavy rainfall has flooded parts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, with one city declaring a state of emergency as water poured into homes, creating moats around their foundations and leading to boat rescues of residents. Concern about a dam listed in poor condition led to more evacuations.

POTTSTOWN, Pa. (AP) — Escaped murderer Danelo Souza Cavalcante stole a rifle from a garage and fled a homeowner's gunfire, authorities said Tuesday as police closed roads in a rural stretch of southeastern Pennsylvania, told residents to lock their doors and set up a new search area in the nearly 2-week-old manhunt.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Community leaders along the Mississippi River worried that dry southwestern states will someday try to take the river's water may soon take their first step toward blocking such a diversion. Mayors from cities along the river are expected to vote on whether to support a new compact among the river’s 10 states at this week's annual meeting of the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative, according to its executive director Colin Wellenkamp.

Some of the most high-profile urban areas in the U.S. gained population on Tuesday. But it's not because of a sudden flood of moving trucks into Atlanta, New Orleans and San Francisco. Rather, the U.S. Census Bureau corrected errors made in the population and housing counts of urban areas that were officially released in December, according to a Federal Register notice published Tuesday.

SOUTH COVENTRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Residents of a suburban Philadelphia community locked themselves in their houses and at least one school district canceled classes as authorities indicated they were closing in on an escaped murderer who has evaded capture in the region for nearly two weeks.