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FEMA suspends aid for Omaha Tribe after audit questions

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The federal government is suspending disaster aid for the Omaha Tribe because auditors couldn't verify how the tribe spent $14 million in past aid.

The Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday that auditors couldn't find documentation to show how the tribe spent the money it received after the 2011 Missouri River flooding.

The tribe's attorney didn't immediately respond to a message Tuesday afternoon.

The flooding covered hundreds of thousands of acres of land along the Missouri River in Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri in 2011 after massive amounts of water was released from upstream dams.

The tribe was forced to close down its casino that employed 181 people and 11 homes had to be rebuilt. Farmland the tribe owned in Iowa and Nebraska was also damaged.

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