Police fire water cannon at Dakota pipeline protesters in freezing weather

By Chris Michaud and Stephanie Keith NEW YORK/CANNON BALL, N.D. (Reuters) - Police fired tear gas and water at hundreds of protesters in the freezing North Dakota weather late Sunday and early Monday, in the latest violent clash over a pipeline project running through the state. An estimated 400 protesters mounted the Backwater Bridge just north of Cannon Ball, North Dakota, and attempted to force their way past police in what the Morton County Sheriff's Department described as an "ongoing riot." The $3.7 billion Dakota Access project has drawn steady opposition from activists since the summer, led by the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, whose tribal lands are adjacent to the pipeline.