Nation Briefs June 20, 2010
Man fatally shoots 2, injures 3 at Calif. Del Taco
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - Authorities say a man shot four people - including two children - at a Southern California fast food restaurant before turning the gun on himself.
San Bernardino police Lt. Jarrod Burguan says two people are dead and three people are critically injured.He says the 56-year-old man arrived at the Del Taco restaurant Saturday afternoon on a bike carrying two guns, walked inside and shot a man, a 29-year-old woman, an 8-year-old boy and a 5-year-old boy who were eating together.
San Bernardino Fire Department spokesman Steve Tracey says the man eating with the group was declared dead at the restaurant and the 8-year-old was declared dead at a hospital.
BP CEO's yacht outing infuriates Gulf residents
EMPIRE, La. - BP chief executive Tony Hayward took a day off Saturday to see his 52-foot yacht "Bob" compete in a glitzy race off England's shore, a leisure trip that further infuriated residents of the oil-stained Gulf Coast.While Hayward's pricey ship whipped around the Isle of Wight on a good day for sailing - breezy and about 68 degrees - anger simmered on the steamy Gulf Coast, where crude has been washing in from the still-gushing spill.
"Man, that ain't right. None of us can even go out fishing, and he's at the yacht races," said Bobby Pitre, 33, who runs a tattoo shop in the crossroads town of Larose, La. "I wish we could get a day off from the oil, too."BP spokespeople rushed to defend Hayward, who has drawn withering criticism as the public face of BP PLC's halting efforts to stop the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history.
Company spokesman Robert Wine said the break is the first for Hayward since the Deepwater Horizon rig BP was leasing exploded April 20, killing 11 workers and setting off the undersea gusher."He's spending a few hours with his family at a weekend. I'm sure that everyone would understand that," Wine said.
He noted Hayward is a well known as a fan of the J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race, one of the world's largest, which attracts more than 1,700 boats and 16,000 sailors as famous yachtsmen compete with wealthy amateurs in a 50-nautical mile course around the island at England's southern tip.
Officials: Harvard student will not be deported
BOSTON - An undocumented Harvard University student is no longer facing deportation to Mexico after being detained nearly two weeks ago by immigration authorities at a Texas airport, officials said.U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said late Friday that they would not pursue the deportation of Eric Balderas. The 19-year-old was detained in June after he tried to use a university ID card to board a plane from San Antonio to Boston.
Mario Rodas, a friend of Balderas, said Balderas was granted deferred action, which can be used to halt deportation based on the merits of a case. Rodas said Balderas learned the news Saturday morning from his lawyer."He's very excited and ready to live a normal life," Rodas said. "He's ready to move forward."Rodas said Balderas will be applying for a United States work permit and will keep trying to get permanent immigration status. He said that Balderas' lawyers have advised Balderas not to comment while the case is pending.
Balderas, who previously had used a Mexican passport to board planes but recently lost it, told The Associated Press that he became despondent and thought he was being deported to Mexico immediately after he was detained June 7. But he was released the next day.According to a Facebook page set up to highlight his case, Balderas was brought to the U.S. from Mexico by his family at age 4. He said he doesn't remember living in Mexico.
He's studying molecular and cellular biology at Harvard and hopes to become a cancer researcher. He said he qualified for Harvard's privately funded scholarship package.Harvard officials threw support behind Balderas after his detainment.
- The Associated Press