Juvenile identified as suspect in Southern California wildfire that destroyed 36 houses
Juvenile identified as suspect in Southern California wildfire that destroyed 36 houses
SAN DIEGO — Investigators who spent weeks examining photos and tips from the public have identified a juvenile as a suspect for intentionally starting the most destructive of nearly a dozen wildfires that ripped through Southern California this spring, officials said Wednesday.
The San Diego County District Attorney’s office said a hearing has been set for July 30 for the juvenile, whose identity has not been released. Authorities would not say whether an arrest has been made nor provide any details other than to say the person is believed to be responsible for setting the Cocos fire, which quickly spread amid windy, dry conditions.
The blaze burned 36 houses and one business in San Marcos, a city of 85,000 north of San Diego. Investigators say the suspect is not believed to be linked to the other wildfires burning at that time.
Iraq’s leader accuses Kurds of harboring militants; 50 bodies found dumped outside Baghdad
BAGHDAD — The ethnic and sectarian tensions that threaten to tear Iraq apart flared Wednesday as the prime minister accused the Kurdish self-rule region of harboring the Sunni militants who have overrun much of the country, and 50 bodies were discovered dumped in a village south of Baghdad.
It was not clear who the men were or why they were killed, but such grisly scenes were common during the darkest days of the Iraq war, and the deaths raised fears of another round of sectarian bloodletting. Many of the victims were bound, blindfolded and shot in the head.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s allegations, made in his weekly televised address, are likely to worsen Baghdad’s already thorny relationship with the Kurds, whose fighters have been battling the insurgents over the past month.
Utah to appeal ruling in favor of gay marriage directly to US Supreme Court
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah is going directly to the nation’s highest court to challenge a federal appeals court ruling that gay couples have a constitutional right to marry, the state attorney general’s office announced Wednesday.
The state opted to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court rather than request a review from the entire 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver. That option is now off the table, no matter what the high court decides.
Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes’ office said in a statement the appeal will be filed in the coming weeks, to get “clarity and resolution” from the highest court. “Attorney General Reyes has a sworn duty to defend the laws of our state,” the statement said.
The Supreme Court is under no obligation to hear the appeal of the June 25 ruling by a three-judge 10th Circuit panel, said William Eskridge, a Yale University law professor. There also is no deadline to make a decision, he said.
The panel’s June 25 ruling found states cannot deprive people of the fundamental right to marry simply because they choose partners of the same sex.
American author one of 2 gored in hair-raising bull run at Spain’s San Fermin festival
PAMPLONA, Spain — An American who co-authored the book “Fiesta: How to Survive the Bulls of Pamplona” became one of their victims Wednesday when he was one of two men gored at the festival.
Bill Hillmann, a 32-year-old from Chicago and a longtime participant in the nine-day Pamplona street party, was gored twice in the right thigh during one of the daily bull runs, organizers said on their website.
The injury was serious but not life-threatening, the Navarra regional government said in a statement.
“He collided with another guy who was running in the opposite direction. Bill fell and as he did the bull gored his right leg,” said Michael Hemingway, a great-grandson of writer Ernest Hemingway, who immortalized the running of the bulls in his 1926 novel “The Sun Also Rises.”
The teenager, who spoke to The Associated Press by phone, was just steps away photographing the event, which he has attended for several years with his father, John Hemingway, a co-author who worked with Hillmann.
Dodgers found partly responsible for severe beating of San Francisco Giants fan
LOS ANGELES — A San Francisco Giants fan who suffered brain damage in a beating at Dodger Stadium won his negligence suit against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday, but former owner Frank McCourt was absolved by the jury.
The jury found damages of about $18 million but said the Dodgers were responsible for only a quarter of the sum. The rest of the responsibility was split between the two men who beat fan Bryan Stow.
Plaintiff’s attorney Tom Girardi said the verdict means the Dodgers must pay about $14 million in economic losses and a quarter of the pain and suffering sum, adding about $1 million more. Girardi had asked for more than double that sum but still considers it a victory.
By wire sources