Nation briefs
HAWAIILava may force evacuation
Hawaii authorities told several dozen residents near an active lava flow to prepare for a possible evacuation in three to five days as molten rock edged closer to homes. The flow was about 35 yards wide and moving northeast at about 10 yards per hour. Lava of some 2,000 degrees crossed a road on the edge of Pahoa, the largest town in Puna on the Big Island of Hawaii, at 3:50 a.m. The flow was slightly more than a half-mile from the town's main street.
CALIFORNIASlay suspect deported twice
A man suspected of killing two deputies during a Friday shooting rampage in Northern California was deported twice to Mexico and had a drug conviction, federal authorities said yesterday. The suspected shooter told Sacramento County Sheriff's investigators that he is Marcelo Marquez, 34, of Salt Lake City. His fingerprints match the biometric records of a Luis Enrique Monroy-Bracamonte in a federal database, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Virginia Kice said. Monroy-Bracamonte first was deported in 1997 after a narcotics conviction and arrested and repatriated to Mexico a second time in 2001, Kice said. The suspect was being held without bail in Sacramento County jail on suspicion of two counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder and two counts of carjacking, authorities said. His wife, Janelle Marquez Monroy, 38, was in custody on suspicion of attempted murder and carjacking after the two Friday attacks, which killed Sacramento County sheriff's Deputy Danny Oliver, 47, and Placer County sheriff's Det. Michael David Davis Jr., 42.
Record gold nugget sold
One of the largest gold nuggets in modern times pulled from Northern California's historic Gold Country has been sold to a secret buyer. The San Francisco Chronicle reported yesterday that even the price of the so-called Butte Nugget, slightly more than 6 pounds, will remain a mystery. But Don Kagin, the coin dealer who brokered the deal, said the sale price wasn't far from the asking price of about $400,000.
'His sacrifice made a difference': Gold Star mother honors son's memory Army Pfc. Raheen Tyson Heighter, 22, of Bay Shore, was the first serviceman from Long Island killed in the Iraq War.
'His sacrifice made a difference': Gold Star mother honors son's memory Army Pfc. Raheen Tyson Heighter, 22, of Bay Shore, was the first serviceman from Long Island killed in the Iraq War.
