NATIONAL BRIEFS

CALIFORNIA: 37 immigrants rescued from house

Immigration authorities have rescued three dozen immigrants who were locked inside a boarded-up bedroom in a drop house. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said Wednesday some of the 37 immigrants from six Latin American countries had been held for weeks in the 10-by-10-foot room in Riverside and had gone several days without food. The immigrants, mostly men, had been stripped of their shoes and were found lying on the floor. Three children under 3 years old were also found in the sweltering room, said Debra Parker, an ICE Homeland Security Investigations agent in Riverside. After a caller reported smugglers had threatened to kill his relative when the family could not pay for his release, the area was scoured for two days, including with an infrared-equipped helicopter, before the home was searched Tuesday afternoon. Seven other immigrants who were being smuggled across the Los Angeles area through the same network were also found. The 44 immigrants, now in ICE custody, are from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic. Six suspected illegal immigrants have been arrested in the drop house investigation.

Killing sparks community unrest

Los Angeles police mobilized Wednesday to avoid more mayhem on the streets after consecutive nights of violent protests sparked by the fatal shooting of a knife-wielding man. The police chief, city officials and consuls general from three Latin American countries scheduled a community meeting. Sunday's killing of Manuel Jamines, 37, in a central Los Angeles neighborhood became a rallying point as community members took to the streets for two nights running and used the death to highlight past injustices and vent frustrations. Police defended the killing as justifiable use of force.

GREAT LAKES: Czar named on Asian carp threat

John Goss, an environmental activist and former state official from Indiana, was appointed Wednesday as the Obama administration's point man in the fight to prevent Asian carp from gaining a foothold in the Great Lakes. Goss will oversee efforts by federal, state and local agencies to halt the advance of bighead and silver carp, which are on the verge of invading Lake Michigan through Chicago-area waterways. Goss served as executive director of the National Wildlife Federation's Indiana affiliate for four years. Previously, he was director of the state Department of Natural Resources and vice chairman of the Great Lakes Commission, an agency representing eight states. He will be in charge of carrying out a $78.5-million federal effort to control the carp. The plan, announced in February, calls for technological and infrastructure upgrades, such as strengthening an electronic barrier on the man-made waterway from Lake Michigan to the Illinois River.