From the Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A magnitude 4.1 earthquake shook part of Northern California between the state capital and the San Francisco Bay region on Wednesday, setting off automated quake alerts.

The 9:29 a.m. quake was centered in the agricultural Isleton area about 32 miles (52 kilometers) southwest of Sacramento, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The area is largely occupied by the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.

Sacramento County Office of Emergency Services spokesperson Kim Nava said there were no immediate reports of harm from the quake. In particular, Nava said there were no reports of damage to the area’s extensive levees that protect farmland.

The tremor triggered a warning from the West Coast’s ShakeAlert system, which detects the start of a quake and sends alerts to smartphones in areas expected to experience shaking.

In Sacramento, a ShakeAlert arrived before the shaking started. Blinds swayed in The Associated Press’ Sacramento office on the ninth floor of a high-rise building.

The quake initially was estimated at magnitude 5.7 but was downgraded.

The Isleton jolt occurred the day after the 34th anniversary of the destructive Oct. 17, 1989, Loma Prieta earthquake that rocked the San Francisco Bay region, and one day before California’s annual statewide ShakeOut earthquake drill.

From the Associated Press

BALTIMORE (AP) — A former Baltimore police officer convicted in 2018 as part of the department’s Gun Trace Task Force corruption scandal is asking a federal judge for compassionate release from prison, saying he’s been diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Daniel Hersl, the oldest member of the deeply corrupt and now-disbanded Baltimore police unit, was sentenced to 18 years behind bars after a jury found him guilty of racketeering and robbery.

In a court filing Tuesday, the 53-year-old ex-detective said he was recently diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer that has spread to his lymph nodes, liver, lungs and more. He said a prison doctor concluded he has less than 18 months to live and asked for home detention.

A ruling has not yet been issued on his request.

Hersl was one of eight indicted members of the once-lauded Gun Trace Task Force, which was created to get illegal guns off the streets of a city plagued by violent crime. But instead, members robbed drug dealers, planted narcotics and firearms on innocent people and assaulted random civilians. More than a dozen officers have been convicted in the scandal since 2017. Hundreds of cases that hinged on their testimony were later dropped.

Prosecutors said Hersl “devalued” people he dealt with as an officer and “abused his power to prey on them.” They said he also ripped off taxpayers by committing rampant overtime fraud, including an entire month that he spent refurbishing his house while on the clock.

City leaders have since undertaken significant efforts to reform the Baltimore Police Department, which remains under a federal consent decree because Justice Department investigators found a pattern of unconstitutional and discriminatory policing practices, especially against Black residents.

From the Associated Press

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed an executive order Monday directing state agencies to switch to an all-electric vehicle fleet within the next 12 years.

Lujan Grisham also said she intends to pursue tax credits for electric vehicles during the upcoming legislative session.

The Democratic governor made the announcement Monday during her Symposium on the Future of Transportation in New Mexico.

“The fact of the matter is that consumers and dealers want better access to electric vehicles, and the actions we’ve taken through Clean Car rules and now tax credits are leveling the playing field,” Lujan Grisham said. “I also took action today to make sure the state is ‘walking the walk’ when it comes to widely adopting low- and zero-emission vehicles by requiring the state fleet to be zero-emission by 2035.”

The proposed tax credits would apply to new and used electric vehicles to help meet climate goals.

Lujan Grisham’s order directs departments to purchase zero-emission vehicles for all new acquisitions where one or more options are available.

Exceptions to the order include law enforcement vehicles, firefighting trucks and some other heavy-duty vehicles.

From the Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City police officer lost his left ring finger up to the first knuckle when a reckless driving suspect bit him, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Lenni Rodriguez Cruz, 28, could be sentenced to 25 years in prison for leading police on a wild car chase, crashing into several vehicles and biting a sergeant who was trying to put him in a holding cell, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said.

The episode started shortly before midnight on Sept. 20. A police officer patrolling in the Jamaica section of Queens spotted Rodriguez Cruz driving a car with license plates that weren’t registered to the vehicle, Katz said in a news release.

The officer tried to pull Rodriguez Cruz over, but he sped off, mounted a sidewalk and drove through a park, scattering parkgoers as they ran to safety, Katz said.

From the Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A Philadelphia police officer was released from the hospital on Saturday after being wounded in an airport shooting that killed another officer, and police were still searching for the shooting suspects.

A line of fellow officers saluted and applauded as Officer Raul Ortiz, 60, was wheeled out of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital to a waiting SUV.

Ortiz, a 20-year veteran of the force, was shot in the arm when he and Officer Richard Mendez confronted several people breaking into a vehicle in a parking garage at Philadelphia International Airport at about 11 p.m. Thursday. Fifty-year-old Mendez, who had been on the force for more than two decades, was shot multiple times and was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Authorities said the suspects fled in an SUV reported stolen a week ago that was later seen at a hospital dropping off 18-year-old Jesus Herman Madera Duran, who authorities say was believed to be involved in the confrontation with the officers. Duran had been shot in the chest, abdomen and left arm and was pronounced dead around 11:30 p.m. Thursday.

It wasn’t clear if any other suspects were wounded in the shooting, authorities said, or how many of them had fired weapons. Interim Police Commissioner John Stanford noted that the shooting came only a week after three officers were shot and wounded while responding to a call and called the new shooting “a numb, numb moment for us.”

The slain officer’s gun has not been located and it wasn’t immediately known whether anyone fired it, Stanford said. Police released video showing “at least one suspect” as well as the vehicle used to drop off Madera Duran at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

A reward totaling $148,500 was offered for information leading to an arrest as the $30,000 posted by two local police unions was supplemented by money from other police groups, businesses and Pennsylvania and New Jersey residents. That’s in addition to $20,000 offered by the city for information that leads to an arrest and conviction.

President Joe Biden, who was in Philadelphia on Friday, offered his condolences the families of the officers, saying “They put their lives on the line to protect this community.”

From the Associated Press

LINCOLN, Maine (AP) — A driver led police on a 55-mile chase in Maine after nearly hitting a game warden who was investigating a moose complaint, police said.

Police said the chase began late Thursday morning after multiple agencies were informed that the vehicle almost hit the warden in Lincoln. The warden had witnessed the vehicle leaving the scene of a suspected trespassing and theft at a pulp and tissue mill and the high-speed pursuit began, police said.

The pursuit ended more than 90 minutes later in Haynesville after police deployed tire deflation mats and other techniques to slow the vehicle. Police said two passengers in the car were taken into custody and charged with crimes including theft and criminal trespassing.

Police said the driver fled the scene but was quickly located and charged with numerous offenses.

It was not immediately clear if the driver and passengers had hired attorneys. The driver was transported to Aroostook County Jail and the passengers posted bail.

BY GERALD IMRAY From the Associated Press

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South African authorities said they conducted raids across five provinces Thursday to break up a coal-smuggling syndicate they blamed for stealing more than $26 million in coal, degrading state-owned power plants and contributing to an electricity crisis.

The criminal gang diverted trucks carrying high-grade coal to power stations, stealing the coal to sell, and replacing it with sub-standard product, the country’s tax and revenue agency said in a statement. The substandard coal has caused crippling damage to the country’s power plants, authorities said.

The South African Revenue Service worked with other law enforcement agencies to carry out the search and seizure operations in the Gauteng, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, Free State and Limpopo provinces. No arrests have been made yet, national police spokesperson Brig. Athlenda Mathe said.

Africa’s most advanced economy is in the midst of a power crisis that has resulted in scheduled rolling blackouts because its coal-fired stations are not generating enough electricity for the country’s 62 million people.

The state-owned power utility, Eskom, produces about 95% of South Africa’s electricity.

The blackouts have been largely blamed on years of corruption and mismanagement at Eskom, though authorities also have said that suspected organized crime syndicates have been operating for years around Eskom’s power station supply chains.

Suspects involved in the syndicate include former Eskom employees, the tax agency said.

The switching of coal destined for state-owned plants has worsened the country’s electricity crisis, the agency said.

“The low-grade coal damages the infrastructure at the Eskom power stations, which is a major factor in crippling the power utility’s ability to generate electricity for the South African grid,” it said.

South Africa experienced its worst blackouts ever at the start of the year, when homes and businesses went without electricity for more than eight hours a day. The electricity is usually cut off in two-hour blocks spread out over the day. The cuts have eased in recent weeks but energy analysts have said the blackouts will last until at least the end of 2024.

The electricity crisis has badly impacted South Africa’s economy, which is only expected to grow by less than 1% this year.

It has also been politically problematic for the ruling African National Congress party, which has been in government since the end of apartheid in 1994 and has been largely blamed for the problems at Eskom and other state-owned entitities.

South Africa has national elections next year, when the power crisis is expected to be a key issue for voters.

From the Associated Press

PRINCETON, Minn. (AP) — Five drug task force officers were shot and wounded Thursday while serving a search warrant near the Minnesota city of Princeton, authorities said. The suspect was arrested after a standoff that lasted several hours.

A news release from Benton County Sheriff Troy Heck said the officers exchanged gunfire with the suspect when they were confronted by the man, who was injured in the incident and was taken away for treatment after his arrest. The cause and extent of his injuries were not immediately known, the sheriff said.

The officers’ injuries were not life-threatening, the sheriff said. Three of the officers were taken to North Memorial Hospital in the Minneapolis suburb of Robbinsdale while two were taken to a hospital in St. Cloud.

The confrontation started Thursday morning at a home in Glendorado Township, which is a few miles west of Princeton, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) northwest of Minneapolis.

From the Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — A Kenya Airways plane from Nairobi bound for London’s Heathrow Airport was intercepted by air force fighter jets and diverted to land at Stansted airport on Thursday over a potential security threat.

The Essex Police force said officers attended an “incident” at the airport, and established there was “nothing of concern” aboard the plane.

The airport remained open throughout the incident.

The Ministry of Defense said Royal Air Force Typhoon fighters were launched “as a precaution this afternoon to investigate a civilian aircraft which was approaching the U.K.”

It said the plane “remained in contact with air traffic controllers throughout, and was escorted to Stansted Airport where it landed safely.”

The airline said in a statement that its headquarters had received “an alert of a potential security threat” aboard the plane. It said the airline and Kenyan and U.K. authorities “carried out a thorough risk assessment of the threat.”

“The crew on board were briefed, and all safety and security precautions were taken to ensure the safety and security of our crew and passengers on board,” the airline said.

Stansted said the Boeing 787 jet landed safely on Thursday afternoon and was parked at a remote stand, away from the terminal.

Stansted is some 30 miles (40 kilometers) north of London, and is used for flights when there are security incidents because of its remote location.

BY STEFANIE DAZIO from the Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Multiple Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies were taken to the hospital Tuesday morning after a fire during a “training incident” north of Los Angeles, authorities said.

The extent of the deputies’ injuries weren’t immediately known, said sheriff’s department spokesperson Nicole Nishida. It also was not known yet what caused the fire, which fire fighters were still battling in Castaic, a community roughly 35 miles (55 kilometers) northwest of downtown Los Angeles.

“We’re still trying to determine that. We know for sure there was a fire,” Nishida said.

The exact number of people injured was also unclear. Fire department officials said four deputies were taken to the hospital before firefighters were on the scene, while Nishida initially said at least two deputies were transported to the hospital. Her department later said in a statement that “several deputies” were injured.

The fire happened at about 9:30 a.m. at a training facility located on a sprawling campus that also houses the Pitchess Detention Center, the sheriff’s department said.

Firefighters were dispatched to the law enforcement training facility, near a county jail, at 9:41 a.m., said Fred Fielding, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Fire Department. They arrived 11 minutes later to find a blaze but the deputies had already been taken to the hospital.

Fielding said there were “live rounds” at the training center, forcing firefighters to be cautious in battling the blaze.

A KTLA helicopter over the scene showed firefighters spraying water into the smoking rear of a parked semitrailer.