Active shooter alert may have been baseless

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIRFORCE BASE, Ohio — Wright-Patterson Air Force Base officials Thursday confirmed a person inside the medical center called 911 to report an active shooter. None was found.

No one was injured, according to Col. Tom Sherman.

After the call was made to 911, security forces began a sweep of the 99,000 square foot facility. At one point, a security officer discharged his weapon to get through a locked door.

A half mile away in the Kittyhawk section of Area A, a planned, scheduled installation exercise involving an active shooter scenario was taking place.

That exercise stopped with the news of the call.

California wildfire costs

UPPER LAKE, Calif. — California has already spent 25 percent of its fire budget, at least $125 million, state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman Mike Mohler said Wednesday.

Following years of drought and a summer of record-breaking heat, immense tracts of forests and grasslands have become tinder, authorities said.

More than 13,000 firefighters are battling fires but Gov. Jerry Brown repeated predictions from officials that the staet can expect a future of fires.

The largest blaze burned in Shasta County. Six people, including two firefighters, have died and the fire has destroyed 1,060 homes and nearly 500 other buildings, making it the sixth most destructive wildfire in California history.

TSA security checkpoints

PENTAGONCITY, Va. — A plan under consideration by the Transportation Security Agency would eliminate security checkpoints at more than 150 smaller U.S. airports, though it’s unclear which ones.

The TSA is responsible for security at nearly 440 airports and its 43,000 officers screen more than 2 million passengers each day.

Contentious Times hire

NEWYORK — On Wednesday, The New York Times announced it hired Sarah Jeong as lead technology writer for its editorial board.

There was an outcry on right-wing websites over tweets Ms. Jeong wrote from 2013 to early 2015, which referred to white people with terms like “groveling goblins” and “dogs.”

Thursday, The Times said it knew about the tweets and that Ms. Jeong would not be fired.

The Times said it did not condone the tweets and that there had been a conversation about her social media during the hiring process.

Immigration center worker

PHOENIX — An employee at a shelter for immigrant children has been arrested on suspicion of sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl housed at the facility, according to court records. Fernando Magaz Negrete, a 32-yearold employee of Southwest Key Programs, was arrested and charged Tuesday with molestation, sexual abuse and aggravated assault.

A spokesman for Southwest Key Programs, which operates dozens of shelters, said the employee has been terminated.

The Arizona Republic reported that the specific facility where she was held - which is not specified in court documents - is intended to house separated children.