NEWS OF THE DAY
From Across the Nation
_1 Deportations: California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said Sunday that his state is committed to keeping families together and is “not in the business of deportation.” Speaking on ABC’s “This Week,” Becerra hit back at a White House letter demanding California and other areas help enforce federal immigration law or risk losing federal grants. He said the U.S. Constitution gives states the right to decide how to police its citizens. “We’re in the business of public safety. We’re not in the business of deportation,” he said.
_2 School shooting: Family, friends and the public packed a church for the funeral of a teacher who was shot and killed along with a student in her elementary school classroom in San Bernardino. Hundreds remembered Karen Elaine Smith on Saturday as devoted to her students, her family and her church. The teacher and 8-year-old Jonathan Martinez were killed April 10 when Smith’s estranged husband, Cedric Anderson, walked into the classroom and opened fire. A 9-year-old student also was wounded and is recovering.
_3 Pump prices: The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline rose 3 cents nationally over the past two weeks, to $2.46, industry analyst Trilby Lundberg reported Sunday. The average is 28 cents per gallon above the price a year ago. Among the cities surveyed, San Francisco had the highest average cost for regular at $3.04, while Jackson, Miss., was lowest at $2.09.
_4 Station security: Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Sunday that the stampede that injured 16 people at New York’s Penn Station just over a week ago shows a need for better coordination between law enforcement agencies at transportation hubs. Schumer called for security improvements including the establishment of a joint command at Penn Station so law officers can better communicate. The stampede erupted April 14 after false reports of gunshots at the station, which was even more crowded than usual because of a train that was stuck in a tunnel under the Hudson River for almost three hours. The gunshot rumors were triggered by an Amtrak police officer’s use of a stun gun to subdue a disruptive man. Schumer said the Department of Homeland Security should issue recommendations for the best way to keep transportation hubs safe.
_5 Deadly fire: A fastmoving fire killed five people, including three children, as flames surged through a New York City home Sunday, leaving authorities to scour for clues about what sparked the deadly flames. The fire broke out around 2:30 p.m. on a street full of singlefamily homes in the borough of Queens. Television news footage showed flames chewing through the roof of the two-story home and roaring in upstairs rooms of the house as smoke poured from it. “This is a devastation of a family,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said, speaking at the scene of the four-alarm fire. Fire officials said the victims ranged in age from 2 to 21, plus an adult who was somewhat older.