Fault near L.A. primed for quake

New earthquake research confirms the southern end of the San Andreas Fault near Los Angeles is overdue for a Big One. The lower section of the fault has not produced a major earthquake in more than three centuries.

The new study, which analyzed 20 years of data and is considered one of the most detailed analyses yet, found that stress has been building up since then, and that the fault could rupture at any moment.

“The southern section of the fault is fully loaded for the next big event,” said geophysicist Yuri Fialko of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla.

Predicting exactly when that might happen, however, is beyond scientists’ ability. The analysis was published in today’s issue of the journal Nature.

Columbus, Ohio

‘Restraint’ planned on gay bishop issue

Episcopal church leaders seeking common ground with the worldwide Anglican Communion on Wednesday agreed to “exercise restraint” in selecting openly gay bishops.

The decision came just one day after the House of Deputies, one of two legislative bodies for the church, rejected a temporary ban against gay bishops. Although the new policy does not explicitly ban gay bishops, it makes it more difficult for gay clergy to achieve that office.

The resolution was overwhelmingly approved at a joint session of the deputies and the House of Bishops on the final legislative day of a weeklong convention in Columbus, Ohio.

Chicago

Gang members face drug ring charges

Federal prosecutors Wednesday charged more than three dozen members of a Chicago street gang with running a drug ring that sold crack cocaine, marijuana, heroin and the potentially lethal prescription painkiller fentanyl.

Fentanyl-laced heroin has been blamed for more than 200 overdose-related deaths across the eastern half of the country in recent months, at least 70 in the Chicago area.

But while much of the fentanyl seized in the investigation was packaged for individual use, none of the seized heroin was found to be mixed with fentanyl, authorities said. The legally produced painkiller is 80 times stronger than morphine.

None of the defendants had been charged with the fentanyl deaths, Assistant U.S. Attorney Gary Shapiro said.

Harrisburg, Pa.

Santorum’s ratings hit 4-year low

Sen. Rick Santorum’s approval rating has skidded to a four-year low, the latest sign of distress for the outspoken conservative and ally of President Bush, according to a poll released Wednesday.

The lead for Santorum’s Democratic opponent, state Treasurer Bob Casey, has stretched to 18 percentage points since early May.

Casey leads Santorum by 52 percent to 34 percent – the biggest margin since October, when the numbers were the same, according to the Quinnipiac University poll.

Only 38 percent of respondents said they approved of the way Santorum, the third-ranking Republican in the Senate, is handling his job.