In brief: Four killed in shooting at tribal headquarters

ALTURAS, Calif. – Four people were shot to death and two others wounded in a shooting and knife attack Thursday at an American Indian tribal headquarters in California, authorities said.

Alturas police Chief Ken Barnes said 44-year-old Sherie Lash was taken into custody after allegedly opening fire at the Cedarville Rancheria Tribal Office and Community Center in Alturas, about 55 miles south of the Oregon border and 35 miles west of the Nevada line.

The four dead include a 19-year-old woman, a 30-year-old man, a 45-year-old woman and a 50-year-old man, Barnes said. The police chief said one victim is the tribe’s leader. Tribal members were meeting about evicting Lash, also known as Sherie Rhoades, and her son from the Rancheria.

KRCR-TV reported that Lash, a former tribal leader, allegedly pulled out a gun and shot four people in the building and a fifth person who tried to flee. After running out of ammunition, she grabbed a butcher knife and stabbed another person.

Mayor’s vehicle speeds on heels of safety plan

NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s official vehicles were spotted breaking several traffic laws on Thursday, just two days after he laid out a sweeping traffic safety plan that included harsh restrictions on reckless drivers.

De Blasio was in the front passenger seat of the lead SUV of a two-vehicle caravan that was captured on video speeding, running through a pair of stop signs and not signaling when changing lanes. The footage, which aired on WCBS-TV, was taken as de Blasio returned to City Hall after a news conference in Queens.

The mayor’s press office deferred to the police department for particulars of the incident because a member of the NYPD was behind the wheel of de Blasio’s SUV.

Flu easing in country; hardest-hit group shifts

ATLANTA – Flu season seems to be winding down, and it’s been an odd one.

It hasn’t been as bad as last year and the vaccine worked a little better. And it has been a fairly mild one for the elderly – traditionally the most vulnerable group.

But it’s been a different story for young and middle-age adults, who have been hit harder than expected because of a surge in swine flu.

Most flu seasons, only one-third of the people who land in the hospital with the flu are adults ages 18-64. This winter, they have accounted for two-thirds, most of them adults who were obese or had another ailment.

The numbers “are painful reminders that flu can be serious for anyone, not just infants and the very old,” said Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.