Nation in brief: Man killed after nabbing boy
A camouflaged gunman was killed and a 6-year-old hostage was shot in the leg during a two-hour standoff with police Tuesday afternoon that began when the man snatched the child off a sidewalk and barricaded himself in a restaurant east of Los Angeles.
The man, whose name has not been released, was declared dead at the restaurant soon after gunshots were fired, said Los Angeles County sheriff’s Sgt. David Infante.
El Monte police Detective Ralph Batres said he did not know the identities of the gunman or the boy, or who was with the child when he was taken.
Authorities negotiated with the man for about two hours before a flash-bang grenade exploded and gunshots were fired inside the building. Shortly afterward, authorities took the boy out on a stretcher and put him in an ambulance.
The boy suffered a gunshot wound to the thigh and was in critical but stable condition at a nearby trauma center, said county fire dispatcher Brendon Peart.
ST. PAUL, Minn.
Senate may open with empty seat
Minnesota voters won’t know who won the state’s U.S. Senate race this year, and it’s looking more likely that the new Congress will be sworn in before the race ends between Democrat Al Franken and Republican incumbent Norm Coleman.
The state Canvassing Board on Tuesday scheduled a Jan. 5 meeting, and its chairman said the panel’s work could spill into Jan. 6 – the day the next Congress convenes.
Democrat Al Franken finished the day up 47 votes, according to a preliminary report by the secretary of state’s office.
For the second time in two weeks, the state Supreme Court got involved in the election, this time hearing arguments over ballots Coleman’s campaign claims were double counted.
DETROIT
‘Secret Santas’ hand out cash
Two “Secret Santas” anonymously handed out $100 bills Monday at bus stops, thrift stores and coin-operated laundries in the working-class Detroit suburb of Lincoln Park, giving away $11,000 altogether.
The couple say they wanted to give money to people hurt by the city’s struggling auto industry, the poor economy, high unemployment and numerous home foreclosures.