In brief: FBI investigates blast near NAACP office
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Authorities are looking for a man who may have information about a homemade explosive that someone set off near the Colorado Springs chapter of the NAACP.
The blast happened Tuesday outside a barber shop that’s next door to the group’s office, which is about an hour south of Denver. There were no injuries and only minor damage, police said.
An improvised explosive device was detonated against the building, but it was too soon to know whether the nation’s oldest civil rights organization was the target, FBI spokeswoman Amy Sanders said. The agency sent members of its Joint Terrorism Task Force to help investigate.
Sanders said investigators were looking for a balding white man in his 40s who may be driving a dirty pickup truck. It could have an open tailgate or a missing or covered license plate.
Investigators Tuesday were examining a red gasoline canister with a yellow nozzle that had been placed next to the explosive device but did not ignite. They also checked pieces of duct tape and metal lying 40 to 50 feet away from the explosion site.
Chapter President Henry Allen Jr. told the Colorado Springs Gazette he was hesitant to call the explosion a hate crime without more information but said the organization will move on.
Police arrest robbery, shootout suspects
NEW YORK – Two suspects in an armed holdup followed by a wild shootout that left a pair of plainclothes police officers wounded were arrested Tuesday after an intense manhunt.
Security video showed one of the men, Jason Polanco, blasting away at the officers with a powerful .44 Magnum pistol as they pursued him Monday night after the robbery in a Bronx grocery store, police said.
Polanco, 23, was arrested on attempted murder and robbery charges. The second man, 28-year-old Joshua Kemp, was charged with robbery. The names of their attorneys were not immediately available.
46,200 immigrants apply for licenses
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California officials said 46,200 immigrants started applying for a driver’s license in the first three days the state began issuing licenses to immigrants who are in the country illegally.
Department of Motor Vehicles spokeswoman Jessica Gonzalez said Tuesday that 970 licenses were issued Friday to immigrants who weren’t required to take a road test because they previously had a license in California or another state.
Most applicants are given permits after passing a required written test and must return for a road test before getting a license.
The DMV said 54 percent of all new driver’s license applicants who took the written test in English on Friday passed it, while 36 percent passed it in Spanish.
California expects 1.4 million people to apply for the licenses in the next three years.
Jeb Bush forms PAC for presidential bid
WASHINGTON – Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush on Tuesday announced the formation of a political action committee designed to lay the groundwork for a 2016 presidential campaign.
In a video posted in English and Spanish on Facebook, the Republican said that the “Right to Rise PAC” will allow him to “support candidates who believe in conservative principles to allow all Americans to rise up.” An aide confirmed that the organization also allows Bush to hire staff, conduct polling, and pay for travel as he courts key donors and Republican officials across the country.
Bush telegraphed the formation of a PAC last month when he announced plans to actively explore a presidential bid. The announcement thrust Bush, the son and brother of former presidents, into the top-tier of likely Republican presidential contenders, although the field is expected to be crowded.
Four quakes shake North Texas in a day
DALLAS – Four small earthquakes rattled North Texas hours apart on Tuesday.
No damage was reported from the temblors.
The U.S. Geological Service plotted the epicenters of the four quakes to northeast Irving, a Dallas suburb. At least two could be felt throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
The first quake at 3:10 p.m. measured 3.5 in magnitude. Another about 7 p.m. measured 3.6, while tremors at 8:11 p.m. and 8:12 p.m. measured less than 3.0.
All happened within an area near the Trinity River that’s seen a swarm of mild temblors in recent months.
Since the 1970s, 24 earthquakes of at least 3.0 magnitude have occurred within 75 miles of Irving.
Feds ban rope-swinging at Utah arches
SALT LAKE CITY – Federal officials are temporarily banning daredevil rope-swinging, rappelling and other rope activities from several iconic Utah arches.
The Bureau of Land Management announced a two-year restriction at Corona Arch and Gemini Bridges on Tuesday.
The agency said rope activities can disturb people in the popular hiking areas and the arches are showing signs of wear.
The ban comes after two people died in swing accidents in 2013, one at Corona Arch and the other in Day Canyon, about 7 miles west of Moab. YouTube videos helped the sport gain popularity.
The BLM said the temporary ban will give the agency time to study the issue and decide if the restrictions should be permanent.