Calif. parks chief resigns in scandal

Calif. parks chief resigns in scandal

SACRAMENTO, Calif.

The director of California’s state parks resigned, and a deputy was fired Friday after officials learned the department sat on nearly $54 million in surplus money for years while parks were threatened with closure over budget cuts.

Ruth Coleman, director of the state Department of Parks and Recreation, stepped down, and chief deputy Michael Harris was let go amid questions about the under-reported funds that date back 12 years, announced state Natural Resources Agency Secretary John Laird, whose agency oversees the parks department.

Laird said it’s not clear why the account balances weren’t properly reported, and many questions remained.

Thousands flee as Syria fight rages

BEIRUT

Rebels pressed their guerrilla fight to topple Syria’s regime deeper into the capital Friday, ambushing troops and attacking police stations as thousands of terrified civilians fled to Lebanon and Iraq to escape some of the worst violence of the 16-month conflict.

The two-day death toll was more than 470 people, marking some of the deadliest of the uprising.

The U.N. refugee agency said between 8,500 and 30,000 Syrians had entered Lebanon in the past 48 hours, and thousands of Iraqis also have returned home, a bitter trip for many who fled to Syria from their own country’s civil war.

FDA: Bacteria in shellfish from NY

WASHINGTON

The Food and Drug Administration is warning people not to eat raw or partially cooked shellfish harvested from New York’s Oyster Bay Harbor because they have been linked to cases of foodborne illness in several states.

The agency said Friday that oysters and clams from the Long Island harbor may be contaminated with bacteria that cause diarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting and other symptoms.

Shellfish from the area were distributed to several states including: Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.

Bush will skip GOP convention

WASHINGTON

Former President George W. Bush is skipping the Republican National Convention next month in Tampa, Fla., where presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney will officially become the party’s standard-bearer.

Bush’s presence at the convention could undercut Romney’s argument that he knows better than President Barack Obama when it comes to improving the wobbly economy. A CBS News/New York Times poll this month found more voters say Bush deserves the bulk of the blame for the nation’s economic downturn than think Obama bears a lot of the responsibility. Almost two-thirds of voters think Romney’s economic policies would mirror Bush’s at least somewhat.

US agents bring boy to country for care

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.

A 9-year-old boy with a massive tumor was whisked from a dangerous neighborhood in Mexico in an armored vehicle by U.S. agents and taken across the border for treatment in New Mexico, his family said.

The boy and his parents were snatched Thursday from the gang-infested neighborhood in Ciudad Juarez — one of the deadliest cities in the world — after members of a New Mexico Baptist church saw him near an orphanage and sought help.

Associated Press