WORLD DIGEST || Police ID suspect in Quebec rally shooting

Police ID suspect in Quebec rally shooting

MONTREAL

Police interrogated a man accused of opening fire at a midnight victory rally for Quebec’s new separatist premier, but they said the suspect’s rambling statements in French and English offered no immediate motive for the shooting that killed one man and wounded another.

A police official on Wednesday identified the suspect as Richard Henry Bain, 62, from La Conception, Quebec. The police official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the suspect had not been charged.

Police said Bain likely will appear in court today. Meanwhile, people who know Bain, the owner of a hunting and fishing resort, recalled his complaints about bureaucracy but could think of no political grievances he held.

DNA encyclopedia reveals complexities

NEW YORK

A colossal international effort has yielded the first comprehensive look at how our DNA works, an encyclopedia of information that will rewrite the textbooks and offer new insights into the biology of disease.

For one thing, it may help explain why some people are more prone to common ailments such as high blood pressure and heart disease.

The findings, reported Wednesday by more than 500 scientists, reveal extraordinarily complex networks that tell our genes what to do and when, with millions of on-off switches.

Marines arrested in assault on gay man

LONG BEACH, Calif.

The beating of a gay man outside a bar resulted in the arrest of four Camp Pendleton Marines and was being investigated as a potential hate crime, Marine Corps and police officials said Wednesday.

The Marines entered the Silver Fox just before closing time early Monday and seemed visibly uncomfortable, bar manager John Barnes told the Long Beach Press-Telegram . One of the Marines made a demeaning remark — calling the bartender “sweetheart” — before he and the other Marines jumped a young man, Barnes said.

Long Beach police said a preliminary investigation found that the four Marines attacked the man just after leaving the bar. Two other men who tried to help the victim also were attacked, police told the newspaper.

Hopi tribe boosts criminal sentences

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz.

The Hopi will be one of the earliest tribes to increase criminal sentences under a landmark federal law meant to improve public safety on American Indian reservations — where a historic gap in the U.S. justice system has left tribes with little authority over offenders on their lands.

The Hopi tribe recently updated its criminal code for the first time since 1972 with changes that comply with provisions of the Tribal Law and Order Act passed two years ago. Regardless of whether the crime was murder or something far less severe, all were considered misdemeanors with a maximum punishment in tribal court of a year in jail.

Costa Rica quake causes little damage

CANGREJAL, Costa Rica

A powerful magnitude-7.6 earthquake shook Costa Rica and neighboring countries Wednesday, sending panicked people into the streets and briefly triggering a tsunami alert but causing little damage. Authorities reported one confirmed death.

Officials said the quake collapsed some houses and at least one bridge and caused landslides that blocked highways. But Costa Rica President Laura Chinchilla said there were no reports of major damage and called for calm.

Associated Press