Police officer dies in Houston shootout
HOUSTON -- A Houston police officer was killed, and a teenager and another officer were wounded Tuesday when a man opened fire on law enforcement officers responding to a domestic disturbance call, authorities said.
Police Chief Art Acevedo said officers arrived at the apartment in southwest Houston around 8 a.m. where they met a woman who said she was moving out and needed to collect her belongings, but that her husband would not let her in.
About an hour and a half later, the woman's 14-year-old son opened the apartment door, and 51-year-old Elmer Manzano emerged and began shooting at the officers who returned fire, Acevedo said during a news conference.
Sgt. Harold Preston, 65, was shot multiple times, including in the head, and died at a hospital, Acevedo said. Officer Courtney Waller was shot in the arm and is in stable condition at a hospital, he said.
Manzano and the teenager were also shot, and are expected to survive.
6,500 storm evacuees still in shelters
NEW ORLEANS -- More than 6,500 people are still living in temporary shelters after back-to-back hurricanes hit Louisiana, according to the state, but some are being told to leave.
The Department of Children and Family Services said about 6,430 people are in shelters because of Hurricane Laura's strike on southwestern Louisiana, and more than 120 people are still out of their homes because of Hurricane Delta.
Some people are looking for new housing after being told to go home. Many evacuees from the Lake Charles area showed up at the Morial Convention Center in New Orleans on Monday after receiving messages to leave hotels, WDSU-TV reported.
The American Red Cross said some people got notifications after assessments showed only minor damage to homes.
The remaining evacuees are spread out between 10 hotels in New Orleans and one each in Baton Rouge and Lafayette, and at a shelter in Alexandria and Texas, where more than 900 relocated.
General loses post after slur inquiry
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Marine Corps has removed a two-star general from command of Marine forces in Europe and Africa based on an investigation into allegations that he used a racial slur during a training event, officials said Tuesday.
The decision to relieve Maj. Gen. Stephen Neary of command of Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa, headquartered in Germany, was made by the commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. David Berger.
"Neary was relieved due to a loss of trust and confidence in his ability to serve in command," the Marines said in a brief written statement. Neary had assumed command in July.
A Marine spokesman, Maj. Eric Flanagan, said separately that Berger acted on the basis of what had been determined in an official investigation of the allegation that Neary had used a racial slur. Details of those findings have not been disclosed.
The Stars and Strips newspaper reported earlier this month that the Marines had confirmed that they were investigating the allegation against Neary.
Boat owner blamed for 2019 fatal fire
LOS ANGELES -- The lack of oversight by a Southern California boat owner led to a fire that killed 34 people on a 2019 scuba diving excursion, the National Transportation Safety Board ruled Tuesday.
The predawn fire aboard the Conception is one of California's deadliest maritime disasters, prompting criminal and safety investigations. The Sept. 2, 2019, tragedy killed 33 passengers and one crew member on a Labor Day weekend expedition near an island off Santa Barbara.
The five-member board voted unanimously to place blame for the fire on the Conception's owner, Truth Aquatics Inc.
The absence of the required roving patrol, investigators said, delayed detection of the fire, allowing it to grow beyond the six-member crew's firefighting capabilities, hampering evacuation efforts and directly leading to the high number of fatalities.
Investigators said that because the boat burned and sank, they couldn't determine exactly what caused the fire. But they found that it began toward the back of the main deck salon area, where divers had plugged in phones, flashlights and other items with lithium ion batteries that can spread flames quickly.
The safety board also said inadequate Coast Guard regulations contributed to the high death toll, such as a lack of a requirement for smoke detectors in all accommodation spaces and poor emergency escape arrangements. The board passed several recommendations to suggest to the Coast Guard.
-- Compiled by Democrat-Gazette staff from wire reports