LAFITTE, La.

Storm system Karen fades along coast of Louisiana

After days of lumbering toward the Gulf Coast, the storm system Karen dissipated Sunday as storm preparations in the region were called off or scaled back.

As tides began to recede along coastal Louisiana, crews worked to pick up sandbags and some fishermen took to the water.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami said the remnants of Karen were moving eastward off the coast. Forecasters expected what remains of Karen to continue moving generally east over the next day to two days. Rain accumulations of 1 to 3 inches were expected.

FRESNO, Calif.

Running gun battle erupts at motorcycle club dance

Authorities Sunday were investigating what touched off a wild “running gun battle” inside and outside a Fresno motorcycle club’s annual dance, leaving one man dead and a dozen others wounded.

Shots were still being fired at 2 a.m. Saturday when the first of more than 100 law enforcement officers arrived at the Soul Brothers clubhouse near Fresno, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office said.

The gunfire erupted during the Soul Brothers’ annual dance, which draws bikers and other motorcycle clubs from all over the state. About 500 people were inside the warehouse-like clubhouse when the shooting started.

The shooting quickly tuned into “a running gun battle” in the street outside the club, and hundreds of partygoers were running for cover when the first officers arrived, sheriff’s spokesman Chris Curtice said.

Despite briefly detaining and questioning about 100 people, authorities have yet to make an arrest.

The Fresno County coroner identified the dead man Sunday as Dejuan Gladney, 18. The coroner didn’t list a hometown.

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif.

Wind-driven fire forces evacuation of military base

Crews built containment lines Sunday around a wind-driven wildfire that scorched more than 2 square miles of dry brush and forced people to evacuate part of a Southern California military base.

The blaze at the Marine Corps’ Camp Pendleton was 15 percent contained and firefighters were trying to halt its movement toward the northeast, said Sgt. Christopher Duncan, a press officer for the Marines.

The fire broke out Saturday amid hot, dry and windy conditions throughout the region. It quickly prompted the evacuation of 230 residents from a housing unit near Lake O’Neil and caused minor damage to four buildings, base officials said. Photos posted on Camp Pendleton’s Facebook page showed a few charred vehicles.

BEIJING

Typhoon Fitow slams into coast of southeastern China

A typhoon slammed into southeastern China on Monday with powerful winds and heavy rains that cut power, canceled flights and suspended train services.

Typhoon Fitow struck Fuding city of Fujian province with winds of up to 94 mph in the early morning hours, then slowed before weakening to a tropical storm, the National Meteorological Center said.

More than half a million people had been evacuated and fishing boats were called back to shore while authorities issued a red alert – the highest warning – on Sunday as the typhoon approached.

 

– From news service reports