Nevada
Walker, Christie court donors at Vegas gathering
LAS VEGAS – Two of the nation’s highest-profile Republican governors on Saturday called for more aggressive leadership on America’s challenges abroad, emphasizing their support for Israel as they courted powerful Jewish donors.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker also stoked speculation about their own presidential ambitions as they gave frustrated Republicans advice on how to reclaim the White House in 2016 after losing two consecutive elections.
The Republican speakers at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual spring gathering largely avoided criticizing President Barack Obama by name in remarks thick with rhetoric faulting Obama’s foreign policy while offering few specifics.
“We cannot have a world where our friends are unsure of whether we will be with them, and our enemies are unsure of whether we will be against them,” Christie said. “In New Jersey, nobody has to wonder whether I’m for them or against them.”
Walker declared the nation needs a “swift and decisive” foreign policy, while insisting the GOP must find a presidential nominee from “outside Washington.”
California
Magnitude-4.1 aftershock hit near quake in SoCal
LOS ANGELES – A moderate earthquake rattling a swath of Southern California forced several dozen people in one community out of their homes after firefighters discovered foundation problems, making the buildings unsafe to enter, authorities said Saturday.
Fire crews red-tagged 20 apartment units in a building in the Orange County city of Fullerton after finding a major foundation crack. Structural woes including broken chimneys and leaning were uncovered in half a dozen single-family houses, which were also deemed as unsafe to occupy until building inspectors clear the structures. The damage displaced 83 residents.
Despite the evacuations, Friday night’s magnitude-5.1 quake centered about 25 miles south of downtown Los Angeles mostly frayed nerves.
Iowa
Fire claims former Iowa department store building
DES MOINES – A massive fire swept through a more than century-old building being renovated in downtown Des Moines early Saturday morning, causing its upper floors to collapse and authorities to close down numerous streets.
No one was injured, but Assistant City Manager Matt Anderson told The Des Moines Register the former Younkers department store building, which dates to 1899, cannot be salvaged and will have to be demolished.
A state inspector also said the building is considered to be an asbestos-contaminated site and will require specialized cleanup.
Des Moines Fire Department spokesman Brian O’Keefe said the department first got word of a fire at the seven-floor building at about 12:50 a.m. Saturday, and arrived to find flames leaping from the upper floors. About an hour later, those floors had collapsed, he said.
Associated Press
