Gun tests ID Phoenix shooting suspect
PHOENIX – Soft-spoken and handcuffed, a 21-year-old landscaper insists that he is not responsible for a string of Phoenix freeway shootings and that his gun has been sitting in a pawn shop for months.
Despite Leslie Allen Merritt Jr.’s impromptu assertion in court Saturday, investigators said they have proof the gun wasn’t in any pawn shop at the time of four shootings they say he carried out.
Weapons from various local pawn shops were test-fired at the state lab, Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesman Bart Graves said.
Xi’s visit highlights China-Washington ties
SEATTLE – When Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Seattle on his way to Washington, D.C., this week, he’ll be visiting the American state that exports more to his country than any other.
Washington last year sent more than $20 billion in airplanes, wheat, apples and other products to China. Redmond-based Microsoft, Seattle-based Amazon.com and Boeing, with deep roots in the state, are among the companies lining up to capitalize on the president’s visit, focusing on the country’s long-term potential at a time when its economy is troubled.
VW chief “sorry” firm skirted air laws
WASHINGTON – The CEO of Volkswagen apologized Sunday, and VW customers said they felt duped after the Environmental Protection Agency revealed that the German automaker skirted clean air rules by rigging emissions tests for about 500,000 diesel cars.
“I personally am deeply sorry that we have broken the trust of our customers and the public,” Volkswagen chief Martin Winterkorn said in a statement.
The EPA said Friday that VW used software that allowed its diesel cars to release fewer smog-causing pollutants during tests than in real-world driving conditions. The cars, built in the last seven years, include the Audi A3, VW Jetta, Beetle, Golf and Passat models. The agency ordered VW to fix the cars at its own expense.
Left-wing Syriza wins Greek vote
ATHENS, Greece – A jubilant Alexis Tsipras vowed to continue fighting for his country’s pride and to quickly form a coalition government after his left-wing Syriza party comfortably won Greece’s third national vote this year on Sunday.
The result was a resounding success for Tsipras’ high-risk gamble when he resigned as prime minister last month and triggered an early election.
With more than 80 percent of the vote counted, Syriza stood at 35.5 percent of the vote and 145 seats in the 300-member parliament, followed by the conservative New Democracy with 28.3 percent and 75 seats and the Nazi-inspired Golden Dawn in third place with 7 percent and 18 seats.
Associated Press
