Man Opens Fire During Church Festival May 18, 2008

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) — A man with a rifle opened fire near a church Saturday morning in the San Fernando Valley and wounded three people, Los Angeles police said. 

Fernando Diaz Jr., 33, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, said Los Angeles Police Officer Ana Aguirre. He was held in Van Nuys jail in lieu of $1.5 million bail.

“I don’t really have too much to say about that. It’s a personal thing between me and the church,” Diaz said to The Associated Press before being taken to jail.

When asked if he has an issue with the church, Diaz responded: “The church has an issue with me.”

Diaz is the father of a student who goes to the church school, according to CNN affiliate KTLA.

A second victim was in stable condition and a third was in critical condition, Los Angeles police spokeswoman Norma Eisenman said.

The man in critical condition was shot in the chest. He is 45. Another man, 47, was struck in the leg and is in stable condition, reported KTLA. The names of the victims have not yet been released.

“We believe this is an isolated incident, a domestic-violence dispute,” said police Capt. Steven Ruiz.

Authorities said Diaz was on parole for an unspecified crime, and a restraining order was in place to prevent him from being near the school, his son and wife.

The Rev. Robert Milbauer, the parish’s pastor, told AP that about 50 people, mainly church volunteers and their children, were setting up food and game booths and carnival-style rides when the gunfire erupted.

“I was walking toward the festival area to say an opening prayer and I saw them,” Milbauer told AP of the shooting victims.

“I heard bang, bang, bang, bang. It sounded like balloons popping,” said Jeff Sempelsz, a church volunteer speaking to AP. “I didn’t know what it was but I could see the rifle in his hand.”

William Griffin, a security guard at the festival, was standing near the entrance. “I heard someone yell, ‘Somebody’s shooting. Somebody’s shooting.’ I turned and saw a man with a long rifle. He was very calm,” Griffin told AP.

The guard said he herded people into the church, then began locking the doors. The man who had been shot in the leg calmly limped in with the others, Griffin told AP.

The suspect was reloading his weapon when he was tackled by several witnesses who were volunteers at the festival. The shooter put up a fight, struggling and taunting people as they were trying to subdue him. KTLA said the suspect and the weapon were taken into custody near the church, St. John Baptist de la Salle Parish in the Granada Hills area of Los Angeles.

The call about the shooting came in around 10:57 a.m. PT (1:57 p.m. ET), KTLA said.

The festival was shut down for the day, and Milbauer told AP that grief counselors were meeting with witnesses, particularly the children. The parish plans to go ahead with the festival on Sunday, Milbauer said, in part to help parishioners put the tragedy behind them

Queen’s Grandson Marries In Royal Wedding May 18, 2008

WINDSOR, England — Queen Elizabeth’s eldest grandson has married his Canadian fiancee in a private ceremony at Windsor Castle.

 

Peter Phillips and Autumn Kelly were wed at the castle’s 15th-century St. George’s Chapel in front of 300 guests. The royalty present included the queen, Prince Philip, Prince Charles, and Phillips’ mother, Princess Anne. Prince Harry, the third in line to the throne, and his girlfriend Chelsy Davy were also there.

 

The bride wore a traditional white dress and a tiara lent to her by her mother-in-law.

Phillips — 11th in line to the throne — met Kelly in 2003, when both were working at the Montreal Grand Prix.

 

They’ve agreed to sell the story of their nuptials to the celebrity magazine Hello! for a sum reported at up to $1 million.

Yearbook photos botched in ‘unfortunate lapse’ May 18, 2008

McKINNEY, Texas (AP) – School officials say they are appalled by altered photos — including heads on different bodies — in hundreds of McKinney High School yearbooks delivered this week.

Besides the head and body switching, some necks were stretched, one girl’s arm was missing and another girl’s head was placed on what appeared to be a nude body, with the chest blurred.

A spokeswoman for Minnesota-based Lifetouch National School Studios Inc. said the alterations were “an unfortunate lapse in judgment” by an employee, but she didn’t believe it was malicious.

The high school had required Lifetouch to make heads the same size and eyes at the same level in all student photos, company spokeswoman Sara Thurin Rollin said Saturday.

The request was “unusual and definitely very particular, but that’s not to suggest what happened here is acceptable,” she said.

Rollin declined to say if the company fired or reprimanded the employee who altered the images.

She said Lifetouch is taking full responsibility for the altered pictures, about 30 in all, and will pay to have the publication reprinted before the seniors graduate.

Lori Oglesbee, the school’s yearbook adviser at McKinney High School, said the yearbook staff would spend the weekend rebuilding the yearbook.

McKinney is about 20 miles north of Dallas.

Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz Tie the Knot May 18, 2008

Ashlee Simpson got her fairy tale wedding to Pete Wentz on Saturday complete with an “Alice in Wonderland” themed reception at her parents’ Los Angeles area home, according to People magazine.

 

Simpson, 23, and Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz, 28, exchanged vows in front of 150 people at her parent’s home in Encino, a bedroom community in the San Fernando Valley. Joe Simpson, her father, performed the non-denomination ceremony and sister Jessica was the maid of honor, the magazine said.

The bride wore a wedding dress by Monique Lhuillier and a diamond necklace and earrings by Neil Lane, the magazine said. The reception featured a wedding cake piled high with a top hat, tea pot, stop watch and a pot of flowers on top, People said.

A flurry of arrangements on Saturday afternoon just outside the guarded gates of the Simpson’s property indicated that the pop singer’s wedding to Wentz was imminent.

White shuttle vans with deeply tinted windows were streaming through the gates, as were several delivery vehicles, including some marked as belonging to celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck.

Drivers of a few expensive cars who arrived at the guard tower were told to park elsewhere and take a shuttle. One was a well-dressed woman who arrived in an Audi packed with red boxes.

And of course, the paparazzi had been gathering before 3 p.m., lingering outside the property. Aerial photos posted online Friday on several celebrity Web sites purportedly showed an outcropping of large white party tents.

Simpson and Wentz began dating in fall 2006 and announced their engagement April 9. Rumors that Simpson is pregnant soon followed, but the couple has denied that they are expecting a child.

Simpson, a singer, songwriter and actress, is the younger sister of pop star Jessica Simpson. Ashlee Simpson’s latest album, “Bittersweet World,” was released last month. It peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 in its first week, and tracks have logged more than 19 million plays on her MySpace page.

Big Brown Wins Preakness with Ease May 18, 2008

BALTIMORE (AP) — Not once but twice, jockey Kent Desormeaux sneaked a peak to see if anyone was gaining on Big Brown.

“I looked between my legs, under my arms, and they were eight [lengths] behind me,” Desormeaux said. “I stopped pushing. I said, `That’s enough.”‘

His big bay colt ran away with the Preakness on Saturday and now is pointed squarely down the path toward the Triple Crown.

The 3-year-old with the perfect record heads for the Belmont Stakes in three weeks as the fourth horse this decade to try for the triple, a sweep last accomplished by Affirmed in 1978. The last to try was Smarty Jones in 2004.

“Wow is all I can say,” Steve Cauthen, who rode Affirmed, said by telephone from Kentucky. “He looks pretty special. It was like a cakewalk for him. The important thing to me is he keeps passing all the tests.”

Trainer Rick Dutrow Jr., who called his shot at both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, sounded nearly as confident after Big Brown came back full of run after putting away the field of 11 with ease.

“I know we have horse left. There is no question,” Dutrow said.

“He’s just shown up every step, every way,” he added. “I just can’t imagine him not showing up for the Belmont.”

As he did two weeks ago in a Kentucky Derby marred by the breakdown of Eight Belles, the colt named for UPS delivered another stunning win, this time by 5 1/4 lengths. Macho Again was second and Icabad Crane was third.

“We just got beat by a monster,” said Julien Leparoux, who was aboard Macho Again.

Big Brown slipped a bit while breaking from the middle of an undistinguished pack and Desormeaux took him off the pace in front of 112,222 fans.

“He’s so strong, he powered out with his back legs and they just slipped and he was standing out in the same spot,” Desormeaux said. “It actually was his second push that let him out of the gate.”

Big Brown was fourth the first time past the grandstand behind pacesetter Gayego. He moved up to third on the first turn, where he stayed all the way down the backstretch.

“My whole job in that first half-mile was to keep his face clean,” Desormeaux said. “There’s not a grain of sand on most of his body.”

The decisive moment came just before the final turn, when Desormeaux angled Big Brown out three-wide for clear running room. As he hit the top of the stretch, Desormeaux simply crossed the reins to let Big Brown know it was time to take off.

He didn’t even need the whip, which he initially left behind in the jockeys’ room. He could have saved himself the trip back to get it. His horse covered 1 3-16 miles in 1:54.80.

“This is the best horse I’ve ever ridden,” Desormeaux said.

That’s saying something.

In 1998, the jockey rode Real Quiet to wins in the Derby and Preakness only to be denied Triple Crown immortality when Victory Gallop stuck his nose in front at the wire in the Belmont. The final jewel is also the longest of the three races, a grueling 11/2 miles that proved the undoing of War Emblem in 2002, Funny Cide in 2003 and Smarty Jones the next year.

“We should have the horse to get the job done,” Dutrow said.

Big Brown went off as a shorter priced favorite than Secretariat in 1973, who went on to win the Triple Crown, capped by a stunning 31-length victory in the Belmont.

“It looks like Big Brown might win the Belmont farther than Secretariat,” said Paddy Gallagher, who trained 10th-place finisher Yankee Bravo.

Penny Chenery, Secretariat’s owner, said she plans to be on hand for the history making try on June 7.

“I don’t know whether Secretariat can stay with him or not,” she said. “I won’t speculate how that would come out, because we haven’t seen him at that long a distance. But you have that big sweeping race track. I think he’s going to do just fine.”

Big Brown tied for the fourth-lowest payoff in Preakness history with Native Dancer in 1953. Sent off at 1-5 odds, he paid $2.40, $2.60 and $2.40. Macho Again returned $17.20 and $10.40, while Icabad Crane paid $5.60.

Racecar Rhapsody was fourth, followed by Stevil, Kentucky Bear, Hey Byrn, Giant Moon, Tres Borrachos, Yankee Bravo, Gayego and Riley Tucker.

In the Derby, Big Brown started on the far outside of 19 horses and used an explosive finishing kick to win by 43/4 lengths, the tightest margin in his 5-0 career. He’s won those races by a combined 39 lengths.

The muscular colt joined Majestic Prince (1969), Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew (1977) and Smarty Jones (2004) as undefeated Derby and Preakness winners.

The victory put the sport’s focus back on racing after two weeks of frenzied debate about safety and breeding following Eight Belles’ catastrophic breakdown. His dominating performance came in front of a crowd that surely breathed easier after all 12 runners returned safely. On the same track just two years ago, Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro broke down early in the race.

The Preakness win also means Big Brown’s connections — Dutrow, Desormeaux and principal owners Michael Iavarone and Richard Schiavo who once worked on Wall Street — are headed back to their New York base with a horse that could make history.

It was an especially meaningful trip to the winner’s circle, since Dutrow had accompanied his late father, respected trainer Richard Sr., on past Preakness days before the two fell out over the younger Dutrow’s drug use and blown chances. In the past, his training license was revoked for personal drug use and he was suspended for doping horses.

The Preakness was also a homecoming for Desormeaux, the Cajun jockey who launched his career in Maryland in 1987. Cheering him on were his wife, Sonia, and two sons, including 9-year-old Jacob. The boy was born with Usher syndrome, a genetic disorder that stole his hearing at birth and is slowly robbing him of his sight.

In the winner’s circle, Jacob said to his mother, “I wish Daddy would buy Big Brown. Mom, can we buy Big Brown?”

Big Brown earned $600,000 for the win and boosted his earnings to $2,714,500 for Iavarone and Schiavo, co-owners of IEAH Stables, and Paul Pompa Jr. Pompa named Big Brown in honor of UPS, a major client of his Brooklyn trucking business.

The festive mood at Pimlico after the race was in sharp contrast to the scene at Churchill Downs two weeks ago. Eight Belles, the filly who took on 19 colts and finished second, broke both front ankles while galloping out and had to be euthanized on the track, the first time that has happened in the Derby.

It was the second time a horse had broken down in the past five Triple Crown races. Barbaro shattered his right rear leg shortly after the start of the 2006 Preakness. Many in the grandstand cried that day at the sight of the Derby winner taken away in an ambulance. Barbaro was euthanized eight months later because of laminitis, an often fatal hoof disease.

There was no sadness Saturday, only giddy anticipation that racing might see a Triple Crown winner at long last.