The nation in brief

— QUOTE OF THE DAY “I don’t carry around a backpack [filled] with American flags and run around the world planting them.”

Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,

explaining that U.S. officials are looking for

permission to operate from old installations in Asia as guests, mostly on a temporary basis Article, this page

Utah wildfire evacuees return home About 2,300 Utah wildfire evacuees were allowed to return to their homes Saturday evening after officials determined the blaze no longer posed a threat to them.

The decision came after the fire had burned Friday within a quarter-mile of some homes in Saratoga Springs and Eagle Mountain, about 40 miles south of Salt Lake City, Bureau of Land Management spokesman Teresa Rigby said.

No homes have burned, she said, and fire officials were comfortable with the decision to lift the evacuation order after seeing how the 9-square-mile blaze behaved on tinder-dry grasslands Saturday afternoon during high winds and high temperatures.

The evacuation order, imposed Friday, affected nearly 600 homes and roughly 2,300 residents, according to an updated count released Saturday by fire officials.

Winds pushed some of the fire back on itself Saturday afternoon, Rigby said, and crews managed to put out “hot spots” closest to homes.

The fire that officials believe was started Thursday by target shooters was 30 percent contained Saturday evening, with full containment expected Tuesday.

2 found dead in posh Beverly Hilton

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - Two people were found dead in what investigators believe was a murder-suicide at the Beverly Hilton, just hours before the Daytime Emmy Awards were to be held at the posh hotel, police said Saturday.

Police responding to a report of a shooting late Friday found a man and a woman dead from gunshot wounds in a hotel room, Beverly Hills police Lt. Mark Rosen said.

Police would give no other details on the two people, their relationship or the circumstances of the shooting. Police would not comment on whether the deaths were connected to the Emmy awards.

Coroner’s officials had yet to begin their investigation, but said the two people were a man in his late 60s and a woman in her mid-50s.

The luxury hotel was also the site of Whitney Houston’s death in February.

Baby-sitting teen shoots intruder

PHOENIX - A 14-year-old boy shot and nearly killed an intruder who broke into his Phoenix home and pulled a gun on him while he was watching his three younger siblings, police said Saturday.

The teen and his siblings, ages 8, 10 and 12, were at home alone when a woman rang the doorbell Friday afternoon, Phoenix police officer James Holmes said.

The teen didn’t open the door because he didn’t recognize the woman.

Soon after, the teen heard a loud bang on the door, rushed his siblings upstairs and got a handgun from his parent’s bedroom.

When he got to the top of the stairs, he saw a man break through the front door and point a gun at him.

The boy shot the 37-year-old man, who was taken to a hospital in extremely critical condition and underwent surgery. The man was upgraded to critical condition and was expected to survive and be booked into jail within the week on counts of aggravated assault and burglary, Holmes said.

He said the suspect did not get a shot off. The woman who rang the home’s doorbell got away.

Tropical Storm Debby churns in Gulf

MIAMI - Tropical Storm Debby formed Saturday in the Gulf of Mexico, putting officials on alert for flooding and strong winds from Texas to Florida.

At least one tornado linked to the storm touched down in southwest Florida, but no injuries were reported. Heavy squalls pounded parts of the state.

On Saturday night, Debby was about 215 miles south of the mouth of the Mississippi River, or near latitude 26.3 north and longitude 87.5 west, with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph.

The center of Debby was expected to linger in the Gulf during the next few days with no landfall in the immediate forecast.

While the storm’s track is far from certain, the National Hurricane Center has Debby skirting the Louisiana coast and heading west toward Texas. However, some forecasts have the storm moving east toward Florida.

Front Section, Pages 4 on 06/24/2012

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