LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY

“We’ve had little good news, but we live by the adage of prepare for the worst and hope for the best.”

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo

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Parolee slays 2 at California plant

FRESNO, Calif. - A parolee who worked at a California chicken-processing plant opened fire at the business on Tuesday, killing two people and wounding two others before taking his own life, authorities said.

Police said they didn’t know what prompted the attack by Lawrence Jones, 42, midway through his shift at the Valley Protein plant, although other workers told police that he did not appear to be himself when he arrived at the plant for work.

Jones has an extensive criminal history dating back into the 1990s, Police Chief Jerry Dyer said.

Jones arrived at work just before 5 a.m. About 3 1/2 hours into his shift, he pulled out a handgun and began firing, Dyer said.

About 30 employees witnessed the shooting, and there were a total of 62 people at work when the gunfire started, police said.

Patient killed in N.C. hospital fire

DURHAM, N.C. - One patient was killed and three employees injured in a fire early Tuesday at a long-termcare unit occupying leased space at a North Carolina hospital, authorities said.

Firefighters were called to a report of an explosion on the sixth floor of Durham Regional Hospital about 2:15 a.m. Tuesday, said a Durham Fire Department spokesman. Firefighters discovered there had been no explosion, and the fire had been extinguished by the hospital sprinkler system.

Hospital officials were investigating how the fire occurred and just where it began, said Katie Galbraith, hospital chief of operations.

The patient who died was critically ill, Peacock said.

The medical examiner will determine the timing and cause of the death, she said.

Stove brand faulted at murder trial

HOUSTON - The brand of stove at the center of a fire at a Texas home day care that killed four children and injured three others has been known to have problems, an engineering expert told jurors Tuesday in the murder trial of the facility’s owner.

Attorneys for Jessica Tata, who began their defense Tuesday, are trying to use the expert’s testimony to bolster their claims that the deadly blaze might have been sparked by a malfunctioning stove and not by anything she did.

Prosecutors allege the blaze began after oil in a pan ignited on a stovetop burner Tata had left on. They also contend she had left the seven children she was caring for alone at her home to go shopping. The children in the February 2011 fire ranged in age from 16 months to 3 years old.

Richard Bonyata, an electrical engineer, testified that other stoves made by Electrolux had problems such as their burners turning on by themselves or unexpectedly jumping from low to high heat.

Last week, David Reiter, the forensic electrical engineer testifying for prosecutors, told jurors he examined the stove and found no mechanical or electrical failures.

Ex-Detroit water chief admits guilt

DETROIT - The former head of the Detroit Water Department pleaded guilty in the middle of trial, admitting he rigged contracts and pressured businesses to hire then-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s pal for millions of dollars in public projects.

Despite his surprise guilty plea Monday, there was no indication that Victor Mercado will be testifying against Kilpatrick, also a defendant in the case, in the weeks ahead. The corruption trial is in recess until Tuesday because a lawyer is ill.

Mercado, 61, never took a bribe or kickback but couldn’t resist pressure from Kilpatrick to help Bobby Ferguson, who owned a construction company, Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Chutkow said. Mercado’s plea agreement calls for a maximum prison sentence of 18 months.

Kilpatrick was elected mayor in 2001. He resigned in 2008 and pleaded guilty to obstructing justice by lying in a civil case about having sex with an aide. He subsequently served 14 months in prison for violating his probation in that case.

Front Section, Pages 3 on 11/07/2012