The nation in brief

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“It is the symbol of our country. It is an icon that has to be preserved.”

Kevin Hildebrand, U.S. Capitol architect’s office on a $60 million, two year project to repair the building’s dome Article, this page

UPS reports delays, cites Yule volume

United Parcel Service Inc., the world’s largest package-delivery company, said it couldn’t deliver some shipments by Christmas Day as rising online retail orders contributed to deliveries overwhelming its capacity.

“The volume of air packages in our system exceeded the capacity of our network immediately preceding Christmas, so some shipments were delayed,” the Atlanta-based company said Wednesday in a service update on its website. “UPS is not making pickups or deliveries on Christmas Day and will resume normally scheduled service on December 26.”

U.S. online holiday retail sales were projected to climb 15 percent to a record of more than $78 billion by Forrester Research Inc. in a report published last month.

Amazon.com Inc., the world’s largest online retailer, sent messages to some customers Wednesday that cited “failure in the UPS transportation network” for delayed deliveries, offering to refund shipping charges and providing gift cards.

Prosecutors: Can’t meet order on aliens

NEW YORK - Federal prosecutors say they can’t meet a judge’s demands that they quickly deliver documents about thousands of aliens who’ve been detained nationwide for months or years as their immigration statuses are reviewed.

The office of U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara laid out the government’s position to U.S. District Judge Richard Berman in a letter made public Wednesday.

The letter, dated Tuesday, came five days after the judge criticized the government, saying it had been on notice since the American Civil Liberties Union requested the documents nearly five years ago.

The ACLU eventually filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit in Manhattan federal court in 2011 seeking documents from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The judge said the government’s continued refusal to produce documents had stymied efforts to overhaul a system in which thousands of alien detainees, some applicants for asylum, languish in jails longer than six months.

The government, though, said in its letter it is “not feasible” to produce documents from more than 22,000 individual files as ordered but said it can produce a reliable sample of 385 files within 15 months, with rolling releases within eight weeks of a revised order.

Brain-dead girl’s family marks holiday

OAKLAND, Calif. - The family of a 13-year-old Northern California girl who was declared brain dead after suffering complications from a tonsillectomy was trying to give the girl the most normal Christmas possible, with a tree and presents in her hospital room, her uncle said.

The family of Jahi McMath will wait until today to discuss a possible appeal of a judge’s decision allowing a hospital to remove her from life support, said Omari Sealey, the girl’s uncle.

Family members planned to spend Christmas Day at Children’s Hospital Oakland and set up a Christmas tree in Jahi’s room with presents for her and her siblings.

“We’re going to discuss our opportunities tomorrow.

Today we are going to keep as regular as possible,” Sealey said. “We still got five days for a miracle. We are still hopeful.”

Alameda County Superior Court Judge Evelio Grillo ruled Tuesday that the hospital could remove Jahi from the ventilator keeping her body functioning, but gave the family until 5 p.m. Monday to file an appeal. Until then, she will stay on life support.

Jahi’s family members have said they believe Jahi is still alive and that the hospital should not remove her from the ventilator without their permission. The teen suffered cardiac arrest after bleeding profusely after her operation this month.

The hospital argued that the teen had no chance of recovery since all brain function had ceased.

Oklahomans get quakes for Christmas

OKLAHOMA CITY - It wasn’t Santa and his reindeer landing on roofs that shook some central Oklahoma homes on Christmas: Two small earthquakes struck the area Wednesday, in addition to one that struck the night before.

The first, a 2.7-magnitude earthquake, struck near Spencer about 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. A preliminary report said the earthquake’s epicenter was 5 miles north of Spencer and 11 miles northeast of Oklahoma City.

The second earthquake hit a little before 3 p.m. That 2.9-magnitude quake was centered 19 miles south of Norman, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The area also had a Christmas Eve earthquake, a 3.7-magnitude temblor near Edmond around 9 p.m. Tuesday. Preliminary data show that the quake was centered about 6 miles east-northeast of Edmond and 14 miles north of Midwest City.

All three had a depth of about 3 miles. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries from any of the quakes.

Front Section, Pages 3 on 12/26/2013

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