The Nation in Brief

14 shot dead over long Chicago weekend

14 slain in Chicago

over long weekend

CHICAGO -- Shootings in Chicago over the Fourth of July weekend left at least 14 people dead, officials said.

During a Monday news conference, Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said his department's best efforts could not prevent the bloodshed that spiked dramatically Sunday. Police said Chicago had 53 separate shootings.

The Associated Press took its tally of deaths from the Cook County medical examiner's office, from Thursday through Sunday. The number of shootings came from Chicago police and was for Thursday evening through Sunday. Two deaths early Monday morning were not included in the weekend totals.

McCarthy said Chicago is still on pace to end the year with fewer homicides than last year. But he said the number of shootings is up slightly over last year.

White House: Most border kids due boot

White House: Most

border kids will go

WASHINGTON -- The White House said Monday that most unaccompanied children arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border are unlikely to qualify for humanitarian relief that would prevent them from being sent back to their home countries.

The warning came as the White House finalized a spending request to Congress detailing the additional resources President Barack Obama wants to hire more immigration judges and open additional detention facilities to deal with the border crisis. White House officials said they planned to send the more than $2 billion request to lawmakers today.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said that while the administration will allow the immigration review process to take place, officials so far don't expect many of the children arriving at the border to be able to stay in the U.S.

"It's unlikely that most of these kids will qualify for humanitarian relief," Earnest said. "It means they will not have a legal basis for remaining in this country and will be returned."

Still, it's unclear how quickly that process will unfold. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson acknowledged Sunday that such proceedings might be long delayed, and he said that coping with floods of unaccompanied minors crossing the border is a legal and humanitarian dilemma for the United States.

Michigan storm spawns twister; 6 hurt

In Michigan storm

was twister; 6 hurt

KENTWOOD, Mich. -- A severe thunderstorm packing winds estimated at more than 80 mph spawned a tornado, injured at least six people and caused significant damage to homes in western Michigan, officials said Monday, and storms with tornadoes damaged some homes in Iowa.

A fast-moving thunderstorm intensified in Michigan late Sunday over Kentwood, just south of Grand Rapids, the National Weather Service said.

Touching down in Byron Center, the twister traveled just over 6 miles and was 300 to 400 yards wide, according to the weather service website.

The tornado's winds reached the 100-110 mph range, weather service forecaster Brian Meade said Monday. He said the damage was serious but limited in area.

"It's not extensive damage, but there was some heavy damage within it," Meade said.

The tornado knocked down trees and power lines, ripped the roofs of a number of houses and sent two people to hospitals for treatment after their homes collapsed, Kentwood Mayor Stephen Kepley said in a statement. Many roads remained impassible Monday afternoon because of fallen trees.

The American Red Cross opened a shelter about 1 a.m. Monday at a Kentwood recreation center, and about 60 people took shelter overnight, said Kent County emergency management coordinator Jack Stewart. He said about 20 people were still there Monday afternoon.

Court axes Arizona curb on alien drivers

PHOENIX -- A federal appeals court Monday dealt a new blow to Arizona in its series of immigration-related crackdowns, ruling that the state cannot deny driver's licenses to young aliens who are allowed to stay in the U.S. under a 2012 policy from President Barack Obama's administration.

Arizona was one of two states that refused to issue licenses to the aliens, sparking the latest court fight over the issue.

Republican Gov. Jan Brewer called the ruling misguided and said she was considering appeal.

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found there was no legitimate state interest in treating young aliens granted deferred action on deportation differently from other aliens who could apply for driver's licenses. Instead, the panel suggested the policy was intended to express hostility toward the young aliens, in part because of the federal government's policy toward them.

-- COMPILED BY DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE STAFF FROM WIRE REPORTS

A Section on 07/08/2014

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