in brief
Prosecutors say $500 million involved
Australian man accused of
laundering gambling proceeds
An Australian man was arrested early Friday in Las Vegas on charges that he helped U.S. gamblers and Internet gambling Web sites launder $500 million in gambling proceeds.
Daniel Tzvetkoff , 27, is accused of bank fraud, money laundering, conspiracy and other charges that carry a potential penalty of 75 years in prison. He was arrested early Friday.
Prosecutors said Tzvetkoff in 2008 began disguising transactions to banks on behalf of gamblers so they would appear unrelated to gambling. They said he bragged in an e-mail that his system was "all perfect!" It was not clear who will represent him in federal court in Nevada.
Prosecutors said he stopped processing gambling transactions in March 2009 after gambling Web sites accused him of stealing about $100 million.
His lawyer did not immediately respond to a call for comment.
point of entry
Man shot after ramming pickup at border near Tijuana
Federal officers shot and injured a man at the nation's busiest border crossing Saturday after he sped away from a gate agent and rammed a pickup while crossing into San Diego County from Mexico, authorities said.
The shooting by two U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents occurred about 8:50 a.m. at the San Ysidro Point of Entry, said San Diego Police Lt. Kevin Rooney. The point of entry connects San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico.
The suspect suffered one gunshot wound and was hospitalized under guard, Rooney said. The injury was not considered life threatening.
The man was not identified. He was described as in his 50s. It was unclear if he'll be prosecuted federally or locally, Rooney said.
No agents were injured and nobody in the pickup was hurt, Rooney said.
Demonstration in los Angeles
White supremacists rally against illegal immigration
A white supremacist group rallied against illegal immigration in downtown Los Angeles Saturday as hundreds of counter-protesters gathered to shout them down in a tense standoff that included several arrests, thrown rocks and police in riot gear.
Police officers stood between the white supremacists and counter-demonstrators on the south lawn of Los Angeles' City Hall, where about 50 members of the National Socialist Movement waved American flags and swastika banners for about an hour.
Five people, all of them counter-protesters, were arrested for throwing items, police said.
The white supremacists, many of them wearing flak helmets and black military fatigue uniforms, shouted "Sieg Heil" before each of their speakers took the podium to taunt counter-protesters with racial, anti-Semitic and misogynistic epithets. Members of the Detroit-based group said they picked the location for their rally because of Los Angeles' large immigrant population. They accused some of the immigrants of stealing jobs and committing crimes.
weight prevented breathing
Man trimming palm tree in Arizona killed by dead foliage
A man trimming a palm tree in Mesa was killed Saturday morning when about 500 pounds of dead foliage fell and trapped him.
Mesa Fire Department spokesman Doug Martineau said the man was trapped but appeared to be fine when his partner on the ground asked the homeowner to call for help. The resident didn't speak Spanish and couldn't understand what was wrong, but a passer-by who did stopped and helped place the call.
By the time fire crews arrived, the dead foliage had shifted and kept the 28-year-old worker from breathing. Martineau said fire crews in a ladder truck were able to cut away the fronds, but efforts to revive the man were unsuccessful.
