Washington, D.C.

Customs increases duty-free exemption

The total value of merchandise that people may bring back to the United States without having to pay duty will rise from $400 to $800, effective Monday, the U.S. Customs Service said Wednesday.

The change affects the standard personal exemption; all other personal exemption rates remain unchanged.

The duty-free exemption applies if the items are for personal or household use or they are in a person’s possession when returning to the United States. It also applies if items are declared to Customs; if a person is returning from an overseas stay of at least 48 hours; if the items are not prohibited or restricted; or if a person has not used the exemption in the past 30 days.

Family members who live in the same home and return together to the United States may combine their standard personal exemptions.

Items purchased in Duty Free shops are subject to duty if the value of the total purchases exceeds $800.

New Jersey

Police arrest 41 street gang members

Forty-one members of the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation one of New Jersey’s largest and most organized street gangs were arrested Wednesday, authorities said.

Among those arrested were nine alleged members of the Latin Kings’ “state crown council,” which oversees local chapters and answers to the gang’s Chicago headquarters, State Police Capt. Rick Fuentes said.

“We are attacking the leadership of this organization,” said Peter C. Harvey, New Jersey first assistant attorney general. “If you kill the head, the body will die. So this is just the beginning.”

The gang operates in suburban New Jersey and recruited members at high schools in New York, Pennsylvania and Illinois, Harvey said.

Oklahoma

Homicide charges filed in shooting rampage

An Sallisaw teenager was charged with murder Wednesday for a shooting rampage last weekend that left two women dead and eight people wounded.

Daniel Fears, 18, did not speak during his arraignment and the court entered an innocent plea for him.

Authorities say Fears began shooting Saturday evening after a neighbor chastised him for driving recklessly near small children.

Fears stole a shotgun from his father’s house and shot the neighbor, Gregory Caughman, authorities said. They said Fears also shot at another neighborhood couple, killing Patsy Wells and wounding her husband.

He then drove to a car dealership where he fatally shot customer Reba Spangler and wounded a salesman, authorities said. He was captured after crashing near a police roadblock.

Indiana

Airport security search prompts disrobing

A French woman faces a felony charge of disorderly conduct at an airport after she allegedly undressed to her waist in an angry outburst at security screeners.

A judge Tuesday found probable cause for the charge against Eliane Yvonne Marcele Aguillaume, 56, of Paris. She also faces misdemeanor charges of resisting law enforcement and public indecency.

The felony disorderly conduct charge was made possible in a state law passed after the 2001 terrorist attacks. The law, which took effect July 1, set a sentence range of six months to three years.

Authorities say Aguillaume kept reaching inside her sweater, forcing guards to re-search her, during a routine screening Monday at Evansville Regional Airport.

After a screener attempted to use a metal-detecting wand, Aguillaume became upset and allegedly removed her sweater, shirt and bra.