New Mexico

Firefighters still on duty fighting S.W. wildfires

Nearly 300 firefighters remained on the job Saturday battling the remnants of two wildfires that menaced parts of Albuquerque.

Three teenagers had been arrested and accused of setting the first of the two fires that burned this past week along the Rio Grande.

No arrests had been made in the second fire, which was started Wednesday about a mile from the first blaze, authorities said.

Fire crews were still battling flames Saturday in California and Arizona.

About 150 miles north of Los Angeles, crews had contained 75 percent of a 600-acre blaze. Officials in southern Arizona estimated that the fire that burned through a vacation community outside Tucson had caused $7.2 million to fight.

North Carolina

Marines return home

Cpl. Miguel Henao, a member of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, enjoyed a quiet moment with his wife, Angelica, after they were reunited Saturday.

Families and friends greeted troops Saturday with tears and cheers as the last wave of Marines from Task Force Tarawa returned to their home base from Iraq.

“I’m super blessed,” said Gunnery Sgt. Bryant Davis, 36, of Atlanta, who let out three “Wooos!” after embracing his young nieces outside Camp Lejeune’s barracks.

Davis was one of 2,000 Marines aboard the USS Kearsarge, the last of the seven-ship Amphibious Task Force East that arrived on the North Carolina coast this past week.

Troops from the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, which saw heavy fighting and 23 members die during the war, began arriving in stages at Camp Lejeune and neighboring bases a week ago. A total of 7,000 ground troops and aviators were expected to be home by today.

Washington, D.C.

Government blamed for lost, stolen luggage

Airline passengers have filed 6,700 complaints with the government about lost, stolen or damaged luggage in the six months since the Transportation Security Administration took on the job of screening fliers’ checked bags.

The agency has paid almost $39,000 to settle about 485 claims. About 145 were denied, and 47 were withdrawn. The rest of the complaints — more than 6,000 — are pending.

One cause of the huge number of pending cases is the likelihood that the airlines are responsible for some of the claims, an administration spokesman said.

Cincinnati

Goodyear, steelworkers break off negotiations

The United Steelworkers union broke off contract talks with Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. after rejecting the company’s latest offer, and the union has said it was prepared to strike if necessary.

No new talks were scheduled, union spokesman Wayne Ranick said Saturday.

“The bottom line is we’ve rejected this offer,” Ranick said.

The union’s contract with 11 Goodyear plants expired April 19 but had been extended on a day-to-day basis while talks continued. The contract remained in effect Saturday because both sides had agreed to a 72-hour notice before termination.