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Some Dominican police now facing more serious charges than spiritual group targeted in raid
• SOSUA, Dominican Republic (AP) -- Police stormed the compound with guns drawn, killing a man and declaring they had uncovered a heavily armed European cult suspected of plotting against the government and trafficking in human organs.
• They found no sign of any organ trafficking, but officials say something unusual was going on behind the walls of the Academy for Future Health, where several dozen mostly German expatriates had set up a secretive spiritual group whose website warns of UFOs, the evils of the U.S. government and looming global turmoil. More disturbingly, officers seized an arsenal that included military-grade assault weapons, other firearms, body armor, targets and a crossbow.
• On Tuesday, a judge ruled there is enough evidence to try 62-year-old sect leader Peter Brunck and his son, Daniel Roland, on weapons violations and a charge of "rebellion." They face up to 10 years in prison, and prosecutors said further counts are possible.
• But nearly a year after the October raid, the police involved in the operation are also in prosecutors' sights.
• Authorities are looking into charges that officers beat Brunck and his son while they were handcuffed, shot at an unarmed gardener and stole some of the $1.5 million in cash and personal property confiscated in the operation.
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Wildfire becomes fourth-largest in California history as containment continues
• YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (AP) -- The wildfire burning in and around Yosemite National Park has become the fourth-largest conflagration in modern California history, fire officials said Sunday as clouds and higher humidity helped crews further contain the biggest blaze in the United States this year.
• The 2-week-old Rim Fire moved up a spot on the state's list of large wildfires dating back to 1932 when it grew to 351 square miles -- an area larger than the cities of San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose combined, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman Daniel Berlant said.
• Although the fire still is growing, it was 45 percent contained as of Sunday.
• Moister air slowed flames from advancing through brush and trees, giving fire (Continued on page 36)
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