Dorner, police in shootout
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 12 (UPI) -- Police said shots were exchanged between officers and someone who fit the description of fugitive Christopher Dorner in the Big Bear area of California Tuesday.
Two officers were reported hurt in the incident.
CNN said Dorner had been "pinned down" but it was unclear whether that meant he was physically pinned down or just trapped in a specific area.
The incident occurred in an area that has been the focus of a massive search for Dorner, 33, a former Navy marksman and Los Angeles police officer suspected of killing three people.
The Los Angeles Times reported Dorner invaded a couple's home, tied them up and stole their car.
Senators tangle before Hagel vote
WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 (UPI) -- Democrats and Republicans butted heads as a Senate panel readied to vote Tuesday on whether to recommend Chuck Hagel's nomination as U.S. defense secretary.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, repeatedly tried to suggest Hagel, a former Republican senator from Nebraska, may have received payments from foreign sources, but said he had no evidence because Hagel refused to answer questions about his income.
"We do not know for example if he received compensation for paid speeches at extremist or radical groups," Cruz said. "It may be that he received extraordinary payments from defense contractors. ... I don't know if Chuck Hagel has received compensation from foreign or extremist sources."
Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., pointed out that when asked in writing by the Senate Armed Services committee whether he and his wife had received money from a foreign government or an entity controlled by a foreign government, he answered "no."
Gun control debate reaches Senate hearing
WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 (UPI) -- Gun violence victims testified before a U.S. Senate subcommittee Tuesday, offering varying takes in the face of a contentious debate over gun control.
Suzanna Hupp of Texas, who was eating at Luby's Restaurant in 1991 when a gunman crashed his pickup through the window and opened fire killing 23 people, including her parents, told lawmakers she was outraged no one in the restaurant was able to defend themselves.
"Honestly I don't view myself as a victim of gun violence, I view myself as a victim of a maniac who happened to use a gun as a tool," Hupp said. "And I view myself as a victim of the legislators that we had at the time that left me defenseless."
Hupp would go on to serve 10 years in the Texas legislator and author a book, "From Luby's to Legislature, One Woman's Fight Against Gun Control."
Hupp lamented having left her gun in the car that afternoon while eating lunch with her parents and told senators numerous lives could have been saved if she's carried it -- in violation of Texas concealed carry laws at the time.
North Korea draws U.N. rebuke
PYONGYANG, North Korea, Feb. 12 (UPI) -- North Korea claimed it safely tested its third nuclear device underground Tuesday, drawing condemnation from the U.N. Security Council.
All 15 members of the council, including China, North Korea's traditional ally, strongly condemned the test in a statement.
"In line with this commitment and the gravity of this violation, the members of the Security Council will begin work immediately on appropriate measures in a Security Council resolution," Kim Sung-hwan, South Korea's foreign minister, said in a statement to the media posted on the council's website. South Korea holds the rotating presidency of the Council for February.
Hours after seismic activity was detected at the North's Punggye-ri nuclear test complex, North Korea's Central News Agency said the detonation used a more compact nuclear device compared to its two earlier nuclear tests and was conducted in a safe manner, Yonhap News Agency reported.
4 killed in fire on Carnival parade float
SANTOS, Brazil, Feb. 12 (UPI) -- A fire started when a Carnival parade float touched an electrical cable killed four people early Tuesday in the Brazilian port of Santos, authorities said.
The parade was sponsored by a Samba club, Young Blood, O Globo reported. Three of the dead were men and one a woman.
The short circuit and fire knocked out electricity for about 6,000 homes in the neighborhood.
At least five people were seriously hurt.
The accident occurred shortly after 1 a.m. as the parade was reaching its end, O Globo said.
