Katrina fraud cases widespread

NEW YORK -- More than 18 months after Hurricane Katrina, investigators are tackling a mountain of fraud cases in which thousands bilked the government and charities out the government and of millions of dollars. More than 600 people have been charged in federal cases in 22 states and the District of Columbia. (AP)

NORTH CAROLINA

CHARLOTTE -- Two police officers shot during a struggle outside an apartment complex died early yesterday, and a suspect was charged with murder. Sean Clark, 34, and Jeffrey Shelton, 35, were responding to a disturbance call at the building late Saturday. They were shot in the parking lot, and both died at a hospital. Demetrius Montgomery, 25, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, police said. (AP)

MISSOURI

KANSAS CITY -- The only woman on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list has been captured and charged with one count of second-degree murder. Shauntay L. Henderson, 24, was arrested Saturday when she answered the door at an apartment, police said. Authorities had gone to the apartment in search of someone she knew. Henderson, a reputed gang member, is charged in a 2006 shooting death. (AP)

PENNSYLVANIA

DUSHORE -- Fire destroyed a rural house, killing two children and their mother who were home in bed, State Police said. The fire broke out early Saturday about 50 miles west of Scranton, killing the woman and her children, a 9-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy. Another daughter and Crane's estranged husband were not home at the time of the fire. (AP)

CALIFORNIA

HESPERIA -- A Southern California wildfire that prompted the evacuation of 230 homes was almost fully contained last night after charring 2,000 acres. The blaze, which started Saturday, burned a shed and damaged the roof of a house, but no injuries were reported. (AP)

MICHIGAN

TAYLOR -- A 33-year-old woman was arraigned yesterday on charges of offering to let an undercover investigator take pornographic photos of her 7-year-old daughter and have sex with the girl. The woman was arrested Friday after taking the girl to a hotel, where she had agreed to meet the investigator, the Wayne County sheriff said. (AP)

FLORIDA

FORT PIERCE -- A 9-year-old boy and an adult were apparently bitten by sharks off the beaches of a barrier island, authorities said. Their injuries were not considered life-threatening. The attacks happened within an hour of each other Saturday in the water along Hutchinson Island on Florida's east coast. (AP)