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From The Associated Press

Nightclub stampede kills 12, Mexican officials suspended

MEXICO CITY—Mexico City’s mayor expressed outrage Saturday that youths as young as 13 were among the dozen people killed in a nightclub stampede and said the officials involved in the police raid that sparked the crush had been suspended.

Police went to check reports of underage drinking and drugs in the News Divine club in a working-class Mexico City neighborhood Friday evening, causing hundreds of customers to try to flee the club.

About 500 young people — more than the club’s capacity — had packed the bar to celebrate the end of the school year, according to police. Witnesses and police said the only emergency exit was blocked, and desperate customers tried to break out windows to escape the crush.

“The city is indignant,” Mayor Marcelo Ebrard told a news conference. “What we saw yesterday was ethically unacceptable.”

Housing rescue has a final chance

WASHINGTON, D.C.—President Bush and Congress have settled their differences on terrorist surveillance and Iraq war money. Now attention turns to a potential housing rescue, probably the last major initiative with any chance of passing before lawmakers scatter to campaign for re-election.

Bush has threatened a veto. But lawmakers in both parties say the housing legislation is a political imperative, and negotiators see the makings of a summertime bargain.

For one, the measure contains elements that Bush long has demanded. They include modernizing the Depression-era Federal Housing Administration and creating a new regulator for the government-sponsored mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Then there is the political reality for the president: Many Republicans are facing a darkening re-election outlook amid tough economic times and are reluctant to oppose a measure intended to address the crux of the financial crisis.

An important test vote comes Tuesday, with a final Senate vote expected soon after. That probably will open a new phase of talks to work out differences with the House in hopes of sending the bill to Bush in July.

California fire 90 percent contained

WATSONVILLE, Calif.—A Northern California wildfire was almost fully contained Saturday after forcing thousands to evacuate, destroying several homes and closing a six-mile stretch of scenic Highway 1, fire officials said.

The fire near Watsonville was 90 percent contained, said officials of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. It had charred 630 acres, or less than a square mile.

However, evacuation orders remained in place Saturday for the roughly 2,000 people who fled their homes Friday.

Seoul, US agree on beef deal

SEOUL, South Korea— South Korea said it will resume imports of U.S. beef after American and South Korean suppliers agreed to block meat from older cattle, aiming Saturday to soothe health concerns that sparked weeks of demonstrations against new President Lee Myung-bak.

Still, protest leaders argued the plan doesn’t go far enough and staged the latest of their daily candlelight rallies.

Procedures to put the new import agreement into effect were to start Monday, Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon said, but it was not clear when American beef would reach South Korean markets.

Lee, a pro-U.S. conservative who took office in February, had agreed to allow resumed American beef imports in April — seeking to improve relations with Washington and pave the way for a larger free-trade deal between the two countries to help reinvigorate the South Korean economy.

The beef-loving South has allowed intermittent U.S. beef imports since banning it in 2003 after the first case of mad cow disease was discovered there.