In the Nation

LOS ANGELES - A man with a semiautomatic rifle opened fire at a church festival yesterday, wounding his ex-wife and two bystanders before festival-goers grabbed him and held him for police, authorities and a church official said.

Gunfire rang out on a grassy field where the festival was being set up at the St. John Baptist de la Salle Roman Catholic parish shortly before 11 a.m., said Police Capt. Steven Ruiz. "We believe this is an isolated incident, a domestic-violence dispute," he said.

The Rev. Robert Milbauer, the parish's pastor, said a woman injured in the attack was the gunman's ex-wife. The two have a child who attends the school and had been mired in a dispute, Ruiz said. The gunman's identity was not immediately released.

- AP

DETROIT - American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc. boosted its wage offer and increased the payments it will give workers to take a wage cut as part of a tentative agreement that could settle an 11-week strike by the United Auto Workers, a person briefed on the deal said yesterday.

American Axle had been offering a pay cut from $28 to $17 per hour for production workers, with a $90,000 wage "buy down" over three years to help workers make the transition to lower pay. The deal is similar to what the UAW agreed to with auto-parts maker Delphi Corp. last year, the person said. In that deal, Delphi agreed to pay workers "buy-downs" of $105,000 over three years.

American Axle confirmed Friday night that both sides had agreed on a deal, but details weren't released. UAW president Ron Gettelfinger said in a statement Friday night that the American Axle bargaining committee voted to recommend the agreement to members, who would get details starting today.

- AP

CLEVELAND - The federal government isn't used to being snubbed when it offers to help local governments. When it offered Chardon Township in Ohio $10,000 in disaster aid for a snowstorm in March, the locals said no thanks.

Township Trustee Chuck Strazinsky told the Plain Dealer for a story published Friday that it was a typical snowstorm unworthy of federal aid. He says the money should be reserved for true emergencies.

Township Trustee Steve Borowski disagrees with the decision, saying help from the federal government shouldn't be turned down. Last month the Federal Emergency Management Agency included Geauga among 17 Ohio counties eligible for disaster aid.

- AP

A charter bus

crashed in the Southern California desert, killing one person and injuring 21 others, police said. The bus was heading to the gambling town of Laughlin, Nev., when it overturned on Interstate 40 near Ludlow.