FLORIDA
ORLANDO — A pregnant South Carolina woman charged with three counts of attempted murder for driving her minivan into the Daytona Beach surf is being held in lieu of $1.2 million bond after a court appearance Saturday. Volusia County Court Judge Shirley Green found probable cause for the charges during Ebony Wilkerson’s first court appearance. Authorities say Wilkerson pointed to the ocean, locked the doors of the minivan and rolled up the windows, telling her three children she was ‘‘trying to take them to a better place’’ as she drove the minivan into the waves, authorities said. Bystanders and beach safety officers pulled the two girls and a boy, ages 3, 9, and 10, to safety Tuesday.
MARYLAND
Missing girl located after mother killed
BALTIMORE — A Maryland girl who disappeared after her mother was found dead last week has been located after a nationwide search, authorities said. The girl, 11-year-old Caitlyn Virts, was located along with her father, Timothy Virts, in a motel in Florence, S.C., police said. She and her father had been missing since the body of the girl’s mother, Bobby Jo Cortez, was found at her home Thursday. Police have since charged Timothy Virts with first-degree murder in the slaying of Cortez, 36.
WASHINGTON
750 detainees go on hunger strike
TACOMA — The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement department has confirmed that 750 detainees at the Northwest Detention Center have refused to eat and say they are on a hunger strike. An immigrant activist said the hunger strike started Friday as a protest of deportations as well as center conditions. The center currently houses nearly 1,300 people being investigated for possible deportation.
CALIFORNIA
Governor applauds his state as leader
LOS ANGELES — Delivering his case for a second term, Governor Jerry Brown said the state is leading the nation into a prosperous future. The 75-year-old governor told cheering Democrats at a convention in Los Angeles on Saturday that his administration had made progress on issues from immigration to the environment while Washington remains gridlocked. Brown promised a broad range of programs to combat climate change, while issuing a defense of the national health care overhaul.