Ron Paul raises $9 million in 2 months

In another sign of Rep. Ron Paul's online fundraising prowess, the Republican presidential candidate from Texas said in a TV interview Friday that he has raised more than $9 million during the past two months and expects to raise a total of at least $12 million for the fourth quarter.

Paul, speaking on Bloomberg Television's "Political Capital with Al Hunt," said he considers his recent fundraising success "astounding."

He added that his campaign plans another "special" fundraising day Dec. 16. On Nov. 5, Paul supporters raised $4.3 million, one of the biggest single-day showings of any candidate in history.

Unity, Md.

3 kids among dead in murder-suicide

A man shot and killed his former wife, their three children and himself in a park where they had met so the woman could hand over the youngsters for a visit, investigators said Friday.

The bodies were found late Thursday in the town of Unity, about 25 miles northwest of Washington, by Maryland-National Capital Park Police.

The bodies of Gail Louise Pumphrey, 43, of Woodbine, and the three children were found in two cars, said Wayne Jerman, Montgomery County assistant police chief.

David Peter Brockdorff, 40, of Frederick, was found nearby with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police said they recovered a .22-caliber rifle near his body.

Sarah Mullen, a neighbor of Pumphrey's, identified the children as David, 12; Megan, 10; and Brandon, 6.

Phoenix

Illegal immigrant rescues boy

A 9-year-old boy looking for help after his mother crashed their van in the southern Arizona desert was rescued by a man entering the United States illegally, an official said.

The 45-year-old woman, who died while awaiting help, had been driving on a U.S. Forest Service road just north of the Mexican border when she lost control of her van on a curve on Thanksgiving, Santa Cruz County Sheriff Tony Estrada said.

The van vaulted into a canyon and landed 300 feet from the road, he said. The woman survived the impact but was pinned inside, Estrada said.

Her son crawled out to get help and was found about two hours later by Jesus Manuel Cordova, 26, of the northern Mexican state of Sonora. Unable to pull the mother out, he comforted the boy, giving him his jacket and building a bonfire to keep the boy warm, while they waited for help. During that time, the mother died. Passing hunters called authorities about 8 a.m. Friday, Estrada said.

Cordova was taken into custody by Border Patrol agents.

Also

U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, D-Ill., said he was a victim of racial profiling when police gave him a traffic ticket, alleging he swerved over the center line. Davis, 66, who is black, said he will go to traffic court to challenge the $75 ticket given to him Monday by two white officers.

Seattle Times news services