Nation in brief

California has failed to spend $455 million of federal money meant to improve water infrastructure in the state, while thousands of people rely on groundwater laced with nitrates and other contaminants, federal regulators said Friday. The state has received more than $1.5 billion for its Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund over the past 15 years but has failed to spend a large part of it in a timely manner, according to a noncompliance letter from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to the state’s public health department. The amount is the program’s largest unspent sum in the nation, the EPA said.

WASHINGTON, D.C.

VA moves to process oldest disability claims first

Veterans waiting more than a year for a decision on their disability claims are moving to the front of the line, under a new program announced Friday. The Department of Veterans Affairs is responding to criticism about the soaring number of claims that have been pending for longer than 125 days. The VA said that of the nearly 900,000 claims pending in the system, some 250,000 are from veterans who have been waiting at least a year for a decision.

FLORIDA

USA Today founder Neuharth dies at 89

USA Today founder Al Neuharth has died in Cocoa Beach, Fla. He was 89. The news was announced Friday by USA Today and by the Newseum, which he also founded. Neuharth changed American newspapers by putting easy-to-read articles and bright graphics in his national daily publication, which he began in 1982 when he ran the Gannett Co. newspaper group. During Neuharth’s more than 15 years at the helm of Gannett, the company became the nation’s largest newspaper company.

OREGON

Air search finds no trace of missing teen

A short break in windy weather allowed a rancher with a helicopter to search a rugged mountainside in southeastern Oregon for a young Oklahoma man who set out to test himself against the wilderness. However, rancher Patty Jenkins on Thursday saw no trace of Dustin Self, 19, who was last heard from a month ago after being inspired by the movie “Into The Wild.” Self’s lime green tent was not visible, either. Self’s pickup truck was found Monday on the northeast flank of Steens Mountain. Jenkins flew over the area and five nearby cabins used by hunters and cowboys.

MONTANA

Officials: Men accused in fatal fire lit apron

A Montana mobile home fire that left four people dead began when two men lit an apron on fire in the kitchen while the victims slept after a party, according to court documents filed Friday. Preliminary autopsy results showed all four victims died of smoke inhalation, authorities said. Three bodies were found in bedrooms and one in the mobile home’s dining room. Two men arrested Thursday night in the case each face four counts of negligent homicide and one count of felony arson. The suspects — Zaccary John Kern and Robert Eric Bottenhagen, both 21 and from Billings — were being held at the Yellowstone County Jail.

NEW JERSEY

Cops: Kids lived in storage unit for a month

Two children found living in a 5-by-10-foot unit at a storage facility in New Jersey had been staying there with their mother for about a month, authorities said Friday. Their mother, Sheena Johnson, 27, was arrested Thursday in Trenton on allegations that she slashed her ex-boyfriend’s tires. As part of routine questioning in arrests involving domestic violence, police asked Johnson if she had any dependents and if so, where they were staying. Trenton Police Lt. Mark Kieffer said an officer became suspicious when Johnson began to respond evasively.

CALIFORNIA

Dorner transcripts show deputies held fire

Sheriff’s transcripts released Friday indicate deputies didn’t fire a single shot during the final two hours of a standoff with Christopher Dorner, a former Los Angeles police officer who authorities said killed four people in a nearly weeklong rampage. The standoff came after a furious gunbattle that erupted as Dorner arrived at a cabin on Feb. 12 in the San Bernardino Mountains. The transcripts cover roughly nine hours and provide the most detailed glimpse yet of the final hours of the manhunt that covered several states and grabbed the attention of the nation.