A masked gunman who was waving an American flag on a freeway overpass in Santa Barbara was in police custody after an hours-long standoff that shut down the freeway in both directions and caused a rush-hour traffic snarl, officials said. The man, 28-year-old Edward Van Tassel, first handed over his handgun to authorities and asked for a Barack Obama sign, which he posted on a chain-link fence on the overpass along with the flag he was holding, said Sgt. Lorenzo Duarte of the Santa Barbara Police Department. The freeway was reopened shortly after the incident was resolved. No shots...
