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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/01/19/wetumpka-alabama-tornado-causes-significant-damage-downtown-storm-injuries-buildings-damaged/2627450002/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=usatoday-newstopstories
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Tornado causes significant damage in downtown Wetumpka, Alabama
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Tornado causes significant damage in downtown Wetumpka, Alabama
WETUMPKA, Ala. – A tornado caused major damage in downtown Wetumpka, the city's mayor said Saturday, with several buildings on the ground after an intense storm passed through the area.
One injured was reported by 4:30 p.m., said Mayor Jerry Willis. The injury wasn’t serious.
The damage seems to be confined on the west side of the city, located about 15 miles northeast of Montgomery. First Baptist Church and First Presbyterian Church received “major” damage, Willis said.
“It’s bad, when you love a place as much as we love Wetumpka, to see this devastation,” he said. “We have worked so hard to get here and to see it destroyed like this."
Emergency crews from Millbrook, Prattville and Autauga County are offering assistance. Willis urged residents to stay out of the area and allow crews to work.
Sheriff Bill Franklin put a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.curfew into effect for downtown.
“We have several buildings downtown with serious structural damage,” he said. “People may not be able to see that damage. The buildings are in danger of collapsing. We don’t want anymore injuries than we already have.”
Emergency responders were conducting a door-to-door search before dusk. Widespread power outages are reported.
That area was under a tornado warning when the storm hit about 2:45 p.m.
“I was looking out my front door and the rain just hit harder than I ever seen before,” said Roberta Johnson, who lives on West Tallassee Street. “I ran to a bathroom and it hit, boom, the wind was howling. I never prayed so hard in my life.”
Her home received damage to its roof.
Officials also have confirmed damage in Autauga County after an intense storm passed through the area Saturday afternoon.
More:Heavy snow slams Midwest, disrupting hundreds of flights
A mobile home overturned near the Independence community, Sheriff Joe Sedinger said. No injuries have been reported at this time.
A home also received roof damage and several trees were reported down, said Ernie Baggett, director of the Autauga Emergency Management Agency.
The area was under a tornado warning at the time. The National Weather Service In Birmingham said a radar indicated a tornado was in the area.
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cb1b1ff760cecf0c4f044d77751a6236
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/01/20/covington-catholic-could-expel-students-indigenous-peoples-march-video/2631377002/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=usatoday-newstopstories
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Covington Catholic could expel students who taunted Native American man in viral video
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Covington Catholic could expel students who taunted Native American man in viral video
Corrections & Clarifications: This story has been updated to clarify the original description of Nathan Phillips’ military service. Phillips is a Vietnam-era veteran who served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve from May 1972 to May 1976 and did not deploy to a war zone, according to the Defense Department.
The Kentucky high school students seen in a video showing a confrontation between them and a Native American man at a march in Washington, D.C., could be expelled.
Covington Catholic High School and the Diocese of Covington said Saturday that they are investigating the incident that happened at the Indigenous Peoples March on Friday.
"We will take appropriate action, up to and including expulsion," the statement said.
The school and diocese apologized to the man in the video, identified as Marine Corps veteran and Native American elder Nathan Phillips.
"We condemn the actions of the Covington Catholic High School students towards Nathan Phillips specifically, and Native Americans in general," the statement said. "... We extend our deepest apologies to Mr. Phillips. This behavior is opposed to the Church’s teachings on the dignity and respect of the human person."
More:'Blatant racism': Ky. high school apologizes following backlash after video shows students surrounding indigenous marchers
More:Native American veteran: 'Mob mentality' in students seen in viral video was 'scary'
Covington Catholic is an all-boys private high school in Northern Kentucky.
The school has about 585 students and 42 teachers, according to the diocese. According to the school's website, it was founded in 1925, and 213 students attended the March for Life in 2017. The trip costs about $130 per student.
Backlash against the school was swift Saturday as the video went viral. It shows a young man wearing a "Make America Great Again" cap standing near Phillips, who is drumming, as other young men surrounding them cheer and chant.
March attendees told the USA TODAY Network that the Covington students surrounded, intimidated and chanted over Native Americans who were singing about indigenous peoples' strength and spirit.
But after short clips of the incident went viral this weekend, people started sharing full-length clips of the incident saying it shows that the students were provoked and that the man put himself in that position.
In an interview with the Detroit Free Press, Phillips said the incident started as the students from Covington Catholic were observing a group of Black Israelites talk, and started to get upset at their speeches.
Phillips said some of the members of the Black Hebrew group were also acting up, "saying some harsh things" and that one member spit in the direction of the Catholic students.
"So I put myself in between that, between a rock and hard place," Phillips said.
As millions of people viewed videos of the incident circulating on social media, many expressed outrage over the boys' behavior.
Related:Stormy Daniels calls out 'disgusting punks' from Covington Catholic
Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes took to Twitter to condemn the incident. Grimes said she is "a proud alumnae" of a Catholic high school and called on Covington Catholic to "denounce this behavior."
"In spite of these horrific scenes, I refuse to shame and solely blame these children for this type of behavior," Grimes said. "Instead, I turn to the adults and administration that are charged with teaching them, and to those who are silently letting others promote this behavior. This is not the Kentucky we know and love."
News of the incident at the march did not surprise Angela Arnett-Garner, who said she is part Shawnee and who helped organize Kentucky's first Indigenous Peoples Day celebration in 2017, as well as the first Indigenous Peoples Day event in Louisville last year.
She pointed to the controversy over President Donald Trump calling Sen. Elizabeth Warren "Pocahontas" because the Massachusetts Democrat has claimed she has Native American ancestry.
"I'm not surprised at all," at this incident in D.C., Arnett-Garner said. "The racism in this country after Trump took office has just exploded. People feel like they're entitled to be racist and demonstrate their racist views."
State Senate Minority Leader Morgan McGarvey, a Louisville Democrat, tweeted the incident "is embarrassing and wrong."
"Yes, these kids should apologize and (hopefully) learn from this," McGarvey wrote. "However, we also can't excuse the leaders who normalize this conduct. We all should do better...especially on MLK weekend."
Contributing: Max Londberg and Sarah Brookbank, Cincinnati Enquirer
Follow Rachel Aretakis and Billy Kobin on Twitter: @raretakis and @Billy_Kobin
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a156774d181fc0fa61076458bf5a973b
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/01/20/native-american-leader-viral-video-students-mob-mentality/2631003002/
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Native American veteran: 'Mob mentality' in students seen in viral video was 'scary'
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Native American veteran: 'Mob mentality' in students seen in viral video was 'scary'
Corrections & Clarifications: This story has been updated to clarify the original description of Nathan Phillips’ military service. Phillips is a Vietnam-era veteran who served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve from May 1972 to May 1976 and did not deploy to a war zone, according to the Defense Department.
Clarification: In an earlier version of this story, a paragraph lacked attribution when it recounted a version of what happened that day. The story has since been updated and a tweet that contained that reference has since been removed.
For years, Native American advocate Nathan Phillips of metro Detroit has been fighting for the rights of indigenous people.
On Friday, his battle gained national attention, as social media videos captured his standoff with a group of taunting Catholic school students in the nation's capital. The video of Phillips, peacefully drumming and singing, while surrounded by a hostile crowd illustrates the nation's political and racial tensions.
Speaking to the Free Press by phone, Phillips, 64, of Ypsilanti, explained what happened after 5 p.m. Friday during the Indigenous Peoples' March he was attending and spoke of his history working for the cause of Native American people.
He gave new details about an incident that sparked outrage and criticism from a range of groups.
More:'Blatant racism': Ky. high school apologizes following backlash after video shows students surrounding indigenous marchers
Marine steps between 'beast' and 'prey'
Prior to what is seen on the now-viral video, Phillips said he was in Washington attending a Native American rally. Near the end of rally, he said he tried to keep the peace between a group of mostly white students attending a March for Life event, and a group of about four people with a religious group known as the Black Hebrew Israelites.
Phillips, a former Marine, said the incident started as a group of Catholic students from Kentucky were observing the Black Israelites talk, and started to get upset at their speeches. The Catholic group then got bigger and bigger, with more than 100 assembled at one point, he said.
"They witnessed these individuals on their soapbox saying what they had to say," Phillips said. "They didn't agree with it and got offended."
Then, things got heated.
"They were in the process of attacking these four black individuals," Phillip said. "I was there and I was witnessing all of this. ... As this kept on going on and escalating, it just got to a point where you do something or you walk away, you know? You see something that is wrong and you're faced with that choice of right or wrong."
Phillips said some of the members of the Black Hebrew group were also acting up, "saying some harsh things" and that one member spit in the direction of the Catholic students. "So I put myself in between that, between a rock and hard place," he said.
But then, the crowd of mostly male students turned their anger toward Phillips.
"There was that moment when I realized I've put myself between beast and prey," Phillips said. "These young men were beastly and these old black individuals was their prey, and I stood in between them and so they needed their pounds of flesh and they were looking at me for that."
The crowd of students, some of whom wore MAGA caps, mocked Native Americans while chanting "Build the Wall" and using derogatory language, Phillips said. The students had a "mob mentality" that "was scary," he said. "It was ugly, what these kids were involved in. It was racism. It was hatred. It was scary."
Speaking from his niece's home, Phillips said: "I'm a Marine Corps veteran, and I know what that mob mentality can be like. That's where it was at. It got to a point where they just needed something for them to ... just tear them apart. I mean, it was that ugly."
Phillips said he recalled "the looks in these young men's faces ... I mean, if you go back and look at the lynchings that was done (in America) ... and you'd see the faces on the people ... The glee and the hatred in their faces, that's what these faces looked like."
"When I took that drum and started singing, I placed myself in between these two factions of people. It wasn't a real conscious process, it was just what they call a spur of the moment."
Phillips said the blame for the incident is with the students' chaperones.
"If their own instructors, their own teachers, their own chaperones, would have handled the situation right from the beginning, it would never have happened," Phillips said. "I would have never been bothered with it."
More work is needed to heal racial strife
Born in Nebraska into the Omaha tribe, Phillips said he was 5 years old when he was "taken away from my family and put in foster care ... until I was 17."
Phillips said he grew up in an abusive home, started working on construction and lumber jobs, and then joined the Marines.
He later moved to Washington, D.C., and became active with Native American issues. He's now with the Native Youth Alliance and also does work with Native American veterans.
Phillips said he moved to Michigan 10 years ago after his wife was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer. She was getting treatments at a university and died in 2015, he said.
That same year, Phillips said he was racially harassed by a group of students at Eastern Michigan University. Fox 2 Detroit reported on the incident at the time.
Phillips said he was walking by when he noticed students dressed up as Native Americans, saying they wanted to bring back the university's previous logo of an Native American tribe, the Hurons.
"I told them ... that was racist and they got upset with that," Phillips told the Free Press. "One of the students threw a full can of beer at me that was unopened and hit me with it, and the police did nothing. The school did nothing."
Phillips said he's concerned about the political climate that he said causes incidents like those he has experienced.
"It's like we need somebody to blame again for our failings," he said. "Our president is kind of ... feeding the fires of racism. Some of the things he's been saying have been divisive, the building of the wall. ... Why do we have to build a wall on the southern border and not the northern border?"
Phillips said the students who derided him Friday were motivated by fear of different people.
"The Black Israelites, they were saying some harsh things, but some of it was true, too," Phillips said. "These young, white American kids who were being taught in their Catholic school, their doctrine, their truth, and when they found out there's more truth out there than what they're being taught, they were offended, they were insulted, they were scared, and that's how they responded. One thing that I was taught in my Marine Corp training is that a scared man will kill you. And that's what these boys were. They were scared."
Phillips said the clash in Washington means "that we've got a lot of work to do" in educating people about Native Americans and racism.
At the same time, he said he's encouraged by how technology has allowed the message to be spread.
"Many people wouldn't be hearing what happened just yesterday" if it weren't for "these technological wonders. ... So we have a chance. ... I'm just really overwhelmed with the outpouring of support."
Follow Niraj Warikoo on Twitter @nwarikoo
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959c4bacd28531511c63739a4c57c6e9
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/01/21/tsa-government-shutdown-workers-call-in-sick/2636495002/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=usatoday-newstopstories
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10 percent of TSA workers call in sick as government shutdown drags on
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10 percent of TSA workers call in sick as government shutdown drags on
The slowly growing wave of sickouts among TSA workers reached 10 percent as the agency that provides security at the nation's airports acknowledged "many employees are reporting that they are not able to report to work due to financial limitations."
The Transportation Security Administration said Monday that the rate of unscheduled absences Sunday compared with a 3.1 percent rate on the same day one year ago.
The nation's 800,000 federal employees will miss their second paycheck this week as the government shutdown extends into its second month. About half of those employees, including about 50,000 airport security workers, are considered "essential" and are working anyway.
"While national average wait times are within normal TSA times of 30 minutes for standard lanes and 10 minutes for TSA Precheck, some airports experienced longer than usual wait times," the TSA said in a statement.
Without paychecks, some federal employees have resorted to picking up temporary jobs to make ends meet.
The TSA said it is "optimizing resources" to ensure screening lanes are properly staffed but warned that airports may exercise contingency plans because of call-outs and traveler volume.
TSA employees screened 1.78 million passengers Sunday. Of those, "99.9 percent" waited less than 30 minutes, the agency said, and 93.1 percent waited less than 15 minutes. Saturday, the sickout rate was 8 percent.
Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport said it closed a checkpoint Sunday to "efficiently use staffing." The airport tweeted that such closures were common before the shutdown and have "minimal, if any, impact on passengers."
More:'Amnesty is not a part of my offer': Trump defends proposal
More:'It's anyone's guess what happens next': Democrats reject Trump
The TSA said it tapped members of its National Deployment Force, usually called in to help with staffing shortages when major events or national disasters descend on a city. The added staff helps bulk up security at a handful of larger airports, including New York's LaGuardia and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, the agency said.
"Came early to @LGAairport assuming long waits and lines," traveler Shelly Maddox tweeted Monday from LaGuardia. "We have never had a better experience. Absolutely no wait and the @TSA workers had a smile on their face. Professionals."
The Atlanta airport along with Seattle's Sea-Tac International Airport were among those where security wait times reached 60 minutes at some checkpoints last week. A Sea-Tac airport spokesman blamed the high volume of passengers heading out for the holiday weekend.
The shutdown began three days before Christmas when President Donald Trump and the Democratic Congress reached a stalemate over Trump's demand for $5.7 billion for a wall along the Mexican border.
Historically, federal employees who drew no pay during government shutdowns have ultimately been paid whether they worked or not. This shutdown has been the longest in U.S. history.
The TSA workers' plight has drawn support. Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of the band KISS announced they will provide free food at their Rock & Brews Restaurants nationwide. At Miami International Airport, Chef Creole gives TSA workers free lunch and dinner every day they work without pay.
Sunday, Trump tweeted his thanks to federal employees.
"To all of the great people who are working so hard for your Country and not getting paid I say, THANK YOU - YOU ARE GREAT PATRIOTS!" he tweeted. "We must now work together, after decades of abuse, to finally fix the Humanitarian, Criminal & Drug Crisis at our Border. WE WILL WIN BIG!"
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c166477e4781ed06b3e1572701f6e624
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/01/22/black-hebrew-israelites-covington-catholic-video-hate-group-other-info/2643519002/
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What to know about Black Hebrew Israelites, the group in that Covington Catholic video
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What to know about Black Hebrew Israelites, the group in that Covington Catholic video
In a statement released Sunday, Covington Catholic High School junior Nick Sandmann, who was shown over the weekend standing face-to-face with an indigenous man Friday in Washington, D.C., said the standoff took place after four African-American protesters said "hateful things" to Sandmann and a group of his classmates.
"They called us 'racists,' 'bigots,' 'white crackers,' 'faggots' and 'incest kids.' They also taunted an African-American student from my school by telling him that we would 'harvest his organs.' I have no idea what that insult means, but it was startling to hear," Sandmann wrote.
The remark about harvesting organs may reference Jordan Peele's horror-satire "Get Out," a 2017 movie in which the black boyfriend of a white girl discovers her family is harvesting the organs of blacks.
The four African-American protesters near the Lincoln Memorial have been identified as members of the Black Hebrew Israelites.
In its magazine, "Intelligence Report," the Southern Poverty Law Center calls the Black Hebrew Israelites a hate group that is "becoming more militant."
Full statement:Nick Sandmann's side of the story
More:Activist Nathan Phillips now says he will meet with Covington Catholic students
The Southern Poverty Law Center reports, "Around the country, thousands of men and women have joined black supremacist groups on the extremist fringe of the Hebrew Israelite movement, a black nationalist theology that dates to the 19th century."
The center also reports that black supremacist groups have had success recruiting in the wake of President Donald Trump's election in 2016.
A white supremacist leader, Tom Metzger, once said of extremist Hebrew Israelites, "They're the black counterparts of us," according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
The extremist white theology is known as Christian Identity, which has had some affiliated congregations in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.
Hebrew Israelites believe African-Americans are God's chosen people. The movement goes by several affiliated names.
A Baltimore-based organization is affiliated with a central group in New York City that goes by the name of the Israelite Church of God in Jesus Christ. The sect is obsessed with hatred for whites and Jews. Baltimore is one of 29 local branches, according to the Southern Poverty Center.
"Confrontations between Hebrew Israelite street preachers and their perceived enemies are growing uglier and gaining increasing attention through video clips circulated to legions of views on websites like Youtube," the SPLC magazine "Intelligence Report" has written.
More:Covington Catholic closes Tuesday after D.C. incident
More:Native American activist: Now is not the time to meet with Covington students
Street preachers often wear heavy robes and matching head coverings of white, red and black cloth. The Star of David emblem is sewn into their clothing and worn as medallions on necklaces.
At the national level, growth is taking place in the numbers of both neo-Nazi and black nationalist groups, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center 's "Year in Hate and Extremism" report released in February 2018.
The total number of hate groups increased 4 percent in one year, from 917 in 2016 to 954 in 2017.
Researchers at the Montgomery, Alabama,-based civil rights law firm and civil rights organization say the growth in black supremacist groups represents a backlash to the white supremacist sentiment that Trump has stirred up.
More:Fuller video casts new light on Covington students' encounter
More:Trump tweets that Covington students were 'treated unfairly'
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e2fdaf3db0272cb30faab78ba798fa85
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/01/22/nathan-phillips-nick-sandman-covington-catholic/2642855002/
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Activist Nathan Phillips now says he will meet with Covington Catholic students
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Activist Nathan Phillips now says he will meet with Covington Catholic students
Corrections & Clarifications: This story has been updated to clarify the original description of Nathan Phillips’ military service. Phillips is a Vietnam-era veteran who served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve from May 1972 to May 1976 and did not deploy to a war zone, according to the Defense Department.
CINCINNATI – Native American activist Nathan Phillips has changed his mind and now says he will meet with students at Covington Catholic High School.
He’s offering to travel as a delegate representing the international coalition behind the Indigenous Peoples March to Covington Catholic High School and have a dialogue about cultural appropriation, racism and the importance of listening to and respecting diverse cultures, he said in a news release Tuesday.
He had told the Cincinnati Enquirer it was "not the right time" to meet with them.
“Race relations in this country and around the world have reached a boiling point,” Phillips said Tuesday. “It is sad that on the weekend of a holiday when we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., racial hostility occurred on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, where King gave his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech.”
He says he’d like to use what occurred as a teachable moment.
Phillips and others were closing the Indigenous Peoples March with a prayer ceremony when, videos show, two groups, Black Hebrew Israelites and the high school students, began arguing. Phillips said he approached and stepped between the two groups in an effort to quell the incident.
More:What to know about Black Hebrew Israelites
“I have read the statement from Nick Sandmann, the student who stared at me for a long time. He did not apologize, and I believe there are intentional falsehoods in his testimony,” Phillips continued. “But I have faith that human beings can use a moment like this to find a way to gain understanding from one another.”
Phillips expressed appreciation for the statements from the school and the mayor of Covington that mockery and taunting are not representative of the compassion, respect, and other inclusive values they want to teach.
“So, let’s create space for the teaching of tolerance to happen,” he said.
Phillips, the Indigenous Peoples March and the Lakota People’s Law Project are preparing to make overtures to set up meetings with the students, their community and Catholic Church officials.
Cincinnati restaurateur Jeff Ruby had invited Phillips to "break bread and make amends" with the students after short clips of an incident between students at the Park Hills all-boy high school and Phillips at the march went viral.
Ruby said Monday that he would fly Phillips first-class to have dinner with the students at one of his high-end restaurants.
"It's not the right time," Phillips told the Enquirer on Monday night. "I might consider it at some point. There'd have to be certain assurances in place, give and take, and understanding." He said the timing was wrong because of the statement released by Sandmann.
Many social media users interpreted and Phillips maintains that the students were harassing him.
MORE: Read Sandmann's statement
Start the day smarter:Get USA TODAY's Daily Briefing in your inbox
In the viral video clips, Sandmann, a junior, is seen standing face to face with Phillips. As Phillips calmly beats a drum and chants a prayer, Sandmann stands smiling.
"He (Sandmann) needs to put out a different statement," said Phillips, who is a Marine Corps veteran. "I'm disappointed with his statement. He didn't accept any responsibility. That lack of responsibility, I don't accept it."
Phillips said Sandmann's response has changed his mind on how he views the incident and what he hopes the outcome will be.
"At first I wanted the teachers and chaperones to be reprimanded, some fired, for letting this happen," Phillips said. "For the students, I was against any expulsions, but now I have to revisit that."
More:Covington Catholic furor is a warning to end our dangerous social media mob mentality
More:Trump tweets that Covington Catholic students in viral video were 'treated unfairly'
More:'Blatant racism': Ky. high school apologizes
According to Phillips, the national attention he has received hasn't had much sway on him. The incident hasn't really either, he said, but Sandmann's statement has.
"This is our youth," he said. "These students may be from a different culture, a different race, but I'm American and they are American. This is our youth, American youth. Is this the future we got?"
Phillips said he's ready to "work toward a better America."
"I'm just working for a better future for all of our children," he said.
Phillips said he was in prayer when he approached the students. He said his goal was to defuse a "volatile" situation between the students and four members of the Black Hebrew Israelites.
"He (Sandmann) stole my narrative," Phillips said. "From the time I hit that first beat of the drum until I hit the last beat, I was in prayer. Now all of a sudden, he's the prayer guy and the passive one."
Phillips is referring to Sandmann's statement: "I believed that by remaining motionless and calm, I was helping to diffuse the situation. I realized everyone had cameras and that perhaps a group of adults was trying to provoke a group of teenagers into a larger conflict. I said a silent prayer that the situation would not get out of hand."
Phillips also took issue that Sandmann refers to him and fellow marchers as "Native American protesters."
More:Covington Catholic closes Tuesday, first school day after D.C. incident
More:Fuller video casts new light on Covington Catholic students' encounter
"I take great offense to that term, 'protester.' We were not protesting anything," Phillips said. "In fact, we were the only group with a permit to be there and we were marching for solidarity and for being indigenous people. We were there in prayer. We wanted to make a better America."
Phillips said, on the other, the students were coming from a protest. The students had participated in the Right to Life March.
"What he came to town for was protesting," Phillips said. "Anyone who knows about Roe versus Wade knows it isn't a pretty picture. He (Sandmann) had just come from that protest. To me, he came worked up in a frenzy already."
Phillips said the argument between the students and the Black Hebrew Israelites went on for hours before he "was called by God" to step in.
The students "had an opportunity to not hate and to put out an olive branch and say, let's sit down and pray together," he said. "Instead, they responded to hate with hate. And (Sandmann) transferred that hate to me."
Phillips said, describing the interaction between the students and the Black Hebrew Israelites, "it was like a tornado."
"I live in the plains and I've watched a tornado come down," he said. "It's very destructive. What I saw in front of me that day was destruction from a terrible storm tearing apart the fabric of my America and threatening the future of all our children. I saw racism and bigotry."
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013dda17ae1440aba289044719396d98
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/01/23/flash-during-super-blood-wolf-moon-meteorite-crash/2655585002/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=usatoday-newstopstories
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What was that small flash of light during the super blood wolf moon?
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What was that small flash of light during the super blood wolf moon?
As if a super blood wolf moon wasn't enough, some observers noticed another spectacular sighting in the sky Sunday night: a small flash of light.
During the lunar eclipse, a meteoroid struck the moon. Researcher Jose Maria Madiedo shared a video of the crash he captured through Spain's Moon Impacts Detection and Analysis System.
"A rock hits the moon," he tweeted Tuesday.
He wasn't the only one who noticed the object. Some users on Reddit started a discussion about the "bright flash."
The crash was easy to miss. Even on advanced equipment, the meteoroid appeared as a speck of light near the top of the moon, as seen in a video. It occurred at 11:41 p.m. EST, according to Madiedo's sighting.
This could be the first time a meteorite hitting the moon was recorded during a lunar eclipse, Gizmodo reported.
More:Remarkable photos of the super blood wolf moon eclipse from around the world
Follow Ashley May on Twitter: @AshleyMayTweets
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955b7af056fe23e338aa68cef548820b
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/01/23/iowa-fetal-heartbeat-abortion-law-ruling/2655252002/
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Iowa 'fetal heartbeat' abortion restriction declared unconstitutional
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Iowa 'fetal heartbeat' abortion restriction declared unconstitutional
DES MOINES, Iowa – Iowa's "fetal heartbeat" law – the most restrictive abortion limit in the country – violates the Iowa Constitution and may not be enforced, a state judge ruled Tuesday.
In his decision striking down the abortion law, Polk County District Judge Michael Huppert cited the Iowa Supreme Court's ruling last year in a challenge to a different abortion-restriction law. The high court held that "a woman's right to decide whether to terminate a pregnancy is a fundamental right under the Iowa Constitution" in that ruling.
The "fetal heartbeat" law, passed last spring, had been on hold during a legal challenge by Planned Parenthood of the Heartland and the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa. Huppert overturned it in a nine-page ruling Tuesday.
The district court decision is a major victory for backers of legal access to abortion. But those opposed to abortion have vowed to continue fighting over the issue, at least through Iowa's appellate courts.
Huppert wrote in his decision that defenders of the 2018 "fetal heartbeat" law didn't identify a compelling state interest in barring most abortions after a fetus' heartbeat can be detected.
Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican who opposes abortion, signed the law. “I am incredibly disappointed in today’s court ruling, because I believe that if death is determined when a heart stops beating, then a beating heart indicates life," she said in a statement her office released Tuesday.
Jan. 5:Planned Parenthood billboards around Iowa ask people to 'Say Abortion'
Opinion:A fetus isn't a 'person' just because state's lawyer says so. Rhetoric isn't fact.
State Sen. Janet Petersen of Des Moines, the Democrats' leader in the Iowa Senate, praised the ruling. “The extreme law should have been overturned, because it restricted the freedom of Iowa women and girls to care for their bodies, and it forced motherhood on them," she said. "The governor and legislative Republicans should stop attacking women’s health care."
ACLU of Iowa Legal Director Rita Bettis Austen hailed the ruling. “Today’s victory is essential to the rights and safety of women in Iowa,” she wrote in a statement. “It follows in the footsteps of the Iowa Supreme Court decision on abortion in 2018 that recognized the fundamental right to a safe and legal abortion for Iowa women, which cannot be legislated away.”
Maggie DeWitte, executive director of Iowans for Life, said she had been "hopeful this judge would be fair in allowing the matter to go before a fair trial. I think it's a travesty of justice that's not going to happen."
She said she hopes abortion opponents succeed in having Tuesday's ruling overturned on appeal.
Like the previous case, which successfully challenged a 72-hour waiting period for abortions, the "fetal heartbeat' law challenge was brought in state court, and the decision was based on the Iowa Constitution.
June 29:72-hour wait for abortions struck down by Iowa Supreme Court
June 1:Judge temporarily blocks Iowa's 'fetal heartbeat' law while lawsuit is resolved
Proponents of both abortion-restriction laws had hoped they would lead to challenges before the U.S. Supreme Court of its 1973 "Roe v. Wade" decision. That decision legalizing abortion nationwide was handed down exactly 46 years ago on Tuesday. The weekend prior to the ruling saw the 46th annual March for Life, where thousands of activists gathered in Washington, D.C., to voice anti-abortion sentiments.
But legal scholars have said a decision based on the Iowa Constitution would be difficult to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, which has little jurisdiction over state constitutional issues.
Huppert's ruling said there were no facts in dispute, which permitted him to decide the law's fate immediately.
The state was represented by private lawyers from the Thomas More Society, a national group that opposes abortion. Attorney General Tom Miller had declined to have his office defend the law.
The Thomas More lawyers argued in December that the law would not be a blanket ban, as it was described by critics.
May 15:Planned Parenthood, ACLU sue to block Iowa fetal heartbeat abortion law
May 8:Iowa's new fetal heartbeat abortion ban gets 'positive feedback,' governor says
The law would ban nearly all abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected. Critics of the law said that can occur about six weeks into a pregnancy and often before a woman realizes she’s pregnant.
Two abortion providers in Iowa sued in May, shortly after the law was signed by Reynolds. The lawsuit contended the law violates Iowa women’s due-process rights, their rights to liberty, safety and happiness and their rights to equal protection under Iowa’s constitution.
Follow Tony Leys on Twitter: @tonyleys
May 4:Iowa bans nearly all abortions as governor signs 'fetal heartbeat' law
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216ac6c8bf2fb9cfa97a3fc663c6dc62
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/01/24/california-wildfire-pacific-gas-electric-did-not-spark-2017-blaze/2670410002/
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Private equipment, not PG&E, caused 2017 California wildfire, agency says
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Private equipment, not PG&E, caused 2017 California wildfire, agency says
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – In a long-awaited report, state investigators said Thursday that a 2017 wildfire that killed 22 people in Northern California wine country was caused by a private electrical system, not equipment of embattled Pacific Gas & Electric Co.
The state’s firefighting agency concluded that the fire started next to a residence. The agency did not find any violations of state law.
“During my investigation, I eliminated all other causes for the Tubbs Fire, with the exception of an electrical caused fire originating from an unknown event affecting privately owned conductor or equipment,” wrote CalFire Battalion Chief John Martinez.
Details about the property were blacked out in the report.
More:27 large wildfires are burning across the West. Here's the latest update
More:Death toll jumps to 25 in California wildfires; 57,000 buildings threatened
The fire was one of more than 170 that torched the state in October 2017. It destroyed more than 5,600 structures over more than 57 square miles in Sonoma and Napa counties.
The cause came as a relief to PG&E, which plans to file for bankruptcy protection next week, citing billions of dollars in potential damages and lawsuits it faces from other deadly wildfires for which it has been determined to be at fault.
One person reported seeing a transformer explode. Another reported seeing the fire approach a PG&E power pole.
One witness, Charlie Brown Jr. of Calistoga, said the electrical wiring leading from the property where investigators concluded the fire started had not been used in years.
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c610ac1055398ab7cd3d4337c6015d99
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/01/24/no-vaccines-washington-portland-oregon-declares-emergency-measles/2665544002/
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Measles cases climb in anti-vaccination hot spot under health emergency, Washington officials say
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Measles cases climb in anti-vaccination hot spot under health emergency, Washington officials say
After health officials near Portland, Oregon, declared a public health emergency over a measles outbreak that affects mostly young children, the viral infection continues to spread.
Clark County, Washington, identified 34 cases and nine suspected cases; 24 of those are among children younger than 10 years old, officials said Sunday. In at least 30 cases, the infected people were not vaccinated to prevent measles. The immunization status of the other four is not known.
The county has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the state: More than 22 percent of public school students did not complete their vaccinations, The Oregonian reported, citing state records.
Measles is so contagious that 90 percent of unvaccinated people who come in contact with an infected person will get the virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The virus can spread four days before and after symptoms appear.
Officials identified airports, including the Portland International Airport, health care facilities, schools and churches as locations where people might have been exposed to this outbreak.
More:Measles outbreak grows in area with low vaccination rate, most patients not immunized
The measles two-dose vaccine is 97 percent effective against the virus, according to the CDC.
People infected develop a red spotted rash that starts inside the mouth and spreads all over the body. Symptoms include fevers as high as 104 degrees, cough, runny nose and red, watery eyes.
People choosing not to vaccinate have become a global health threat in 2019, the World Health Organization reported this month. The CDC recognized that the number of children who aren't being vaccinated by 24 months old has been gradually increasing.
Some parents opt not to vaccinate because of the discredited belief vaccines are linked to autism. The CDC said that there is no link and that there are no ingredients in vaccines that could cause autism.
More:These 15 U.S. cities are hot spots for kids not getting vaccines
Contributing: Brett Molina and Joel Shannon. Follow Ashley May on Twitter: @AshleyMayTweets
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7ec49f3f4154e99757487617c8dab553
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/01/25/texas-election-official-95-000-non-citizens-found-voter-rolls/2683399002/
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Texas' top elections officer: 95,000 non-citizens found on state's voter rolls
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Texas' top elections officer: 95,000 non-citizens found on state's voter rolls
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas officials are contacting county election authorities statewide to determine whether people who are not U.S. citizens are registering and illegally voting.
The announcement was decried by voting rights advocate as a thinly veiled effort to purge the registration rolls and to discourage participation at the ballot box.
Texas Secretary of State Whitley, the state's top elections official, said his office has been working with the Texas Department of Public Safety seeking to determine whether non-citizens are participating in Texas elections. He was appointed in December by Gov. Greg Abbott.
"Through this evaluation, the Texas Secretary of State's office discovered that a total of approximately 95,000 individuals identified by DPS as non-U.S. citizens have a matching voter registration record in Texas, approximately 58,000 of whom have voted in one or more Texas elections," Whitley said in a Friday news release.
The information has been turned over to the Texas Attorney General's Office. Voting illegally is a second-degree felony punishable by as long as 20 years in prison.
More:Voting rights: Rep. Marcia Fudge is on a mission and coming to a state near you
Beth Stevens, voting rights legal director with the Texas Civil Rights Project, called Whitely's move "alarming."
"There is no credible data that indicates illegal voting is happening in any significant numbers, and the secretary’s statement does not change that fact," Stevens said.
"Notably, Texas has one of the largest numbers of naturalizations in the United States, with about 50,000 Texas residents becoming naturalized citizens each year," she added. "Whether updates to the legal status of the persons on the Secretary’s list has been taken into account is unclear and, based on the number of naturalizations in Texas every month, highly suspect."
The Secretary of State's Office will examine voter registration data statewide in an effort to accurately determine the citizenship status of people identified as non-citizens. People suspected of not being citizens who are found can then be contacted by local elections officials and asked to produce a birth certificate or passport to clear up any citizenship questions.
"Integrity and efficiency of elections in Texas require accuracy of our state's voter rolls, and my office is committed to using all available tools under the law to maintain an accurate list of registered voters," Whitley said.
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65b8fe67c5a692051bb99b2358f05049
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/01/26/jayme-closs-case-da-has-no-plan-file-more-charges/2692969002/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=usatoday-newstopstories
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Wisconsin DA says he has no plans to file charges related to Jayme Closs' 88-day captivity
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Wisconsin DA says he has no plans to file charges related to Jayme Closs' 88-day captivity
A Wisconsin prosecutor says he has no plans to file charges against a man accused of kidnapping in connection with the 88 days Jayme Closs was held captive.
Mark Freuhauf, district attorney in Douglas County, said in a statement Friday afternoon that his decision not to file charges against Jake Patterson "involves the consideration of multiple factors, including the existence of other charges and victim-related concerns."
The announcement likely means authorities believe they have sufficient evidence to yield a conviction and a life sentence in Barron County, where Patterson is charged with kidnapping Jayme and killing her parents. It also means it's unlikely that details of what happened during the 13-year-old girl's captivity in Patterson's Douglas County home will be revealed in court.
Prosecutors have said little about Jayme's captivity. The girl told investigators that Patterson imprisoned her beneath a bed, threatened serious harm if she tried to escape, and once struck her with an object when she did something to anger him.
Barron County prosecutors earlier this month accused Patterson of breaking into the Closs home on U.S. 8 in Barron about 1 a.m. on Oct. 15 and killing her father and mother with blasts from a shotgun he'd brought to the scene.
They say he then put Jayme in the trunk of his car and drove her about 70 miles north to his house in rural Gordon. His family bought the house in 2006, but his parents no longer lived there.
Barron County has charged Patterson with two counts of first-degree intentional homicide, a count of kidnapping and a count of armed burglary. He has been jailed in lieu of $5 million bond as he awaits a Feb. 6 court appearance.
Jayme escaped Patterson's house earlier this month, running to a neighbor who was walking a dog nearby. Another neighbor called 911. Patterson was arrested nearby, without incident, a short time later.
Authorities said Patterson was driving to work at an Almena-area cheese factory one day in October, saw Jayme board a school bus near her house, and decided to kidnap her. He quit the job after two days, and made two visits to the house before the kidnapping.
Jayme has been living with an aunt in Barron since her escape.
Freuhauf said the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office "retains the ability to charge Patterson at any time within the statute of limitations for any crime it determines Patterson has committed."
More:Jayme Closs captured nation’s attention. Why don’t these other missing kids?
More:Jayme Closs to receive $25,000 reward after escaping captor
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a751d029dd9c347e55e1907a884d0fbd
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/01/27/louisiana-shooting-deaths/2694185002/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=usatoday-newstopstories
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Dakota Theriot, suspect in 5 killings in Louisiana, arrested at gunpoint in Virginia
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Dakota Theriot, suspect in 5 killings in Louisiana, arrested at gunpoint in Virginia
A 21-year-old Louisiana man wanted in connection with the shooting deaths of his parents and three other people was arrested at gunpoint Sunday at his grandmother's home in Virginia, authorities said.
Dakota Theriot will be transported from Virginia's Richmond County to Ascension Parish in Louisiana and booked on two counts of first-degree murder, home invasion and illegal use of weapons, Parish Sheriff Bobby Webre said.
Theriot’s grandmother had spent the night in a hotel because she feared her grandson might come to her home in Warsaw, Richmond County Sheriff Stephan Smith said. The woman asked authorities to check her home Sunday morning to make sure it was safe before she went home.
"While deputies were on site, Theriot arrived at the residence in a motor vehicle with a firearm pointed out of the window," Smith said in a statement. "The deputies sought cover and challenged Theriot, who then dropped the firearm upon their commands and was taken into custody without incident."
Theriot was held without bond at Northern Neck Regional Jail pending a court hearing, Smith said.
Authorities suspect Theriot fatally shot Billy Ernest, 43, his son Tanner, 17, and daughter Summer, 20, in their Livingston Parish home early Saturday before driving to his parents home. A short time later, Ascension Parish deputies were called to the couple's trailer in the city of Gonzales, where they found Dakota's parents, Elizabeth and Keith, both 51, with gunshot wounds.
"The father was gravely injured at the time we found him and has since passed away," Webre said. "We were able to get a dying declaration from him, only enough information to let us know it was his son that committed this act."
Elizabeth Theriot died from her wounds a short time later.
Webre said Dakota Theriot lived with his parents briefly but was asked to leave and not return. Kim Mincks, who lived with the couple, said the son had a loving relationship with his mother but engaged in sometimes violent arguments with his father.
Livingston Parish Sheriff Jason Ard said Theriot had recently been in a relationship with Summer Ernest. He said he had spoken with Summer's mother, and "there were no red flags, no sign of anything. We have no motive at this time."
Crystal DeYoung, Billy Ernest’s sister, told The Associated Press that she believes Theriot and Summer had just begun dating.
“My family met him last weekend at a birthday party and didn’t get good vibes from him,” DeYoung said. “My mom is a good judge of character, and she just thought he was not good."
The Ernests' neighbor, Charlene Bordelon, told The Advocate the two youngest children in the Ernest family fled to her home after the shooting. Bordelon said the two children, both under 8 years old, were not wounded. Bordelon called 911 after the children told her their father, brother and sister were dead.
"She was terrified," Bordelon said of the little girl. "It's so heartbreaking."
Webre said Theriot did not have a police record in Ascension Parish, but he did have run-ins with law enforcement in St. John, St. Charles and Jefferson Parishes.
"He was not on our radar screen in Ascension Parish," Webre said.
Contributing: The Associated Press
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54df6133afcb5036a1638930adc11313
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/01/27/shutdown-federal-workers-get-back-pay/2694593002/
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'Alleluia! ... Time to go back to work': Federal employees return Monday, will get back pay
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'Alleluia! ... Time to go back to work': Federal employees return Monday, will get back pay
About 800,000 federal employees who went without paychecks during the government shutdown should almost all get their back pay by week's end, a top White House official said Sunday.
Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff, told CBS News' "Face the Nation" that the government has multiple payroll providers, and which payroll provider covers the employees' agency will dictate how long it takes them to get paid.
"Some of them could be early this week," Mulvaney said. "Some of them may be later this week, but we hope that by the end of this week, all of the back pay will be made up and, of course, the next payroll will go out on time."
Federal employees missed their second paycheck last week. About half of those employees were considered "essential" and worked without pay, but all will be paid in full for the shutdown's duration.
The paychecks this week are crucial because workers might find them cut off again next month. But for now, most office workers will be back at their desks Monday.
"Alleluia!" said Carl Houtman, 58, a chemical engineer for the Forest Service in Madison, Wisconsin. "It's great for everybody. In three weeks, we may be playing this game of chicken again, but at least everyone is getting a paycheck."
Houtman's first day back will mean wading through hundreds of emails he was barred from reading during the shutdown. Time sheets, W-2 tax forms and other paperwork must be dealt with. Then he must reschedule projects left idle since a few days before Christmas.
"We've made due financially," Houtman told USA TODAY. "But it's just time to go back to work."
President Donald Trump signed the deal Friday to end the longest government shutdown on record – with a hitch. Federal agencies will reopen for three weeks while lawmakers try to negotiate a compromise over Trump's demand for funding for a wall along the southern border.
Mulvaney acknowledged that Trump could shut down the government again. He said the $5.7 billion Trump seeks for the wall remains a priority.
"Keep in mind he's willing to do whatever it takes to secure the border," Mulvaney said. "He does take this very seriously. This is a serious humanitarian and security crisis."
Many federal employees were just glad to return to work. Most offices will reopen Monday. All Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo will reopen Tuesday.
The National Park Service said it was preparing to resume regular operations, but opening dates might differ depending on staff size and "complexity of operations" at each park.
Some were already back. In Minnesota, the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area published a video on Facebook of the gate to the visitor center rolling up. "We are open!!!!" the post exclaimed.
Park Ranger Sharon Stiteler had a suggestion for people greeting returning workers.
"Please don't say to returning #furloughedfeds on Monday: 'Welcome back from vacation!' " she tweeted. "This was not a vacation. When you return from a vacation you're relaxed. We are returning stressed and frustrated."
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c9ff461f52f48b0fcf23abb84d516cdc
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/01/28/cold-weather-polar-vortex-drive-record-smashing-cold-across-nation/2698747002/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=usatoday-newstopstories
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'Minimize talking' outside: Polar vortex bears down on North as Deep South braces for snow
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'Minimize talking' outside: Polar vortex bears down on North as Deep South braces for snow
A major snowstorm that lashed parts of the Midwest on Monday will give way to record-smashing cold this week as a powerful polar vortex drives a deep freeze across the eastern half of the nation, forecasters said.
A snowstorm will wreak havoc across the Deep South on Tuesday.
The bitter cold will bring below-zero temperatures to a quarter of the continental USA. The National Weather Service in Des Moines, Iowa, warned that "this is the coldest air many of us will have ever experienced." The service said that if people go outside, they should "avoid taking deep breaths, and minimize talking."
Schools could be closed in Iowa as buses may struggle to start, the weather service said.
Late Monday, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency to "help address threats to public health and safety related to forecast sub-zero temperatures over the next few days."
In a statement, Whitmer said, “Keeping Michiganders safe during this stretch of dangerously cold temperatures is our priority. Such widespread, extreme conditions have not occurred in Michigan for many years and it is imperative that we are proactive with record-low temperatures being predicted by the National Weather Service."
Wednesday could be the coldest day ever recorded in Chicago – a forecast high of 14 below zero, the weather service said. There's a chance the Windy City will break its all-time coldest temperature record of 27 degrees below zero. Chicago's famous Brookfield Zoo will be closed Wednesday and Thursday for only the fourth time in its 85-year history.
"Some locations in the Midwest will be below zero continuously for 48-72 hours," according to AccuWeather meteorologist Mike Doll.
Start your day smarter:Get USA TODAY's Daily Briefing in your inbox
Weather.us meteorologist Ryan Maue said a "blend of models" shows that 55 million people in 24 percent of the continental USA could be at zero degrees or lower Wednesday morning. In Chicago, wind chills as low as 55 below zero are likely midweek, the weather service said. Some areas in the northern Plains could see wind chills of 64 degrees below zero.
Monday, parts of the Upper Midwest were under siege from a major snowstorm coupled with wind gusts of up to 40 mph that created blizzard-like conditions. Schools, courthouses and businesses were closed because of the storm. More than 1,000 flights were canceled.
In parts of Wisconsin, snow fell at a rate of 1 to 2 inches per hour. A foot fell in Camp Douglas, Wisconsin, as of late Monday, the highest snow total. Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers declared a state of emergency Monday because of the snow and cold.
Behind the storm comes the deep freeze. The polar vortex – a vast area of cold air high up in the atmosphere that normally spins over the North Pole – will move down from the Arctic Circle and park itself over the Great Lakes.
Low temperatures Tuesday night will dip to 30 below zero across much of North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota. Temperatures in Chicago could drop to 25 below zero for the first time since the mid-1980s, AccuWeather warned.
Highs on Wednesday may not exceed 10 below zero from Fargo, North Dakota, to Minneapolis and Chicago. Single-digit temperatures will have people shivering from Kansas City, Missouri, to St. Louis to Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, AccuWeather said.
All-time record wind chills of near 50 below are possible in northern Indiana. In northern Minnesota, the wind chill predicted for Wednesday morning "could cause frostbite to exposed skin in less than 5 minutes," the National Weather Service said.
The East Coast will get only a modest reprieve – lows Wednesday night will reach 6 degrees in New York, 7 degrees in Philadelphia and a "balmy" 9 degrees in Washington.
As cold and snow slam into the North, a snowstorm will paste the Deep South on Tuesday and Wednesday.
"A couple inches of snow can fall in Jackson, Mississippi; Birmingham, Alabama; and Chattanooga, Tennessee," AccuWeather meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski said. "Travel can become slippery and treacherous as roads rapidly turn from wet to slushy and icy."
AccuWeather meteorologist Rob Richards said, "Atlanta could even receive a coating to an inch of snow."
Sunday, a prelude to the polar plunge slammed into the Upper Midwest with temperatures reaching below zero in the morning. The low of 45-below zero in International Falls, Minnesota, smashed a record that stood for more than half a century.
The worst is yet to come, Doll said.
“I cannot stress how dangerously cold it will be,” he said. "An entire generation has gone by without experiencing this type of cold."
More:'Life-threatening' Arctic blast to freeze nearly 200 million
More:Polar vortex? Back in the day, we called it 'winter'
Shelly Sarasin, co-founder of Street Angels Milwaukee Outreach, said her members have been hitting the streets, looking for people in need of warmth.
"We have been out every night until at least midnight, picking people up from their homeless camp or emergency room pickups," she said. "It's been lifesaving for many people."
Contributing: Meg Jones and James B. Nelson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; The Associated Press
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247c622326c9d3c96c585460f09b07fe
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/01/28/missing-north-carolina-boy-says-friendly-bear-him-days/2698729002/
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3-year-old who was missing for days says a bear watched over him in North Carolina woods
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3-year-old who was missing for days says a bear watched over him in North Carolina woods
A 3-year-old boy who was found alive in the woods of eastern North Carolina after he went missing for two days said he spent time with a bear.
Casey Hathaway disappeared last Tuesday. He had been playing with two other children in his grandmother's yard in Ernul, North Carolina, according to Craven County Sheriff Chip Hughes.
Thursday, Casey was found calling for his mother about a quarter of a mile away, 40 to 50 yards deep into woods. He was soaking wet, cold and tangled in thorn bushes. Hughes said rescuers waded through nearly waist-deep water to get to the toddler.
How did he get there, and how did he stay alive?
Start the day smarter:Get USA TODAY's Daily Briefing in your inbox
"He hung out with a bear for two days," is what his aunt Breanna Hathaway shared in a now-private Facebook post. She didn't say whether the bear was real or imagined.
His aunt called her nephew's safety a "miracle" and said, "God sent him a friend to keep him safe."
Casey's mother gave authorities the same report, that he had a friend in the woods that was a bear, Sheriff Hughes told USA TODAY.
Hughes said bears are common in the area, but he thought the comment was more "cute" than factual.
In an update on Casey's case, the Craven County Sheriff's Office shared a photo of Casey alongside a photo of a bear with a Bible verse from Matthew 18: "He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them." The investigation into his disappearance is ongoing, but there were no signs of an abduction.
More:Missing boy, 3, found alive in North Carolina near 'treacherous' terrain
The FBI, along with a host of local departments and volunteers, searched for the boy amid heavy rain, temperatures in the 20s and strong winds.
Aside from a few scratches, Casey was found in good health and was reunited with his family. His family said he was in good spirits, eating Cheetos and watching "Paw Patrol."
"This kid was strong, he was meant to survive. ... He’s got a story to tell," Hughes told TV station WCTI.
Follow Ashley May on Twitter: @AshleyMayTweets
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7424377775f1e20e0861ff8ac8780273
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/01/28/video-man-clings-hood-moving-suv-road-rage-incident/2699155002/
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Watch: Man clings to hood of moving SUV in Massachusetts road rage incident
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Watch: Man clings to hood of moving SUV in Massachusetts road rage incident
Two men were arrested after a road rage incident in Massachusetts during which one of the men was clinging to the hood of a moving SUV.
According to Massachusetts State Police, the incident started Friday afternoon when the two men were involved in a minor collision on the Massachusetts Turnpike.
Richard Kamrowski, 65, pulled over, got out of his car and tried to exchange paperwork with Mark Fitzgerald, 37, said police.
The exchange turned heated, with Kamrowski grabbing a water bottle from Fitzgerald's SUV and stood in front of the vehicle, police say.
When Fitzgerald drove toward Kamrowski, he jumped onto the front of the SUV and grabbed the hood. Police say Fitzgerald starting driving on the highway with Kamrowski still clinging to the hood, slowing down and speeding up in an attempt to shake him off.
Police say Fitzgerald was driving at speeds as high as 70 miles per hour during the incident on Mass Pike.
"I just kept telling him, 'Stop the car, stop the car,' and he wouldn't stop," Kamrowski told local station WCVB-TV. "I thought he was going to run over me."
The incident was captured on video, showing Kamrowski holding on as Fitzgerald kept driving. A video posted by NBC shows Fitzgerald repeatedly yelling "get off my car" to Kamrowski.
Police say another driver was able to get Fitzgerald to stop his car, while a driver who is a licensed gun owner ordered Fitzgerald out of the car until police arrived.
Fitzgerald faces multiple charges including assault with a dangerous weapon. Kamrowski also was arrested on a charge of disorderly conduct. Both men are due in court Monday.
Follow Brett Molina on Twitter: @brettmolina23
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433556df8d7f335e258723c0c804505b
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/01/29/california-wildfires-regulators-make-preparations-pg-e-bankruptcy/2708026002/
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PG&E files for bankruptcy amid California wildfire lawsuits, citing billions in claims
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PG&E files for bankruptcy amid California wildfire lawsuits, citing billions in claims
Facing potentially more than $30 billion in damage claims from California wildfires, Pacific Gas & Electric Corp., officially filed for bankruptcy Tuesday.
The nation's largest utility filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California. PG&E took the action despite state investigators last week concluding the utility's equipment did not cause a 2017 Northern California wine country fire that killed 22 people.
The utility faces hundreds of lawsuits from thousands of plaintiffs involving that fire and others in recent years including the Camp Fire in November 2018, the nation's deadliest blaze in more than a century that killed 86 people and destroyed about 15,000 homes, as well as hundreds of commercial structures.
The cause of the Camp Fire is still under investigation, but PG&E reported power line problems near the location around the same time as the fire started.
If the utility is found liable for that fire and others in 2017 and 2018, its liability could exceed $30 billion, when punitive damages, fines and other penalties are factored in, PG&E said in bankruptcy documents.
"The multitude of pending claims and lawsuits, and the thousands of additional claims that will be asserted, made it abundantly clear that PG&E could not continue to address those claims and potential liabilities in the California state court system, continue to deliver safe and reliable service to its 16 million customers, and remain economically viable," the utility wrote in its bankruptcy filing.
More:PG&E's safety violations ignited Camp Fire, says latest lawsuit filed by 70 families
More:Insurance claims from deadly 2018 California wildfires top $11.4B
More:USA had world's 3 costliest natural disasters in 2018, and Camp Fire was the worst
California law makes utilities entirely liable for damage from wildfires sparked by their equipment, regardless of whether they are found to be negligent. PG&E provides natural gas and electric service to 16 million people over a 70,000-square-mile area in northern and central California.
By filing for bankruptcy, PG&E will see the wildfire lawsuits consolidated in bankruptcy court, which will likely take years to resolve, legal experts say. Victims will likely receive less money and customers could see higher utility rates as a result, experts say.
However, PG&E said it is committed to helping those affected by the wildfires and would not speculate on any changes to customers’ bills, noting that the California Public Utilities Commission sets electric and gas rates.
PG&E shares (PCG) have fallen 70 percent over the last 12 months, but buoyed somewhat last week to $12 after news that the utility's equipment did not cause the 2017 fire. Shares were up more than 14 percent to $13.74 in afternoon trading Tuesday.
PG&E said the bankruptcy filing will not affect electricity or natural gas service but allow for an “orderly, fair and expeditious resolution” of potential liabilities from the wildfires.
The utility will continue to pay and provide health care and other benefits to employees. "Through this process, we will prioritize what matters most to our customers and the communities we serve – safety and reliability. We believe that this process will make sure that we have sufficient liquidity to serve our customers and support our operations and obligations," said John Simon, interim CEO of PG&E Corp., in a statement.
As part of its court filings, PG&E is seeking court approval for a $5.5 billion debtor-in-possession financing to continue its operations for the next two years. The utility reported about $71.4 billion in assets and about $51.7 billion in liabilities in its filings.
The utility also filed for bankruptcy in April 2001 near the height of an electricity debacle marked by rolling blackouts and manipulation of the energy market. PG&E emerged from bankruptcy three years later but obtained billions of dollars in higher payments from ratepayers.
Contributing: The Associated Press.
Follow USA TODAY reporter Mike Snider on Twitter: @MikeSnider.
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fadb7d73314988a5831be349604bc9f4
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/01/29/florida-man-steal-opioids-got-laxatives-police-say/2716748002/
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Florida man thought he was stealing opioids but instead got laxatives, police say
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Florida man thought he was stealing opioids but instead got laxatives, police say
A Florida man is facing felony charges after allegedly stealing pills he thought were opioids. They were actually laxatives.
Peter Emery, 56, was caught on video taking pills from a lock box, according a Pinellas County Sheriff's Office affidavit.
He later told police that he took two pills thinking they were hydrocodone acetaminophen — a narcotic that contains an opioid. When he learned that they were "something else," he threw the pills away, the report says.
The pills were "Equate gentle laxatives" — an over-the-counter medication that can help relieve constipation, according to the product's listing on Walmart's website.
Emery's roommate switched the pills after suspecting Emery was stealing his pain medication, WFLA-TV in Tampa reports. Roommate Jayme Ream also set up a camera to record the incident, the station says.
Emery has multiple prior theft convictions, an arrest affidavit says.
Online records show that Emery was booked on felony charges including multiple counts of petit theft on Thursday.
Emery was arrested by Pinellas Park Police near St. Petersburg, Florida, records show. A police affidavit lists his full name as Peter Hans Emery Jr.
Jan. 28:Florida man finds WWII grenade, brings it to Taco Bell
Jan. 22:Hate crime charge possible for Florida man who pulled gun, yelled slurs at black kids on MLK Day
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3bd36e8f5c7810303b383025c35195e5
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/01/31/chicago-police-department-consent-decree-reforms-attorney-general-lisa-madigan/2734415002/
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Federal judge approves consent decree to reform Chicago Police Department
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Federal judge approves consent decree to reform Chicago Police Department
CHICAGO – A federal judge on Thursday approved an agreement between the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago that will require the Chicago Police Department to undertake dozens of reforms.
The sides negotiated the consent decree after the state’s attorney general sued the police department in federal court. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who left office this month, alleged that the 13,000-officer department had a troubling record of civil rights violations and said it needed an outside monitor to oversee reforms.
The deal requires the department to publish use-of-force data monthly and tighten policy on when Tasers may be used. It requires officers to document each time they draw their weapons, changes the rules by which officers are investigated, and requires the city to bolster wellness and counseling programs for officers.
Judge Robert Dow wrote that the decree "is not a panacea, nor is it a magic wand.” But he expressed optimism in his 16-page order that it could be a useful tool for a city that’s police department has been beset by allegations of mistreatment and brutality against its black and Hispanic communities.
The sides negotiated the deal, Dow wrote, with the goal of solving problems "in a manner that defuses tension, respects differences of opinion, and over time produces a 'lawful, fair, reasonable, and adequate' result for everyone involved.”
“Let us begin," he wrote.
The decree mandates dozens of policy changes. It will go into effect when Dow appoints an independent monitor to oversee it. He said he expects the selection process to be complete by March 1.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson in a joint statement called it a “historic day” for the city. The city has made at least seven separate attempts in the last century at implementing large-scale reform in the department.
“This agreement builds on the strength of the reforms underway at the Chicago Police Department today, ensures there are no U-turns on that road to reform, and will help secure a safer and stronger future for our city,” Emanuel and Johnson said.
Relations between police and the city’s sizeable African-American population have long been strained.
The department has spent more than $700 million since 2010 on settlements and legal fees related to lawsuits alleging police brutality.
Reform resistance:Sessions: Chicago police consent decree plan 'colossal mistake' pushed by lame-duck mayor
Sessions policing reform:Sessions orders sweeping review of police reform
Feds head to Chicago:AG Jeff Sessions dispatches 5 more federal prosecutors to help Chicago with gun cases
The Justice Department launched an investigation of the department in 2015 after police dashcam video showed a white officer shooting a black teen as the teen appeared to be turning away from police.
Officer Jason Van Dyke was found guilty of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery – one for each shot he fired – in the 2014 death of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald. Van Dyke was sentenced this month to almost seven years in prison.
Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx called the consent decree an important step in acknowledging past abuses by law enforcement.
"Generations of fear and distrust don’t go away because there is a consent decree," Foxx said. "Repairing that fractured relationship goes beyond today’s actions."
"This is not the end of the road, a but mere checkpoint on the journey to reform”
Under President Barack Obama, the Justice Department opened investigations into more than two dozen police departments and secured court-enforceable agreements to secure reforms in more than a dozen.
In the final days of the Obama administration, then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch reported that the Chicago Police Department was beset by “deficit in trust and accountability.”
But under President Donald Trump, the Justice Department has opposed such decrees. Jeff Sessions, who served as attorney general until November, said repeatedly it was not the responsibility of the federal government to manage local law enforcement.
In the face of resistance from the Trump administration, Madigan sued the city.
Sessions was sharply critical of the state attorney general's effort. He flew to Chicago in October to deliver a speech in which he called such an agreement a “colossal mistake” and urged Dow to reject it.
"The bravery of the Chicago Police Department is not in question," Sessions said. "Their love for the city is not in question.
"What is in question, however, is the support and political courage of the elected officials."
Dow held a two-day hearing last year to get input from the community about the decree.
Some civil rights activists told him they thought it was not strong enough. The police union complained about some of the monitoring provisions.
“The Court is under no illusion that this will be an easy process,” Dow wrote in his order. “It took a long time to get to this place, and it may take a long time to get out of it. With that said, there are good reasons to think that the conditions and incentives may be in place to start making progress right away.”
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dd3c7f53c2761bd5266e0a8d7c696da7
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/01/31/frost-quakes-chicago-polar-vortex/2730412002/
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Boom! 'Frost quakes' reported in Chicago area thanks to polar vortex
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Boom! 'Frost quakes' reported in Chicago area thanks to polar vortex
Extreme cold causes bizarre things to happen, and that was certainly the case Wednesday in Chicago when a series of loud booms were reported.
The temperature in Chicago dropped to 23 below zero early Wednesday, one of the coldest readings ever recorded in the city.
What Chicago residents heard were likely "frost quakes," also known by the dull geological term "cryoseisms."
They occur when a rapid drop in temperature leads to a quick freeze, which causes the rock or soil to burst rather than just slowly expand, according to meteorologist Keith Heidorn. The rapid bursting sounds like noisy quake, along with possible shaking.
Some people think their homes are being broken into or gunshots are being fired.
Frost quakes are too small to be picked up by a seismograph, so they’re difficult to prove, geologist Jeri Jones of Jones Geological Services said last year. Jones said they only be heard about 300 feet away.
More:All-time record cold reported in Illinois cities as US freeze shows little signs of easing
More:'I’ve never experienced anything like it': For some in Chicago's deep freeze, no choice but to brave the cold
More:Stories across the US from the coldest weather in a generation
Dave Call, a meteorologist at Ball State University, said to think of a bottle of liquid in a freezer, expanding and exploding. "It's more of a noise phenomenon, like a balloon popping, than a physical danger," Call said earlier this month.
He compared frost quakes to the familiar phenomenon of potholes: Water seeps into cracks in the pavement, freezes and expands.
"I thought I was crazy!" Chastity Clark Baker said on Facebook, according to WGN. "I was up all night because I kept hearing it. I was scared and thought it was the furnace."
Unfortunately, frost quake damage normally is not covered by a homeowners insurance policy.
Folks in Chicago, and elsewhere in the Midwest, soon won't have to worry about frost quakes as temperatures soar into the 30s and 40s by the weekend.
Contributing: Abbey Zelko, the York (Pa.) Daily Record; Seth Slabaugh, the Muncie (Ind.) Star Press
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c1dadc44b2396eb19bb418d63b3652ab
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/01/sandmanns-lawyer-media-they-know-they-crossed-line/2747782002/
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Lawyers of Covington Catholic student in viral video send letters to media: 'They know they crossed the line'
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Lawyers of Covington Catholic student in viral video send letters to media: 'They know they crossed the line'
CINCINNATI — The lawyers representing Covington Catholic High School student Nick Sandmann and his family said Friday they have sent letters to media outlets and Catholic organizations as the first step in possible libel and defamation lawsuits.
The student from the Park Hills, Kentucky, school found himself in the center of a media firestorm after a video showing Nick and his classmates after the March for Life in Washington D.C. went viral.
The videos show Nick in a "Make America Great Again" hat and a Native American elder, Nathan Phillips, surrounded by other students while Phillips plays a drum and sings. Phillips said he approached the students to defuse a tense exchange between the students and a group of Black Hebrew Israelites.
The first short clip that caught the attention of people on social media prompted calls of racism. That clip was countered by hours of additional footage that came to light in the days after the event.
Nick, as well as his school, faced threats from those angered by the video. His family's legal counsel Todd McMurtry and experienced libel and defamation lawyer L. Lin Wood of Atlanta have said they will seek justice for the harm allegedly done to the teen.
More:Analysis: What the video from the incident at the Indigenous Peoples March tell us about what happened
McMurtry is with the law firm of Hemmer Defrank Wessels and has practiced law in Greater Cincinnati since 1991. He said a team of seven lawyers has been working full time to review the media accounts of what happened.
This week they have prepared documentation preservation letters addressed to organizations they believe may have defamed or libeled Nick with false reporting, McMurtry said.
McMurtry said the following organizations are among those to whom his office is sending letters:
"They know they crossed the line," McMurtry said of the media outlets. "Do they want 12 people in Kentucky to decide their fate? I don't think so."
The letters tell the organizations not to destroy any documents in connection with the case, the attorney said. For example, these documents could be drafts or early versions of articles or emails among staff discussing the story.
Preservation Letter
McMurtry said he expects his team to send dozens more letters to other organizations in coming days and weeks.
After the review, the lawyers "concluded we have a good faith basis to sue" certain organizations, McMurtry said. However, he said not all the organizations who were sent letters will necessarily be sued. He added that this process will not be over quickly.
"There are so many deep pocket defendants who crossed the line, the process will just roll out," he said. "It's international."
McMurtry said his clients will also be demanding retractions and apologies in addition to possible litigation.
"We want to change the conversation. We don't want this to happen again," McMurtry said. "We want to teach people a lesson."
He went on to say that lesson is the media cannot state as fact things that aren't true.
"There was a rush by the media to believe what it wanted to believe versus what actually happened," McMurtry said.
An example he gave of false reports were ones that said Nick got into the face of Phillips, McMurtry said. McMurtry said this simply is not true.
McMurtry said the next steps for lawyers will likely involve conversations and negotiations with the legal teams for the organizations and then possibly filing lawsuits. More media outlets will likely be sent letters as well, he explained.
He said what happened in the aftermath of the video "permanently stained the reputation" of Nick.
"For the mob to just go tear apart a 16-year-old boy is inexcusable," McMurtry said. "He'll never be able to get away from this."
The Diocese of Covington and the Diocese of Lexington declined to comment. Emails seeking comment from the other organizations listed have not been immediately returned..
Enquirer reporter Sarah Brookbank contributed.
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b7d1d24a7d72f864d3393b79dfd8521f
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/03/deputy-killed-another-injured-ohio-standoff/2761405002/
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One deputy killed, another injured during deadly overnight standoff in Ohio
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One deputy killed, another injured during deadly overnight standoff in Ohio
One Ohio sheriff's deputy was killed and another was injured during a deadly standoff that ended early Sunday morning in Clermont County.
The officers originally responded around 7 p.m. to a 911 call from a man who said there were subjects in his apartment who were refusing to leave, Capt. Jeff Sellars with the Clermont County Sheriff’s Department said during a news conference Sunday morning. The subject also told officers that he had weapons in his home.
Deputy Bill Brewer was shot at approximately 10:30 p.m. in what was police described as a "barrage" of gunfire from a suspect barricaded inside Royal Oaks Apartments in Pierce Township.
Brewer died as a result of gunshot wounds after being transported to Anderson Mercy Hospital, according to a news release. He is survived by a wife and 5-year-old son.
His body is being transported from the Hamilton County Coroner's Office to Nurre Funeral Home in Amelia, said Cincinnati Police Department Lt. Steve Saunders.
The procession departed at 11 a.m.
"Deputy Brewer gave his life attempting to help a person who was admittedly suicidal,” said Clermont County Sheriff Steve Leahy. “This will forever change the atmosphere of the Clermont County Sheriff’s Office.”
Another deputy, Lt. Nick DeRose, was shot in the ankle during the standoff at Royal Oak Apartments, said David C. O'Neil, spokesman for Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost's office. DeRose was treated and released at University of Cincinnati Hospital Medical Center.
O'Neil said SWAT team members apprehended the suspect Sunday morning from the middle floor of an apartment building.
The suspect, who is in police custody, was identified as 23-year-old Wade Edward Winn. He has been charged with aggravated murder and attempted aggravated murder, according to court documents.
O'Neil said officials are declining to disclose details about where Winn is being currently held.
At 7 a.m. Sunday, fire was reported at the building. Officials say it broke out as a result of the standoff.
Follow Sheila Vilvens, Chris Mayhew and Cameron Knight on Twitter: @SVilvens, @reportermayhew and @ckpj99
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565fd8c48684ec1478223cea239d8d23
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/03/valhalla-train-crash-anniversary-third-rail-litigation/2761576002/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=usatodaycomnation-topstories
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On 4th anniversary of deadly Valhalla Metro-North crash, third rail is focus of litigation
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On 4th anniversary of deadly Valhalla Metro-North crash, third rail is focus of litigation
The following account includes excerpts from National Transportation Safety Board interviews with passengers in the lead car of Metro-North Train 659, which collided with a Mercedes SUV at a Valhalla grade crossing on Feb. 3, 2015, killing five passengers and the driver of the SUV. Passenger names were redacted from the NTSB reports.
Forty-five minutes into the trip north, the 20 passengers in the lead car of Metro-North Train 659 were filling the time doing what commuters do – checking email, listening to music, knitting, reading the newspaper, dozing off.
It was around 6:26 p.m. on Feb. 3, 2015. A winter storm left a deep bank of snow beside the rails of the Harlem Line in the Westchester County hamlet of Valhalla, New York.
Few on board seemed to notice when Steven Smalls, in just his ninth month as an engineer, blasted his horn and hit the brakes, dropping his speed down to 51 mph, when he spotted a 2011 Mercedes SUV stuck on the tracks less than a football field’s distance away at the Commerce Street crossing.
Seconds later, the eight-car train slammed into the SUV driven by Ellen Brody, a 49-year-old mother of three from Edgemont who, for reasons that still aren’t entirely clear, moved forward on the tracks after getting out to inspect a crossing gate that had come down on the rear of the car.
Some described it as a bomb going off, others a bang or a soft thud. Everyone on board the train was still alive.
For the moment.
But as the train moved Brody’s SUV some 250 feet to the north, the electrified third rail on the west side of the track detached, piercing the fuel tank in Brody’s SUV before cutting into the lead rail car.
“And it went on for a really long, long time, and it just got worse and worse,” one passenger told investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board on Feb. 11, 2015. “As the train went on you just heard more of the metal against metal. And all the seats seemed to be like collapsing. … It was just a horrible noise and it just kept getting closer and closer to where I was sitting.”
More:Turkey train crash leaves 9 dead, dozens injured
More:Fatal train collision with bus resulted from unsafe, humped road crossing, NTSB says
The train and SUV traveled another 415 feet together before coming to a stop.
The passenger was tossed against a window. He soon noticed the third rail had gone right through the seat where he’d been sitting moments before.
“I was thinking it was sort of like a can opener, like, cutting us open,” another passenger told the NTSB. “But instead of just popping up and cutting and moving on, it kind of kept growing and filling back up and raising up, if you will.”
Four years after the deadliest accident in Metro-North’s history, the design of the third rail has become a central focus of lawsuits filed by the estates of those who died aboard Train 659, an investigation by The Journal News/lohud.com has found.
The debate comes down to this.
Why did the third rail function like a killing spear, taking the lives of everyone in its direct path and sparking a fire that consumed the lead car?
A faulty third rail?
Lawyers for the estates of those who died say were it not for Metro-North’s faulty design of the third rail, everyone in the lead car would have survived and nine others wouldn’t have been injured. The remaining 625 passengers, riding in the seven cars behind the lead, were not injured.
“But for the dangerous design of the third rail, NO ONE INSIDE THE TRAIN would have gotten hurt, NOT EVEN A SCRATCH,” attorney Natascia Ayers wrote in court papers filed in State Supreme Court in Westchester, New York, in April.
Killed were Walter Liedtke, 69, and Eric Vandercar, 53, both of Bedford Hills, New York; Aditya Tomar, 41, of Danbury, Connecticut; Robert Dirks, 36, of Chappaqua, New York; and Joseph Nadol, 42 of Ossining, New York.
Metro-North attorney Philip DiBerardino said Ayers' claim about the third rail design is off the mark.
"Plaintiffs' bald statement is unsupported by any evidence, and, as such, amounts to sheer speculation," DiBerardino wrote in May.
Metro-North says Brody is to blame for the accident for illegally stopping on a grade crossing equipped with warning devices, flashing lights and automatic gates that were all in good working order. The railroad, along with the Town of Mount Pleasant, New York, is suing her husband, Alan Brody, the administrator of his wife’s estate.
Brody, meanwhile, is suing Metro-North and Mount Pleasant, claiming his wife was trapped on an unsafe crossing and unaware she was on railroad tracks. His lawyer, Philip Russotti, says a faulty signal system didn’t provide cars enough time to clear an intersection at the crossing.
In 2017, the NTSB concluded Brody’s actions caused the crash, while noting the third rail design led to the loss of life.
“This accident demonstrated that Metro-North’s third rail assembly catastrophically compromised a passenger railcar with fatal consequences,” the NTSB said in July 2017. “Metro-North’s third rail system penetrated the passenger compartment and broke apart at the splice bars. The third rail entering the lead railcar caused significant damage and increased the number and severity of injuries and fatalities.”
The NTSB recommended Metro-North, along with other commuter rails in the northeast, conduct risk assessments for all grade crossings that have third rail systems and follow through with corrections to minimize such risks.
In October, former MTA chairman Joseph Lhota, in a letter to the NTSB, said a consultant hired to conduct the assessment concluded the railroad was following adequate risk reduction strategies.
“The risk assessment team determined that although such an event could be catastrophic, it is extremely improbable,” Lhota wrote.
More:Railroads have improved safety since fatal S.C. collision, Amtrak and CSX officials say
More:Fatal Amtrak crash raises questions about rail safety
'Death, destruction, carnage'
After Train 659 crashed into Brody’s SUV, some 343 feet of third rail entered to the left of the lead car beside the train wheels and came up through the floor of the car.
Altogether 11 sections of third rail, five of which were about 40 feet long, and weighed 2,000 pounds each, came to rest in the lead car, the NTSB noted.
When it pierced the car’s interior, the third rail brought sparks and flaming debris, contributing to a fire caused when gasoline from the SUV leaked onto the cover of the third rail, the NTSB found.
An ordinary evening commute, on a 20-degree February night, quickly turned into something resembling a war zone.
One passenger watched as a fellow passenger was struck in the head by a section of rail. Another used his jacket to put out fire consuming a fellow passenger.
Four in the lead car were killed by blunt force trauma and surface burns obscured injuries to the fifth who died, the NTSB found.
All five had extensive surface burns.
Passengers climbed over bodies as they tried to find a way out through emergency windows. A section of third rail blocked passage to the second car.
One passenger escorting a woman to safety counseled her to look up so she wouldn’t see the body on the floor. Another offered his belt as a tourniquet to a woman assisting a passenger whose leg had been severed below the knee.
Meanwhile, smoke began to fill the lead car. Some described it as “acrid” or pungent, likening it to the scent of burning plastic.
More:'Tremendous jolt': 1 dead after train carrying GOP lawmakers hits truck
As emergency workers scrambled to get to the scene, passengers helped one another out the emergency windows and down onto the snow-covered embankment beside a cemetery.
“I remember the first breath of air was incredible,” one passenger told the NTSB. “It was the most sort of comforting and satisfying breath of air I think I’ve ever had. Like a Peppermint Patty.”
One passenger whose leg had been shattered begged fellow passengers to move him away from the rail because he feared the SUV was about to explode. Several were escorted across to a nearby gym where they washed away blood that splattered their face and clothing.
Outside the lead car several passengers who’d escaped through windows were trying to figure out what to do next.
“And, at some I think I looked back and the entire train car is engulfed in flames, and I mean, you know, not to be dramatic about it but it was just unbelievably quiet and serene, you know and just eerie,” one passenger said. “I mean death, destruction, carnage, whatever, and the fact that you just have flames flying out of this train car, out of every window of the train car and, you know, there’s like 8 or 10 of us standing there … in complete shock and disbelief.”
1984 fatality at same crossing
In 1984 at the same Commerce Street crossing, a van driven by Gerard Dunne, a 21-year-old cable technician from Stony Point, was struck by a Metro-North train while Dunne was on his way to a service call.
The engineer on train 963 told police he saw Dunne’s van approaching the crossing at a high rate of speed, according to an Oct. 11, 1984 police report included in court filings in the Valhalla litigation.
“I could see the red warning lights operating at the crossing,” the engineer told police. “I then realized that the van was not going to slow down and was trying to beat the train to the crossing. I put the train into the emergency braking mode, but was unable to stop prior to hitting the van.”
At the time, the crossing did not have gates.
Dunne died nearly three weeks later.
No one on Train 963 was seriously injured in the accident which occurred at 6:05 p.m., around the same time as the Valhalla crash. And, like the 2015 accident, a small fire broke out when the van’s fuel tank exploded and gasoline came in contract with sparks from the electrified third rail.
Unlike the Valhalla crash, the third rail broke apart and did not enter the train.
More:A look at some of the transportation safety rules sidelined under President Trump
And so, Metro-North officials told the NTSB, they assumed that in 2015 the third rail would have responded similarly and broken apart without penetrating the train, court papers say.
Metro-North’s power director told the NTSB he believed the design and materials in the splice bars allowed them to break away when a large force hits them.
“The basis of the power director’s belief was a 1984 accident at the Commerce Street grade crossing in which the third rail broke away from the train and did not damage the train,” the NTSB wrote in an 80-page report issued in July 2017.
Attorneys representing the dead passengers’ estates say the 1984 accident should have alerted Metro-North to a flaw in the crossing's design, which allowed cars to come in contact with the third rail.
"Defendants' design and installation of the electrified third rail in 1982-83 should have anticipated a car being struck and dragged down the tracks, and therefore designed and installed to avoid impacting the rail," Ayers wrote in April.
And she said the third rail should have been designed as a frangible or breakaway system.
Passengers wonder how they survived
Attorney Andrew Maloney, who represents Tomar’s estate, says when Brody’s SUV was pushed down the track, the back end of the car sloped down the embankment.
“The back end of the SUV goes down even lower and the front effectively acts like a crow bar, raising up the third rail,” Maloney said.
The third rail should have been built in a way that allows for it to come apart on impact, the standard followed by experts in transportation design, Maloney added.
“On highways and airports, signs and light fixtures are bolted down at the base with frangible material so that when a car or airplane hits them, they break and fall away by the side rather than crushing or shredding the vehicle or airplane,” Maloney said.
“Metro-North design engineers and safety analysts were on notice that in the transportation world, you must anticipate accidents and collisions with fixtures in the transportation path,” Maloney added. “Not addressing this by at least having a frangible third rail system that would break away harmlessly during a collision is a huge problem.”
Maloney and others representing the estates say that, aside from the third rail design, Smalls is to blame for failing to apply the brakes in time. Smalls settled his legal claim against Metro-North, which attorneys say is the only such settlement so far. The terms were not disclosed.
In the days after the accident, the lead car’s surviving passengers told their NTSB interviewers they had pored through news reports trying to figure out exactly what happened.
Some were unsure whether it was the third rail that pierced their car or whether it was the Harlem Line rail coming up through the floor.
“I’m wondering whether you can tell me, if you know, that the rail that went through the first car in the second car, did that pass through the top of the car or the bottom of the car?,” one passenger asked as his interview was wrapping up.
“Well, I can tell you one thing,” the NTSB interviewer said. “You’re very lucky.”
Follow Thomas C. Zambito on Twitter: @TomZambito
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a906ec3ec9b5b5b400e91bb9576f4dee
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/04/brooklyn-metropolitan-detention-center-power-outage/2769731002/
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Justice Department to investigate federal prison in NY after weeklong power outage
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Justice Department to investigate federal prison in NY after weeklong power outage
ALBANY, N.Y. – New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday said the Department of Justice has launched an investigation into the federally operated prison in Brooklyn that went a week without electricity, leaving inmates without heat and hot water during the recent polar vortex.
The investigation comes less than a day after power was restored at the Metropolitan Detention Center on Sunday after nearly 1,000 inmates spent a week without electricity in subzero temperatures.
The outage stemmed from a Jan. 27 fire at the detention center.
"In the coming days, the Department will work with the Bureau of Prisons to examine what happened and ensure the facility has the power, heat and backup systems in place to prevent the problem from re-occurring," said Wyn Hornbuckle, deputy director of public affairs for the Justice Department.
Electrical power was finally restored at the Metropolitan Detention Center at about 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Hornbuckle said.
Cuomo called for an investigation over the weekend as protests erupted outside of the prison and news of the situation spread across social media.
"Just because you're incarcerated doesn't mean you give up your civil rights and civil liberties," Cuomo said Monday.
Feb. 1:A prison sergeant put rat images next to names of informants in prison. Death threats followed
Jan. 30:Real life 'Shawshank Redemption': Ex-con robs Milwaukee bank, hoping to be sent back to prison
Earlier Monday, a group of New York lawmakers held a news conference to address what they called "human rights violations" at the prison.
"This is federally, state-sanctioned torture," said Assemblyman Victor Pichardo, a Democrat from the Bronx, on Monday.
A group of state lawmakers toured the facility over the weekend, including Sen. Luis Sepulveda, D-Bronx, who chairs the state Senate's Crime Victims, Crime and Correction Committee.
Sepulveda said he was "shocked" at the conditions, but acknowledged the state had limited recourse because the prison is federally operated.
One option, Sepulveda said, is a lawsuit, an option he planned to discuss further with the state's attorney general on Monday.
"We're scratching the surface as to what we're going to do," Sepulveda said.
"I'll tell you this, that whatever we can do, we will do," he added.
It is unknown whether the state will pursue legal action, but Letitia James, New York's attorney general, said her office was monitoring the situation.
"It is unacceptable, illegal and inhumane to detain people without basic amenities, access to counsel, or medical care," James said in a statement.
A call for reform
Most of the prisoners impacted by the power outage were pretrial inmates who have yet to be convicted, said Sen. Jamaal Bailey, D-Bronx.
Bailey, who chairs the Codes committee, said the incident highlights the need for prison reform in the state.
"We don't know why they were there," said Bailey, referring to those impacted by the outage.
"Maybe it was because they didn't have evidence, which is why we need discovery reform. Maybe it was because they couldn't afford bail, which is why we need bail reform. Maybe because we need speedy trial reform.
"Those situations should be remedied here," he said.
Cuomo has made prison reform a key issue in his 2019 agenda.
Proposals to end cash bail, reform the discovery process and ensure a speedy trial have all been included in the governor's executive budget.
Jan. 29:Bill Cosby targeted by a drone in prison yard, spokesman says
July 25:The charges against sex cult NXIVM's Keith Raniere, Allison Mack and Clare Bronfman, explained
Before being enacted, the state's Legislature needs to approve the proposals in the budget, which is due by April 1.
Among the inmates who have raised issues with their treatment at the prison is Keith Raniere, the founder of NXIVM, the cult-like group headquartered near Albany that made national headlines when it became public that women in a related group were branded with Raniere's initials.
Raniere, who is awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, is trying to use the conditions at the prison in his bid to be released on bail.
"As a testament to the basic lack of safe living conditions, water in Raniere's cell was freezing in his drinking cup," attorney Marc Agnifilo wrote in a letter Monday to U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis.
Contributing: Jon Campbell, USA TODAY Network-Albany (N.Y.) Bureau; The Associated Press. Follow Chad Arnold on Twitter: @ChadGArnold
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83b3329994479e0c7f07258077879217
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/04/man-died-meth-overdose-eaten-bear-smokies/2773644002/
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Autopsy: Man found in Smokies died of meth overdose before being eaten by bear
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Autopsy: Man found in Smokies died of meth overdose before being eaten by bear
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – A man whose body was found in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park last year died of a meth overdose before being partially eaten by a bear, an autopsy found.
The body of William Lee Hill Jr., 30, of Louisville, Tenn., was discovered in a wooded area off Rich Mountain Road in Townsend on Sept. 11 — four days after he became separated from a friend while the pair were searching for ginseng in the park.
After searchers found an adult black bear scavenging the body, the animal stayed in the area and exhibited aggressive behavior for hours.
More:Ohio woman who went missing while hiking in the Smokies is 11th death in park this year
More:Missing GoPro with final images of woman killed in Smokies found by American Airlines
Biologists trapped the bear long enough to apply a GPS tracking collar and recover human DNA from the animal. Officials then released the bear, reviewed the evidence and determined the bear should be euthanized.
"While the cause of Mr. Hill’s death is unknown at this time, after gathering initial evidence, consulting with other wildlife professionals and careful consideration, we made the difficult decision to euthanize this bear out of concern for the safety of park visitors and local residents,” Park Superintendent Cassius Cash said in a Sept. 12 news release.
Media outlets cited the release to report the bear had been euthanized, which prompted the park to clarify two days later that the animal had not yet been slain. Recapturing the bear, officials said, proved surprisingly difficult.
The bear evaded death until Sept. 16, when park rangers fatally shot the animal.
The autopsy of Hill's body, performed at the Knox County Regional Forensic Center, revealed "extensive postmortem animal predation," but found no evidence he was attacked by the bear while he was alive, the autopsy report says.
According to the report, Hill initially had to be identified through his personal belongings and tattoos, which included a skull and crossbones with the inscription "AC/DC," and a Confederate battle flag bearing the words, "IT'S A REDNEK THING!"
Hill had a history of drug use, and his body was found near syringes and other drug paraphernalia, the report states. The autopsy concluded he died of an accidental meth overdose.
The man who went with Hill to search for ginseng, 31-year-old Joshua David Morgan, of Maryville, died in October. The two were best friends, according to Morgan's obituary.
Ginseng, a herb used in energy drinks and for various other purposes, is often harvested and sold for cash. It is illegal to remove plants from national parks
More:Americans more likely to die of opioid overdose than car crash, council report says
More:Guide fatally mauled by bear while helping Florida hunter in Wyoming
Follow Travis Dorman on Twitter: @travdorman
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b169752a32c9397dee64d37efb5026a2
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/05/migrant-caravan-arrives-texas-mexico-border-500-troopers-respond/2783477002/?utm_source=Border+Buzz+02%2F13%2F2019&utm_campaign=BB+Aug+6&utm_medium=email
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Nearly 2,000 migrants arrive at Texas-Mexico border, prompting 500 state troopers to respond
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Nearly 2,000 migrants arrive at Texas-Mexico border, prompting 500 state troopers to respond
SAN ANGELO, Texas – A caravan of almost 2,000 Central American migrants has arrived just outside the Texas-Mexico border with the hopes of crossing into the United States, according to officials.
Authorities say the migrants arrived Monday in Piedras Negras, across the Rio Grande from Eagle Pass in Maverick County, Texas.
There to meet the influx of migrants was a surge in law enforcement that included multiple sheriff's offices, the U.S. Border Patrol and the Texas Department of Public Safety.
"If anyone tries to cross the border illegally, they'll be arrested," Maverick County Sheriff Tom Schmerber said.
Schmerber said about 500 Texas state troopers had arrived in Maverick County by Tuesday along with 50 reserve deputies from across the state.
"We feel very comfortable that police from other counties are ready to respond," Schmerber said.
Including the U.S. Border Patrol and personnel from surrounding county sheriff's offices, Schmerber said two SWAT teams also are on standby to maintain order.
"When I went to Mexico this morning, the mayor of Piedras Negras was there and told me around 1,800 (migrants) – about 80 percent from Honduras – were there," said Schmerber.
"One group of migrants is hoping to make it into Arizona and another group to Minnesota," Schmerber said.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security vowed Tuesday that the “lawless caravan” would not be allowed in.
“Approximately 2,000 aliens have arrived in northern Mexico as part of a ‘caravan’ seeking to cross the border into Texas. Illegal entry will not be tolerated and we stand ready to prevent it,” DHS Secretary Kirstjen M. Nielsen wrote in a statement, adding “DHS will take all steps to ensure the safety and security of law enforcement personnel on the frontlines.”
Images from local media show U.S. agents with riot gear and shields standing on a bridge separating Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras. DHS said Border Patrol agents have already apprehended some migrants who crossed the border illegally overnight.
Coahuila state Gov. Miguel Angel Riquelme said about 1,700 migrants arrived late Sunday aboard 49 buses from the cities of Saltillo and Arteaga. Another smaller group headed toward the neighboring state of Nuevo Leon.
An improvised shelter was set up for the migrants at an unused factory, and local officials said the migrants had been given sleeping mats, blankets, food and wireless access.
State child welfare officials reported there 46 unaccompanied youths aged between 15 and 17 in the caravan.
Contributing: The Associated Press
More:Video shows 3-year-old girl falling from 16-foot border fence in Arizona
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f95e745319bf049c9ce7ab9811405628
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/05/texas-man-dies-vape-pen-explosion-says-medical-examiner/2775957002/
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Texas man dies after vape pen he was using exploded, medical examiner says
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Texas man dies after vape pen he was using exploded, medical examiner says
A 24-year-old Texas man died of injuries he suffered after the vape pen he was using exploded, a local medical examiner's office says.
William Brown of Fort Worth, Texas, died last month after a vape pen suddenly burst and severed his carotid artery, according to a search of case records on the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office website.
The incident occurred outside a vape shop in Fort Worth, and Brown later died at a hospital, said the report.
According to CBS 11 in Dallas/Fort Worth, the Smoke and Vape DZ shop said Brown wanted help using a Mechanical Mod style vape pen. A shop manager called an ambulance after seeing Brown in trouble in the parking lot, the report said.
Want news from USA TODAY on WhatsApp?Click this link on your mobile device to get started
Alice Brown, William Brown's grandmother, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that he had just purchased the device and was trying it in her car.
"It just hurts so bad," Alice Brown told the Star-Telegram.
According to a report from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, 195 incidents of an explosion or fire involving electronic cigarettes were reported by U.S. media between 2009 and 2016. The report released in July 2017 said no deaths had been reported to date.
However, in May, a Florida man died after an e-cigarette he was using exploded, burning 80 percent of his body.
The Food and Drug Administration offers several tips to users of electronic vape pens to prevent explosions:
More:Millions of teens are vaping every day. Here's what they have to say about the growing trend.
Follow Brett Molina on Twitter: @brettmolina23.
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87d1340af46e14f5b66f4a8d7c1f7807
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/06/bird-strikes-airplanes-wildlife-federal-aviation-administration-data-sully-sullenberger/2613893002/
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Planes strike birds more than 40 times a day, FAA data show
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Planes strike birds more than 40 times a day, FAA data show
Ten years after a collision with Canada geese forced airline pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger to make his dramatic emergency landing on the Hudson River, pilots and airports report as many bird strikes as ever.
Civilian flights based in the USA reported 14,661 collisions with wildlife in 2018, a USA TODAY analysis of Federal Aviation Administration data shows. That's more than 40 a day, tying the previous year's record.
The strikes have been blamed in more than 106 civilian deaths worldwide over the past two decades, according to British and Canadian researchers. They cause about $1.2 billion a year in damage.
Why so many collisions? Analysts cite several factors: an increase in flights; changing migratory patterns; bigger, faster, quieter turbofan-powered aircraft, which give birds less time to get out of the way.
One of the biggest factors might be better reporting. The FAA has worked to improve the voluntary reporting system since Sullenberger guided U.S. Airways Flight 1549 – and all of its 155 passengers – to safety after a flock of geese took out both engines in 2009.
More:‘Miracle on the Hudson’ flight survivors mark decade of gratitude
"That number has certainly been steadily increasing ever since the 'Miracle on the Hudson,' " says Chris Oswald, vice president of the Airports Council International-North America. "A lot of that – and I can only say a lot because it's hard to know – has to do with outreach activities."
He says the industry is concerned that a change in bird populations – and especially a boom in larger species – could pose a continued danger to aircraft.
Biologists and aviation safety officials are engaged in a never-ending cat-and-mouse game in an effort to shoo, move or kill birds in the nation's flight paths.
FAA reports show how disruptive – and potentially dangerous – bird strikes can be:
► On Dec. 22, a Republic Airlines flight to Minneapolis hit what the pilot said looked like a hawk while taking off from George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. Five engine blades were damaged, causing the plane to vibrate and the pilot to make an emergency landing. Blood was found in the engine, but the bird's remains were never found.
► The Monday after Thanksgiving, a JetBlue flight in Portland, Oregon, hit a Canada goose just after liftoff. Crew and passengers felt the impact and heard a loud thud, but the pilot thought it was a blown tire. After circling the airport and burning fuel for 30 minutes, the crew saw the tires were intact but the flaps were damaged. They landed and discovered a 6- to 8-inch hole in the right flap and a 12-inch dent in the engine.
► The previous day, airport operations crew in San Francisco heard a loud boom just before an EVA Air flight to Taiwan reported an engine failure. The Boeing 777 dumped more than 36,000 gallons of fuel and made an emergency landing. The suspect was a blue heron; the airline sent bird remains to the Smithsonian Institution for testing.
The Smithsonian's Feather Identification Lab is a sort of "CSI for birds." It analyzes bird remains known as "snarge" – military slang for "snot garbage" – through feathers and DNA testing.
Those results can tell an important story.
In Kansas City, for example, they show that most bird strikes involve species such as swallows and meadowlarks – birds that feed on Japanese beetles, which have been a growing infestation in Kansas City in recent years.
As a percentage of flights, no airport had more bird strikes last year than Kansas City International Airport, where the number has doubled since 2016. Most strikes occurred during the summer months, when the beetles abound.
Adding to the jeopardy: The airport built on farmland, and it sits along the Mississippi flyway, a major migratory corridor.
"KCI takes all wildlife management very seriously, especially in light of the unique challenges presented by our location and the amount of land we manage," operations manager Bob Johnson said in a statement to USA TODAY. "Bird strikes are of particular concern, and that is why we have adopted the 100 percent reporting policy that is above and beyond what is required by the FAA."
Johnson said the airport has worked to reduce bird habitats around the airport by substituting cattle grazing for grain crops, reducing the pooling of rainwater, and cutting down 50 acres of trees that housed nests.
Travis DeVault works as a biologist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. "Really, the bedrock of wildlife management at airports is habitat management," he says. "And that means eliminating three things: food, water and cover."
Airports harass birds with noisemakers or fake predators, but birds can get acclimated to those attempts and return once they learn the harassment isn't a threat.
In extreme cases, airports cull the population by shooting the birds.
DeVault and others have been working on other measures – especially those that would reduce the growing number of bird strikes miles away from airports.
By analyzing the carcasses of 92 birds hit by airplanes at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, DeVault and other scientists were able to determine that most of them were flying away from the plane – but not fast enough.
DeVault wants to give them an earlier warning, using aircraft lights. He's conducting tests to determine the bandwidths and flicker rates that will be visible to the broadest range of birds.
"We’re trying to give the birds a little more time to get our of the way, and we're trying to do that with aircraft lighting," he says. "But it has to be tuned to the visual capability of birds."
Other researchers analyze bird flight patterns and avian radar to give air traffic controllers and pilots more information about where the birds are in real time.
Bird strikes are about 98 percent of wildlife strikes reported to federal officials, but the database includes hundreds of contacts with other animals, usually at smaller airports.
The FAA received 40 reports last year of planes hitting coyotes, 35 involving turtles or tortoises and 24 deer.
In Florida, it's not unheard of for a plane on the runway to encounter an alligator.
Problems are usually solved with better fencing, but birds can't be fenced out and are likely to be a problem as long as airplanes share the skies with them.
After all, the first-ever reported bird strike came from Orville Wright himself. He hit a red-winged blackbird over a cornfield outside Dayton, Ohio, in 1905.
"It’s not something you can build out of," Oswald says. "It's never going away entirely."
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d103fc8d11f2f4f91dfa8f7592a4c264
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/06/high-court-upholds-teens-texting-suicide-manslaughter-conviction/2789549002/
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Massachusetts' top court upholds teen's texting suicide manslaughter conviction
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Massachusetts' top court upholds teen's texting suicide manslaughter conviction
Massachusetts’ highest court has upheld the involuntary-manslaughter conviction of a young woman who used dozens of text messages to persuade her boyfriend to carry out his suicide.
Michelle Carter, now 20, was originally sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison in the death of boyfriend Conrad Roy III in 2014.
Carter, who could have been sentenced to up to 20 years, remained free pending the appeal. She will now have to serve 15 months.
Her lawyers said Wednesday that they will consider appealing the Massachusetts' Supreme Judicial Court ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.
In upholding the lower court conviction, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled Wednesday that the evidence proved that Carter, then 17, caused the suicide of 18-year-old Roy by telling him in a text message to "get back in" a truck filled with toxic gas when he got momentarily scared.
Her lawyers argued Carter didn’t force Roy to take his own life and that there wasn’t sufficient evidence she told him to get back into the vehicle.
Prosecutors argued that Carter could have stopped Roy but instead pressed him to go through with his plan.
At the 2017 trial, Juvenile Court Judge Lawrence Moniz called the case, which garnered international attention, “a tragedy for two families.” Both teens struggled with depression. Carter had been treated for anorexia, and Roy had made earlier suicide attempts.
Moniz said Carter's text constituted “wanton and reckless conduct” under the manslaughter statute. He said Carter had a duty to call for help.
Carter's grim taunt was one of dozens of similar texts she sent Roy urging him not to back down. “The time is right and you are ready ... just do it babe,” Carter wrote in a text the day he killed himself.
“You can’t think about it. You just have to do it. You said you were gonna do it. Like I don’t get why you aren’t,” Carter wrote in another text.
Prosecutor Maryclare Flynn argued that Carter showed no remorse and in fact "sought attention and sympathy for herself."
After Roy's death, the prosecution said, she "continued to use and deceive all of them until she was caught by her own words."
Carter’s lawyer, Joseph Cataldo, told the lower court that both young people at the time were "struggling with mental issues themselves."
“Miss Carter will have to live with the consequences of this for the rest of her life,” Cataldo told the court. “This was a horrible circumstance that she completely regrets.”
Cataldo argued during the trial that Roy was determined to kill himself and nothing Carter did could change that. He said Carter initially tried to talk Roy out of it and urged him to get professional help, but eventually went along with his plan. Cataldo also argued Carter’s words amounted to free speech protected by the First Amendment.
A day after Roy died, Carter posted a lengthy message on his Facebook page in which she mourned his death.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t save you, I’m sorry I let you do this,” she wrote, Boston.com reported.
“I never thought I would have to live a day without him,” Carter said in the post, which was introduced by the prosecution during her trial.
In his decision, Moniz further ruled that Carter was prohibited from gaining any profit from interviews, books or movies based on the sensational case.
Contributing: Associated Press
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0a360e83631deb3e87886dc97fa96087
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/06/virginia-governor-under-fire-ralph-northam-signs-amazon-bill/2787188002/
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Virginia's leadership in tumult as Attorney General Mark Herring admits wearing blackface
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Virginia's leadership in tumult as Attorney General Mark Herring admits wearing blackface
Virginia's leadership crisis deepened Wednesday as Attorney General Mark Herring admitted that he, too, once wore blackface in the 1980s, and the woman accusing the lieutenant governor of sexual assault released details of her claim.
The revelations came days after Gov. Ralph Northam said he wore blackface in 1984 for a Michael Jackson costume at a dance contest. Leadership on both sides of the aisle called for Northam's resignation.
Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, in line to succeed Northam, vehemently denied the accusations against him. Herring is next in line after Fairfax. All three are Democrats.
Wednesday's developments accelerated a controversy that has dragged on since the weekend and put Virginia's leadership under an intense nationwide spotlight.
"In 1980, when I was a 19-year-old undergraduate in college, some friends suggested we attend a party dressed like rappers we listened to at the time, like Kurtis Blow, and perform a song," said Herring, who has said he would run for governor in 2021. "It sounds ridiculous even now writing it. But because of our ignorance and glib attitudes – and because we did not have an appreciation for the experiences and perspectives of others – we dressed up and put on wigs and brown makeup.
"This was a one-time occurrence, and I accept full responsibility for my conduct."
Herring, who had urged Northam to resign, said "honest conversation" would make it clear whether he can continue in his own job.
More: 'Toxic': Gov. Northam hails from a time of troubled race relations
Herring, 57, said shame from the incident "has haunted me for decades," but he listed his efforts to "empower communities of color" by working for equality in the state's criminal justice and electoral systems and fighting for equal access to health care.
"I will say that from the bottom of my heart, I am deeply, deeply sorry for the pain that I cause with this revelation," he said.
Northam said he wouldn't resign, and he resumed governing Tuesday, signing a $750 million Amazon incentive package and issuing a statement mourning the death of a state trooper.
More:Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam clings to office amid racist yearbook photo scandal
Northam, 59, has been under siege since Friday when a racist photo from his medical school yearbook page in 1984 was published by the conservative website Big League Politics. The photo depicted one person in blackface and another wearing a Ku Klux Klan robe.
Friday, the governor apologized for being in the photo, but Saturday, he said he was not pictured in the "offensive, racist photo." Northam did admit to blackening his face with shoe polish for a Michael Jackson costume at a dance contest in the 1980s.
The Democrat has been under heavy pressure from both parties to bow out. State Sen. Richard Stuart, a close friend, said he talked to Northam on Tuesday and believes the governor wants to remain in office and "face this head-on."
Members of both parties acknowledged that under state laws, removing Northam could be difficult. Northam has been essentially frozen out by fellow Democrats.
Fairfax, 39, issued a statement Wednesday saying it was important to listen to anyone who comes forward with claims of sexual misconduct or harassment. But he said that the accusations against him from 2004, while he was a law student, are false and that the encounter was consensual.
His accuser, Vanessa Tyson, is a political science professor at Scripps College in California. A statement from her said she met Fairfax at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston. She said they chatted from time to time and Fairfax invited her to go with him to his hotel room to pick up documents.
"What began as consensual kissing quickly turned into sexual assault," she said in the statement issued by her lawyers. She said he physically forced her to perform oral sex.
"With tremendous anguish, I am now sharing this information about my experience and setting the record straight," she said in her statement. "It has been extremely difficult to relive that traumatic experience from 2004.
“Mr. Fairfax has tried to brand me as a liar to a national audience, in service to his political ambitions, and has threatened litigation. Given his false assertions, I’m compelled to make clear what happened.”
Tyson, who said she's a Democrat, stayed quiet about the allegations as she pursued her career, but by late 2017, as the #MeToo movement took shape and after she saw a news article about Fairfax’s campaign, she took her story to The Washington Post. The newspaper decided months later not to publish a story.
Fairfax said he never heard the claims until contacted by a media organization last year.
"At no time did she express to me any discomfort or concern about our interactions,'' he said in his statement, "neither during that encounter, nor during the months following it, when she stayed in touch with me, nor the past 15 years.”
The National Organization for Women called on Fairfax to resign immediately, saying, “Her story is horrifying, compelling and clear as day – and we believe her.”
Contributing: The Associated Press
More:In Northam controversy, Virginia remains haunted by its Confederate past
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63836dd4f5b643855dca4ea379377376
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/07/virginia-lt-governor-justin-fairfax-sexual-assault-allegation/2800541002/
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Virginia Lt. Gov. Fairfax acknowledges 2004 consensual encounter with accuser, denies sexual assault
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Virginia Lt. Gov. Fairfax acknowledges 2004 consensual encounter with accuser, denies sexual assault
Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax acknowledges that he had a consensual encounter with a colleague in a Boston hotel during the 2004 Democratic national convention but flatly denies her charges of sexual assault.
"I wish her no harm or humiliation, nor do I seek to denigrate her or diminish her voice," Fairfax said Wednesday in his second response to the burgeoning allegations. "But I cannot agree with a description of events that I know is not true."
The allegations by Vanessa Tyson, now a professor at Scripps College in Claremont, California, surfaced in the wake of a blackface scandal involving Gov. Ralph Northam that potentially could lead to Fairfax becoming governor of Virginia.
Tyson said she decided to go public with her charges because of the prospects that Fairfax seemed likely to become the state's chief executive.
"I felt a jarring sense of both outrage and despair," Tyson said in a statement Wednesday in which she spoke of her charges.
In the statement released by her lawyer, Tyson said she met Fairfax in 2004 when both were working at the Democratic party convention and realized they had a mutual friend.
At one point, she said, Fairfax invited her back to his hotel to retrieve some papers.
"What began as consensual kissing quickly turned into a sexual assault," Tyson said. "Mr. Fairfax put his hand behind my neck and forcefully pushed my head towards his crotch."
Tyson alleged that Fairfax then forced her to perform oral sex.
"I cannot believe, given my obvious distress, that Mr. Fairfax thought this forced sexual act was consensual," she said, adding that she consciously avoided him for the rest of the convention and never spoke to him again.
Fairfax, in his statement, called Tyson's account "surprising and hurtful" but said, "I have never done anything like what she suggests."
Fairfax first acknowledged having had an intimate encounter with Tyson on Monday, but told reporters it had been “100 percent consensual.”
“We hit it off, she was very interested in me, and so eventually, at one point, we ended up going to my hotel room,” Fairfax recalled of the 2004 incident, according to The New York Times.
The 39-year-old Democrat said any review of the circumstances surrounding the alleged incident would support his account.
"At no time did she express to me any discomfort or concern about our interactions, neither during that encounter nor during the months following it, when she stayed in touch with me, nor the past fifteen years," Fairffax said. "She in no way indicated that anything that had happened between us made her uncomfortable."
While a wide array of Democrats, both in Virginia and nationally, as well as Republicans have called on Northam to step down over the blackface incident, fewer voices have come out against Fairfax.
Toni Van Pelt, president of the National Organization of Women, however, has urged him to step down, as has Rep. Jennifer Wexton, a freshman Virginia Democrat who previously served in the state senate.
Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Kamala Harris, of California, said Thursday she finds Tyson's charges "credible" and called for a thorough investigation of the allegations.
In a bizarre twist to recent sexual allegations that have rocked national politics, Tyson is represented by the law firm that backed Dr. Christine Blasey Ford when she accused then Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct in high school.
Fairfax, in turn, has retained the law firm that represented Kavanaugh during those contentious hearings, CNN reports.
Although Tyson agreed to go public with her allegations this week, she had tried to raise her concerns last year in the run up to the elections that put Fairfax in the lieutenant governor's chair.
She said she spoke in 2017 to a personal friend at The Washington Post, and to colleagues, about the allegations but that the newspaper decided not to run her story.
The Post, which spoke to people who knew Fairfax from college, law school and through political circles, found no similar complaints of sexual misconduct against him, the newspaper reported this week. Without that, or the ability to corroborate Tyson's account — in part because she had not told anyone what happened — the Post did not run a story.
The experience, she said, left her feeling "powerless, frustrated, and completely drained," and that she had declined to press the issue until Fairfax appeared likely to ascend to the governorship in Virginia.
"I have no political motive," she said." I am a proud Democrat. My only motive in speaking now is to refute Mr. Fairfax’s falsehoods and aspersions of my character, and to provide what I believe is important information for Virginians to have as they make critical decisions that involve Mr. Fairfax."
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72501293d835c450520ffa7191ad96ed
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/08/austin-texas-water-stinks-like-trash-due-zebra-mussel-infestation/2811311002/
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Zebra mussels invading Texas city pipes are making water smell like 'rotten trash'
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Zebra mussels invading Texas city pipes are making water smell like 'rotten trash'
Tap water in Austin, Texas, stinks. And, city officials say zebra mussels in a raw water pipeline are to blame.
A line at a water treatment plant southwest of Lake Austin became infested with the invasive species about a year ago, the Austin Monitor reports, and city began removing the mollusks. The pipe had been shut off, but was returned to service on Wednesday.
“I turned on the water and it's just this over powering odor of what I would consider raw meat,” South Austin resident Kathryn Araguz told Austin's Fox 7. She said after her shower Thursday morning, her skin "smelled for quite a while."
Residents told KXAN the water smelled like "toilet water" or "rotten trash."
Even though the water smells rotten, it's safe to drink, according to Austin Water officials. The city has added powdered activated carbon to treat the stench, and said customers should notice a difference within 24 hours.
Zebra mussels have caused problems for other areas of Texas, too, including Round Rock's water system, Fox reports. Zebra mussels were first discovered in Texas in 2009.
Follow Ashley May on Twitter: @AshleyMayTweets
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2021cfa3ea4600cb46d503eea4dd74fe
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/08/justin-fairfax-second-woman-accuses-virginia-lt-governor/2816954002/
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Second woman accuses Virginia Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax of 'premeditated and aggressive' sexual assault
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Second woman accuses Virginia Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax of 'premeditated and aggressive' sexual assault
A second woman has come forward to accuse Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax of a "premeditated and aggressive" sexual assault, the latest accusation leveled against him amid calls to resign.
Meredith Watson said in a statement through her lawyers that Fairfax raped her while they were students at Duke University in 2000. The accusation follows a previous claim by a former colleague who says Fairfax sexually assaulted her in 2004.
Fairfax has denied both allegations.
The claims cap off a week of tumult in Virginia politics as the state's top three Democrats have been embroiled in controversy. The state's governor and attorney general have both admitted to wearing blackface in the 1980s but have rejected calls for them to resign.
In a statement Friday, Watson's lawyer, Nancy Erika Smith, said Fairfax and her client were friends in college but didn't date. Watson told her friends at the time that Fairfax raped her and has provided her lawyers with emails and Facebook messages detailing her account of the rape, Smith said.
Watson also called on Fairfax to resign, Smith said.
"At this time, Ms. Watson is reluctantly coming forward out of a strong sense of civic duty and her belief that those seeking or serving in public office should be of the highest character," Smith's statement said. "She has no interest in becoming a media personality or reliving the trauma that has greatly affected her life. Similarly, she is not seeking any financial damages."
Fairfax, 39, said Friday he would not resign and demanded an investigation into the claims.
"I will clear my good name and I have nothing to hide. I have passed two full field background checks by the FBI and run for office in two highly contested elections with nothing like this being raised before," he said in a statement. "It is obvious that a vicious and coordinated smear campaign is being orchestrated against me."
In a second statement Friday, Watson's attorney Smith pushed back against Fairfax's denial.
In college, Watson went to Fairfax after she had been previously raped by someone else, Smith said. Later, after Fairfax allegedly raped Watson, they had an interaction outside a campus party, Smith said.
"She turned and asked: 'Why did you do it?' Mr. Fairfax answered: 'I knew that because of what happened to you last year, you’d be too afraid to say anything.' Mr. Fairfax actually used the prior rape of his 'friend' against her when he chose to rape her in a premeditated way," Smith said in the second statement.
Duke campus police have no criminal reports naming Fairfax, university spokesman Michael Schoenfeld said. Durham police spokesman Wil Glenn also said he couldn't find a report in the department's system on the 2000 allegation.
Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe on Friday said the accusations were "serious and credible" and he called on Fairfax to resign.
In a joint statement, five Democratic U.S. representatives from Virginia also asked Fairfax to step down, as did the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus.
"The past seven days have been some of the most painful we can remember. It has been very difficult to marshal the thoughts, let alone the words, to react," the statement read from Reps. Don Beyer, Abigail Spanberger, Elaine Luria, Jennifer Wexton and Gerry Connolly.
The black caucus said it believes "it is best for Lt. Governor Fairfax to step down from his position . . . While we believe that anyone accused of such a grievous and harmful act must receive the due process prescribed by the Constitution, we can't see it in the best interest of the Commonwealth of Virginia for (Fairfax) to remain in his role."
Patrick Hope, a Democrat and Virginia state delegate, said in a tweet he'd introduce articles of impeachment for Fairfax on Monday if the lieutenant governor doesn't resign.
If Fairfax, as well as Gov. Ralph Northam and the state's attorney general, Mark Herring, were to step down, Republican Kirk Cox, the speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates, would take over leading the state — complicating matters even more for Democrats.
Liberals have taken a zero-tolerance approach to racial transgressions and sexual assault, which was highlighted by the #MeToo movement. But ousting the top three Democrats in the state and leaving Republicans in charge seems to have left liberals in a no-win situation.
But the accusations continue to mount against the state's top three officials.
Earlier this week, Vanessa Tyson, who worked with Fairfax at the 2004 Democratic national convention in Boston, lodged claims that Fairfax forced her to perform oral sex in a hotel room at the time.
Fairfax on Wednesday called the encounter consensual.
"I wish her no harm or humiliation, nor do I seek to denigrate her or diminish her voice," the lieutenant governor said. "But I cannot agree with a description of events that I know is not true."
According to The New York Times, five people say Tyson, a professor at Scripps College in Claremont, California, told them about the assault over the past two years and that her account of the event has been consistent since going public.
Fairfax, according to the Times, said of the 2004 encounter: “We hit it off, she was very interested in me, and so eventually, at one point, we ended up going to my hotel room.”
Tyson said she decided to go public with her charges because of the prospects that Fairfax seemed likely to become the state's chief executive.
"I felt a jarring sense of both outrage and despair," Tyson said in a statement Wednesday.
Kaneedreck Adams, 40, told The Washington Post that Watson told her at Duke in spring 2000 that Fairfax raped her at a fraternity house.
"She said she couldn’t speak, but she was trying to get up and he kept pushing her down," Adams, who reportedly lived across from Watson, told the newspaper. "She said he knew that she didn’t like what was happening, but he kept pushing her down."
Adams described Fairfax, who was a year ahead of them in school, as a "nice sweet charming guy."
"We all knew he wanted to be in politics," she told the Post. "He had a reputation for being very friendly. Some of my friends, we called him sunshine."
The Post also reported that Watson emailed Milagros Joye Brown, a college friend, in 2016 as Brown invited former classmates to a fundraiser for Fairfax's lieutenant governor bid.
"Molly, Justin raped me in college and I don’t want to hear anything about him. Please, please, please remove me form any future emails about him please," Watson reportedly wrote in the Oct. 26, 2016 email.
The accusations against Fairfax came amid talks that he might be next in line to take over for Northam after a yearbook photo surfaced showing a man in blackface and another person wearing a Ku Klux Klan robe.
At first, Northam acknowledged he was in the photo and apologized. The following day, he denied either person was him, but admitted that he did dress in blackface at a 1984 dance contest in San Antonio for a Michael Jackson costume.
Herring, who is third in line to lead the state, also admitted this week that he, too, donned blackface in the 1980s.
The blackface controversies have forced Virginia, the capital of the Confederacy, to relive its racist roots, something that's happened far too frequently in the state.
Virginia was also the epicenter of protests over the removal of Confederate monuments and hosted a right-wing rally in 2017 in Charlottesville that turned deadly after a neo-Nazi drove his car into a crowd of counter-protesters.
Contributing: John Bacon and Doug Stanglin, USA TODAY
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b54e0e64834cd6ec5627502d7bf84464
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/08/presidential-declaration-national-emergency-donald-trump-border-wall-congress-oversight/2784488002/
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How congressional Democrats could fight a Trump wall national emergency declaration
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How congressional Democrats could fight a Trump wall national emergency declaration
Congress has never voted to overturn a presidential emergency in 44 years. But in 2005, it threatened to – and the president blinked.
After Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast in 2005, President George W. Bush declared a national emergency to do something Republicans had long wanted to do anyway: He suspended prevailing wage laws on federal contracts to rebuild the region.
Labor unions protested. Democrats signed on to a bill to rewrite the law. Even dozens of moderate Republicans asked Bush to reconsider.
But then a single congressman used a parliamentary maneuver – never attempted before or since – to challenge the underpinnings of the national emergency itself.
Bush backed down without even a vote.
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The largely forgotten story of Bush's capitulation explains why Republicans have advised President Donald Trump against bypassing Congress and invoking a national emergency to build a wall along the Mexican border.
In addition to raising legal questions – such a move would inevitably be challenged in court – a declaration would invite Congress to exercise its long-dormant power to revoke national emergencies.
And all it would take is one member of Congress to force the issue.
In 2005, that member was Rep. George Miller, a California lawmaker who was the top Democrat on the House Education and Labor Committee.
Calling Bush's decision "callous and misguided," Miller's first move was to try to amend the Davis-Bacon Act of 1931. That law sets the prevailing wage for federal contracts, but allows the president to grant waivers in times of national emergency.
But Democrats were in the minority, and while some Republicans were grumbling about Bush's move, they were unwilling to sign on to Miller's legislation – meaning it would never get to the House floor.
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So Miller changed tack. He dug up the National Emergencies Act of 1975, one in a series of post-Watergate reforms. It allowed Congress to terminate a presidential emergency by simple majority vote.
Republican leadership couldn't block the vote: Under the law, they had 15 business days to bring it out of committee and to the floor.
Miller introduced his resolution on Oct. 20,and a vote was scheduled for Nov. 8.
On Oct. 26, the Bush administration announced it would terminate the emergency effective Nov. 7.
Bush Labor Secretary Elaine Chao said the administration had re-examined the issue and discovered that it wouldn't save as much money as initially forecast. (Chao is now Trump's transportation secretary, and her husband is Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.)
Miller declared victory.
"Let me be clear," he told The New York Times. "The president is backing down today only because he had no other choice."
Mark Zuckerman, who was the Democratic staff director of the House Education and Labor Committee at the time, says all it took was the threat of a vote.
"It can be revealing when you make people vote on something," he says.
"We thought it was an unacceptable and inappropriate use of emergency powers, but we also wanted to check to see if there was really Republican support for something like this. I think it’s part of the genius of the procedure is that it tests sentiment on Capitol Hill for your unilateral idea."
The original intent of the 1975 law was to allow Congress a block a presidential emergency by simple majority vote. But in 1983, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the legislative veto. So now, any joint resolution by Congress to terminate an emergency can be vetoed by the president.
And McConnell said Trump could do exactly that.
"The president could win anyway by vetoing the bill and then trying to get enough votes to sustain it, so may ultimately be able to prevail on the national emergency alternative," McConnell told Fox News on Tuesday.
Still, some GOP senators are already expressing discomfort over such a vote, and have asked Trump this week – both publicly and privately – not to put them in that position.
"It's not my preferred choice," said Sen. John Kennedy, R-La.
"I hope he doesn't do it," said. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.
"It might be a – you know – a tough vote to win here in the Senate," said Sen. John Thune, R-S.D.
One concern is the precedent such a declaration would set.
"I think most Republicans will tell you that we really would like to find a way to avoid that type of a discussion if at all possible because this goes beyond just this president," Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., told CNN on Wednesday. "This goes on to future presidents and what they might decide to declare an emergency for."
Special report:America's perpetual state of emergency, from Jimmy Carter to Barack Obama
That was exactly what Congress expected when it voted overwhelmingly to pass the National Emergencies Act.
The law called for every emergency to be reviewed – and possibly voted on – every six months. But in 44 years, presidents have declared at least 60 national emergencies without Congress taking a single vote.
Thirty-one of those emergencies remain in place today.
More:A permanent emergency: Trump becomes third president to renew extraordinary post-9/11 powers
The use of emergency powers became so routine that the Obama administration said in 2015 that they were mere formalities – despite their boilerplate language that they're in response to an "unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security." And presidents seem to have ignored requirements that they update Congress on the costs of those emergencies.
More:The Obama White House claimed that national emergencies were just formalities
Liza Goitein, director of the national security program at the Brennan Center for Justice, has advocated reforms to presidential emergency powers.
"I think Congress has woken up to the idea that the process for declaring emergencies is too permissive," she says.
"This isn’t going to look good if the Republican Senate is voting to curtail the president's power. It’s going to split Republicans and force Republicans to take a vote they don’t want to take – and it may not go Trump's way."
Trump did not mention the national emergency in his State of the Union address Tuesday, but says he's still considering it. A national emergency could allow him to transfer unspent military construction funds toward a wall.
"I don't like to take things off the table," Trump told CBS in a pre-Super Bowl interview. "It's that alternative. It's national emergency, it's other things and, you know, there have been plenty national emergencies called."
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a938df6acb33c13a5bedf779803e1263
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/09/arizona-legislature-considers-declaring-porn-public-health-crisis/2828630002/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=usatodaycomnation-topstories
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Arizona pushes to declare porn a public health crisis
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Arizona pushes to declare porn a public health crisis
PHOENIX – Citing concerns about the proliferation of erotic images online and their "toxic" effect on behavior, Arizona lawmakers are pushing to declare pornography a public health crisis.
Republican state Rep. Michelle Udall introduced a measure that declares the crisis and states that porn "perpetuates a sexually toxic environment that damages all areas of our society."
“Like the tobacco industry, the pornography industry has created a public health crisis," Udall told lawmakers. "Pornography is used pervasively, even by minors."
Udall's proposal is largely symbolic and has no legal effect, but supporters say they hope it opens the door to new restrictions on porn.
Similar measures declaring a crisis have passed in at least 11 states, using similar text from model legislation written by the National Center on Sexual Exploitation. The group, formerly known as Morality in Media, contends porn is directly connected to other acts of exploitation.
Dems: Science lacking to show crisis
Arizona's resolution cleared its first hurdle in the state House of Representatives on Thursday, passing out of the House Committee on Health & Human Services on a 5-3-1 vote, with Republicans in support.
Democrats said while porn addiction is a problem, supporters don't have the scientific evidence necessary to show it has risen to the level of a "public health crisis."
"There are statements in here that seem hyperbolic and unproven," said Rep. Kelli Butler.“I just don’t think there’s necessarily the science to back up those claims."
She questioned why, if proponents are concerned about the sexual exploitation and health of minors, they aren't calling for better sex education in schools.
Arizona ranks fourth-lowest in the country for offering comprehensive sexual education in middle school, according to a 2016 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Bill supporters say women, kids at risk
Supporters contend that research shows pornography can be biologically addictive and can lead to extreme and violent sexual behaviors, as well as interest in child pornography.
"Potential detrimental effects on pornography users include toxic sexual behaviors, emotional, mental and medical illnesses and difficulty forming or maintaining intimate relationships," the measure states.
There are numerous conflicting studies about the affects of pornography viewership. Some studies document negative affects on relationships and addictive behavior.
But other researchers say there isn't evidence to show porn is addictive in the same way as alcohol or tobacco, though the perception of addiction can lead to psychological distress.
In some countries, instances of sexual assault declined after porn was legalized, leading some to hypothesize that it provides a safe outlet for sexual expression.
Udall's resolution outlines what she describes as the negative impacts of increasing pornography viewership:
Are more regulations next?
But a few lawmakers at Thursday's hearing questioned what the measure would do to address those problems given it's non-binding and wouldn't impose any new regulations.
“I don’t know how this bill can control the evils that it portrays," said GOP Rep. Jay Lawrence, who ultimately voted for the measure.
Supporters said the move alerts parents and educators to the gravity of the problem. They said the issue – unlike the morals-driven debate of decades past – has become a health crisis due to its availability online.
Dan Oakes, a Mesa-based therapist who treats porn addiction, testified that the bill might also "open the door" to new laws.
"I don’t disagree that the bill needs more teeth," he responded to Lawrence. "That is our goal."
Bill supporters didn't elaborate about what kinds of regulation they hope lawmakers will consider next. Courts in the United States have consistently held that its legal to consume porn; child pornography is already illegal.
The measure now faces a vote in the full House, where Republicans have a narrow majority. If it passes there, it must also be approved by the Senate. Resolutions do not require approval of the governor.
More:Iowa inmates sue to overturn state law banning pornography in prison
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ba3db679325d7e7d53e8527c7937464d
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/09/trump-beto-face-off-el-paso-dueling-rallies-near-border/2822324002/
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Trump, Beto to face off Monday in El Paso in dueling rallies near the border
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Trump, Beto to face off Monday in El Paso in dueling rallies near the border
EL PASO — If American politics has turned into a three-ring circus, this city in West Texas will hoist the Big Top on Monday, with President Donald Trump coming to rally for a border wall, Democratic wunderkind Beto O'Rourke leading a protest march and even the Trump Baby blimp putting in an appearance.
The Trump rally at the El Paso County Coliseum will come only four days before the possibility of either another government shutdown or a declaration of a national emergency over what the president deems a national-security crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border.
It also follows Trump's State of the Union comments in which he tried to use El Paso as an example of why the United States needs to construct a wall along the border.
Perched on the U.S.-Mexico border, the city has become the focal point for the contentious issue of immigration and the president's relentless push for a barrier.
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O’Rourke, fresh off an interview with Oprah Winfrey, said he sees Trump’s campaign rally as an opportunity for the city to take control of the narrative.
“I think the president’s decision to focus on El Paso and his horrible demonization and vilification of immigrants, specifically Mexican immigrants, and his desire to make us afraid of the border can work to our advantage,” he tells the El Paso Times. “In other words, as he comes down here and as he referred to El Paso in his State of the Union speech, the eyes of the country are literally on us and will be even more so on Monday.”
O'Rourke, whose skillful use of social media has made him a national figure and prolific fundraiser, plans to join a one-mile march past Trump's rally on Monday and speak across the street from the president at about the same time Monday evening.
“He’s offering us a chance to tell our story and we’re going to take that chance, all of us,” O'Rourke told the El Paso Times.
O'Rourke's camp described Monday's protest march as an effort to "show the country the reality of the border — a vibrant, safe, bi-national community that proudly celebrates its culture, history, diversity and status as a city of immigrants."
The president triggered local anger by alleging in his State of the Union address that El Paso "used to have extremely high" crime rate before a border fence was constructed and that the rate of crime dropped substantially after it was completed.
The statement quickly prompted blowback from local politicians and law-enforcement figures. Even Mayor Dee Margo, a Republican, insisted that El Paso was "never" among the nation's most dangerous cities.
Today’s fencing was largely constructed after the Secure Fence Act was adopted in 2006 under President George W. Bush.
Using Uniform Crime Reports from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the rate of violent crime in El Paso can be calculated by combining data reported by the El Paso County Sheriff's Office and the El Paso Police Department.
The rate of violent crime reached its peak in 1993, when more than 6,500 violent crimes were recorded.
Between 1996 and 2006, the number of violent crimes reported by law enforcement fell by more than 34 percent.
From 2006 to 2011 — two years before the fence was built to two years after — the number of violent crimes recorded in El Paso increased by 17 percent.
The issue also sparked a flood of memes on social media ridiculing the portrayal of El Paso as a once crime-infested border town.
One photo, posted on Twitter by local TV anchor Shelton Dodson, features a Mexican food dish from a popular local restaurant chain, Chico's Tacos, with the caption. "The Only violence in El Paso was when Chico's changed its cheese." Dodson posted the photo with its own headline: "Well, that was a very frightening time in our city's history."
O'Rourke, a local political rock star who represented El Paso in Congress before narrowly losing a bid to replace Republican Ted Cruz in the Senate, hammered Trump during his campaign over the wall in particular, and immigration.
Now, that he is on the verge of possibly entering a race for the White House, O'Rourke enters the fray with the same message.
The march, jointly organized by the Border Network for Human Rights and the Women's March El Paso, is being billed as a "March for Truth: Stop the Wall, Stop the Lies."
O'Rourke also planned to join Democratic Rep. Veronica Escobar, who succeeded him in Congress, and other activists on a conference call to denounce Trump's insistence on a border wall.
In an interview in New York this week with Oprah Winfrey, O'Rourke called Trump's push for a border wall a "racist response to a problem we don't have. It seeks emotionally to connect with us, with voters — to stoke anxiety and paranoia, to win power over 'the other' on the basis of lies that vilify people."
The Baby Trump blimp, meanwhile, will join the festivities by flying above the city depicting the president as an infant wearing a diaper.
Funding for the blimp, which was first set aloft in London during a Trump visit and has made several appearances since in the United States, was quickly raised this week.
The GofundMe goal of $3,500 was met within 14 hours, with 190 people chipping in.
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084af99b2186cea000693a5ff33cf0c0
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/10/blackface-shows-how-deeply-rooted-antiblack-racism-america/2816801002/
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Blackface in Virginia, other incidents show how deeply rooted anti-black racism is in America
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Blackface in Virginia, other incidents show how deeply rooted anti-black racism is in America
Coming at a time of heightened racial tensions, revelations about the past racist behavior by Virginia's governor, attorney general and a top state senator have touched a raw nerve.
Much of the public discussion has been focused on the individual. On their intention. Their remorse (or lack thereof). Their possible path to redemption.
That's where the discussion usually stops in a nation so deeply divided over race and privilege.
“Fundamentally people don’t understand the rootedness of anti-blackness in American culture,” says Jeannette Eileen Jones, associate professor of history and ethnic studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
A week after troubling images of a person wearing blackface and another in a Ku Klux Klan hood surfaced on the medical school yearbook page of Ralph Northam, the Democratic governor of Virginia, the firestorm in Virginia shows few signs of abating.
Attorney General Mark Herring also faces calls to resign after admitting he darkened his face in college to dress up as an African-American performer he admired. Senate Majority Leader Thomas Norment, one of Virginia's most powerful Republicans, defended his role editing a college yearbook that featured racist words and images.
All three offered apologies, but none sees himself as racist.
Northam said he wore blackface to dress as Michael Jackson for a dance contest in 1984, and at a news conference, he appeared on the verge of demonstrating the moonwalk before being restrained by his wife. Norment told The Virginian-Pilot that he was just one of seven yearbook editors.
“I was kind of the first sergeant,” he said. “I'm still culpable, but it is by association with a team that produced that yearbook with those photos.”
In Florida, Michael Ertel, the Republican secretary of state, resigned the same day that photos from a Halloween party in 2005 showing him in blackface mocking survivors of Hurricane Katrina were made public. He said he is a better man today and blamed his troubles on someone from his past exacting revenge.
Promoting a new movie last week, Hollywood actor Liam Neeson, star of the "Taken" franchise, confessed that 40 years ago, he armed himself with a bludgeon and angrily roamed the streets in search of a black man to avenge a friend’s sexual assault. He insisted in a subsequent interview that he is not racist.
Scholars of critical race theory say that being white grants these men the privilege to judge for themselves whether they've displayed contempt or bias toward another race.
"That's like us imagining that an individual has the ability to diagnose a disease," says Ibram X. Kendi, founding director of the Antiracist Research and Policy Center at American University and author of “Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America.” “People are not trained to diagnose their own racism. People are only trained to deny their own racism."
'New norms'
In a fraught political climate, anti-black incidents are on the rise. Reported hate crimes in America increased 17 percent last year, according to the FBI, the third straight year that such crimes increased. Of the more than 7,000 incidents reported last year, 2,013 targeted African-Americans.
Incidents of racial bullying in K-12 schools are also growing. Last April, the Utah chapter of the NAACP called for schools to address a growing number of incidents in which white students used racial slurs against black students. A student in Los Angeles and another in Missouri turned up at school in KKK costumes for school projects last year.
More:Ralph Northam was far from alone: Why blackface keeps coming up
More:Director Spike Lee boycotts Gucci, Prada brands over blackface fashion
John Powell, who leads the UC-Berkeley Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society, draws a straight line to the inflammatory rhetoric and polices of the Trump administration.
"What used to be at the fringe is becoming mainstream, and it's creating new norms,” he says. “That's why we've seen an uptick in racist incidents and more subtle expressions of racism and racial dominance.”
People of all races harbor racist ideas and beliefs, scholars say, but they are so immersed in a system that systematically favors whites, they are unable to distinguish between what’s racist and what’s not.
Some people reject the idea that blackface – a relic of minstrelsy, popular entertainment from the 19th century rooted in the mimicry and mocking of plantation slaves – is racist.
A majority of Americans – 56 percent – and 88 percent of Democrats say the practice is unacceptable for a white person, but 29 percent of Republicans and 30 percent of Trump voters disagree, according to a survey from The Economist/YouGov.
Beyond blackface
Though important, the focus on blatant and egregious expressions of racism – burning crosses, the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, hurling racial epithets – draws needed attention away from the more insidious forms of racism and structural inequities that plague American society, says Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, a Duke University sociology professor.
“We notice blackface. We notice someone wearing a white hood or using the N-word, because those belong to a racist past," says Bonilla-Silva, author of “Racism without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in America.”
What often isn't discussed in mainstream debates, he says, are the everyday conditions that reinforce racial inequality: African-Americans being racially profiled in stores or by the police, being turned down for jobs or apartments or facing discrimination when buying a home or a car.
“This moment could allow for a conversation about how we all participate in various ways in the racist order, but it can also then make invisible the most prevalent forms of racial exclusion, discrimination and thinking," Bonilla-Silva says.
Some see each new leaked photo or video as an opportunity to raise awareness of the ugly history of blackface.
In October, Megyn Kelly was condemned by her then-NBC colleagues for wondering aloud on air why it was inappropriate for white people to dress in blackface on Halloween. More recent incidents – a photograph of “The View” co-host Joy Behar taken at a Halloween party when she was 29 dressed up as “a beautiful African woman” and Gucci yanking a $899 black balaclava sweater that covered the face with a mouth opening showing lips outlined in bright red that some said resembled blackface – also sparked outrage.
"I think we will see some good come out of these latest revelations. People will be more educated," says Mia Moody-Ramirez, a Baylor University professor and author of “From Blackface to Black Twitter.” "They can no longer argue they didn't know that it is not appropriate to put on makeup to darken their face or change their hair texture to look like their favorite actor or celebrity. That's going to be the positive outcome of this. They will no longer have that excuse."
More:NAACP president: Dehumanizing African-Americans with blackface has real consequences
More:Virginia's black caucus, House Dems, in go-slow move, call for Ralph Northam's ouster. But governor stays silent
A deeper examination of the undercurrents of privilege and race in American society is unlikely to follow, says George Yancy, a professor of philosophy at Emory University and author of "Backlash: What Happens When We Talk Honestly about Racism in America."
“The representation of blackness as dangerous, inferior, as buffoonery and aesthetically ugly continues to exist in every nook and cranny of white America,” he says. “Until white Americans develop the stomach, the capacity to begin to admit the ways in which racism continues to exist in them, both consciously and unconsciously, this moment will be just another racist incident we talk about for about a week and then move on.”
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93532bd624be06c319a9909df5c2792b
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/11/washington-vaccine-bill-protest-amid-measles-outbreak/2835502002/
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Hundreds protest against Washington state vaccine bill that would require measles shots
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Hundreds protest against Washington state vaccine bill that would require measles shots
OLYMPIA, Wash. — Amid a measles outbreak that has sickened more than 50 people in the Pacific Northwest, Washington lawmakers heard testimony Friday on a bill that would remove parents’ ability to claim a personal or philosophical exemption to opt their school-age children out of the combined measles, mumps and rubella vaccine.
Hundreds of people opposed to the measure lined up more than an hour before the start of the hearing before the House Health Care and Wellness Committee, many wearing stickers with the bill number, HB 1638, within a crossed out circle.
The bill comes as health officials have reported at least 52 known cases in Washington state and four in Oregon. Most of the Washington cases are concentrated in Clark County, just north of Portland, Oregon. The measure is sponsored by a lawmaker from that region, Republican Rep. Paul Harris of Vancouver, and has the support of the state medical association and Gov. Jay Inslee. Inslee declared a state of emergency last month.
Harris said people in his area are “concerned about our community, its immunity and the community safety.”
The measure does allow proof of disease immunity through laboratory evidence or history of disease to substitute for immunization.
More:Read Roald Dahl's heartbreaking letter on daughter's measles death
Currently, the state allows school-vaccination exemptions for children at public or private schools or licensed day-care centers based on medical, religious and personal or philosophical beliefs. Unless an exemption is claimed, a child is required to be vaccinated against or show proof of acquired immunity of nearly a dozen diseases — including polio, whooping cough and mumps — before they can attend school or a child care center.
John Wiesman, the secretary of the state Department of Health, said the effort to limit exemptions is “about safe schools and protecting vulnerable children.”
Wiesman told the panel that compared to other outbreaks in the state in the past decade, “the outbreak we are dealing with right now is larger and infecting people faster than recent history.”
Opponents testifying against the bill included environmental activist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who questioned safety standards around vaccines.
Susie Corgan, with Informed Choice Washington, said after the hearing that parents who are worried about their children having adverse reactions to vaccines have a right to philosophical exemptions.
“Where there is risk, there must be choice, and there is risk with this vaccine as there is with any other medical procedure,” she said.
Four percent of Washington secondary school students have non-medical vaccine exemptions, according to the state Department of Health. Of those, 3.7 percent of the exemptions are personal, with the remainder being religious exemptions. In Clark County, 6.7 percent of kindergartners had a non-medical exemption for the 2017-18 school year, according to health officials.
Washington is among 17 states, including Oregon, that allow some type of non-medical exemption for vaccines for “personal, moral or other beliefs,” according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
More:What to know about the measles outbreak, affecting over 50 in Washington anti-vaccination hot spot
Legislation introduced in Washington state in 2015 that would have removed the personal or philosophical belief allowance for an exemption to childhood vaccines never made it to the House floor for a vote after it faced stiff opposition.
Both the WSMA and Inslee also support a broader bill that was introduced in the Senate earlier this week. That measure, which has not yet been scheduled for a hearing, would not allow personal or philosophical exemptions to be granted for any required school vaccinations.
California removed personal belief vaccine exemptions for children in both public and private schools in 2015, after a measles outbreak at Disneyland sickened 147 people and spread across the U.S. and into Canada. Vermont also abandoned its personal exemption in 2015.
Follow Ashley May on Twitter: @AshleyMayTweets
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15b48343f55c7865fe734d7db059b42e
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/12/confederate-monuments-leaders-cities-removal-alternatives-civil-rights-groups/2525178002/
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Blocked from taking Confederate statues down, Atlanta, Birmingham, Memphis try other ideas
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Blocked from taking Confederate statues down, Atlanta, Birmingham, Memphis try other ideas
ATLANTA – The Confederate soldier presides over Piedmont Park, a lonely but still heroic figure. The Civil War has ended; now an angel is guiding him to lay down his rifle.
Atlanta's Peace Monument, erected in 1911, honors the Peace Mission led by Southerners to reconcile with the North after America's deadliest conflict.
What's missing is the reason that Confederate leaders seceded from the United States and attacked it in the first place: to preserve and extend the enslavement of African-Americans. The reconciliation it depicts is between the whites of the South and the whites of the North – it has nothing to say about black Americans, their experience with slavery, or their struggle for equality and justice.
For that reason, the Peace Monument in recent years has been the target of protests and vandalism.
And it's why civil rights leaders and public officials in this majority-black city now want it removed.
"We've allowed the ones who lost the war to write the narrative," said the Rev. Tim McDonald, pastor of First Iconium Baptist Church. "It's not good for our children. It's not good for our culture."
But there's one obstacle to taking the statue down: state law.
As public opposition to symbols of the Confederacy has grown, Georgia is one of several states that has moved in recent years to protect them. New laws throughout the South are blocking local governments from removing statues, monuments and other markers from public view.
Now leaders in Atlanta are considering an alternative: adding signs to the Peace Monument to explain that the Peace Mission excluded African-Americans – 200,000 of whom fought in the war. Three other city-owned memorials – the Peachtree Battle monument, the Confederate Obelisk and the Lion of the Confederacy – would also be "contextualized."
"Don’t leave them uncontested," says Sheffield Hale, president and CEO of the Atlanta History Center. "If you want to leave them, you'd better tell the truth about them."
Some say new signs aren't enough. Heidi Beirich is director of the intelligence project at the Southern Poverty Law Center.
"A plaque standing next to something that massive and already offensive can’t really undo the harm to citizens who are being exposed to it," she said. "It’s very, very hard to write history correctly about what happened in the Confederacy and in the South when you’re facing monuments."
It's the next phase in the national debate over monuments to the Confederacy: What can local officials do when the state says they can't take them down?
Communities across the South have tried a range of approaches.
► The City of Birmingham, Alabama, covered its Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument with plastic in 2017 and built a plywood enclosure around it. The state's attorney general sued, citing the Alabama Memorial Preservation Act, approved that year. But a state judge threw the law out last month, saying it infringed on Birmingham's "right to speak for itself."
► City leaders in Memphis wanted to remove statues of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest and Capt. J. Harvey Mathes from two public parks. Under the Tennessee Heritage Protection Act, they were required to get a waiver from the state historical commission. When the commission rejected their request, they came up with a different solution: They sold the parks to a nonprofit, which took the statues down.
► Protesters at the University of North Carolina took matters into their own hands last August, toppling a statue of a Confederate soldier that had stood on campus for more than a century. State law prohibits the university from moving "Silent Sam" to another jurisdiction; some officials say the law requires them to restore the statue to its pedestal. The university's board of trustees is due to report its options next month.
Officials in New Orleans, Baltimore and other cities, unrestrained by state laws, have taken down Confederate monuments.
Each state gets to memorialize two figures in Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol. In recent years, some states have replaced Confederate figures with civil rights leaders or other notable figures.
Alabama replaced a statue of Confederate Lt. Col. Jabez Lamar Monroe Curry with one of writer and activist Helen Keller. Florida replaced Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith with educator Mary McLeod Bethune.
More:Controversial Confederate statues remain in U.S. Capitol despite being removed elsewhere
More:Confederate memorials turn up faster than they can be removed
More:Virginia school changes name from Confederate leader to Barack Obama
In some places, those moves have drawn opposition. The Sons of Confederate Veterans has filed lawsuits over the removal of memorials.
Walter D. Kennedy, the organization's chief of heritage operations, says the soldiers and sailors whom the monuments memorialize made honorable contributions to the Confederacy. The public, he says, should look beyond slavery and white supremacy.
"Heroes are not people that are flawless," Kennedy said. "We look at our history and we point to the positive things in their life."
Confederate memorials – and flags and place names – have stoked controversy since they began to proliferate a century ago.
The debated heated up in 2015, when a white supremacist murdered nine black church members in Charleston, South Carolina. Dylann Roof had shared racist views and posed on social media with a Confederate battle flag.
The deadly 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, was ostensibly sparked by a proposal to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from a public park.
The rally, and the murder of demonstrator Heather Heyer, prompted other communities – including Baltimore and Birmingham – to take action against their own memorials.
The Georgia law dates to 2001, when then-Gov. Roy Barnes wanted to redesign the state flag. Its close resemblance to a Confederate battle flag was drawing criticism both inside and out of Georgia, threatening tourism and other business.
Lawmakers, split on the redesign, reached a compromise: The state would get a new flag, but prohibit the removal of Confederate memorials from public spaces.
The controversy didn't go away.
State Rep. Renitta Shannon, a Democrat from the Atlanta suburbs, introduced legislation last month that would prohibit the display of Confederate monuments in public places outside museums and battlefields. It also would bar the use of taxpayer dollars to maintain the monuments.
"These are widely recognized symbols of of hate, and it symbolizes a time when black folks were second-class citizens in this nation," Shannon told USA TODAY. "This bill is about restoring the dignity of black taxpayers."
Shannon said her bill has not received a committee hearing in the Republican-led Georgia House of Representatives.
State Sen. Jeff Mullis, a Republican from northwestern Georgia, introduced legislation that would increase protections of monuments and require anyone who vandalizes them to pay for the damage.
The bill was passed by the state Senate last week and is now headed to the House Rules Committee.
“We need to calm down and respect the wishes of our previous ancestors of whatever kind of monument their city thought was important at that time,” Mullis told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
He said his legislation would "apply to all government monuments, not just ones of a specific nature."
“This legislation is about protecting and respecting the history of Georgia," he said.
The oldest Confederate monuments date to the end of the Civil War in 1865. The earliest were erected in cemeteries to honor the dead.
But in the first decades of the 20th century – the era of Jim Crow – the United Daughters of the Confederacy launched a building campaign, encouraging and sponsoring memorials across the South and beyond.
These monuments promoted the revisionist Lost Cause view of the Confederacy: The war wasn't about slavery so much as states' rights; Confederate soldiers were heroes defending their families and homes.
Duke University scholar Tim Tyson has written extensively about the memorials. He says they don't teach history – they rewrite it.
Tyson speaks of the 1913 dedication ceremony for Silent Sam, at which industrialist Julian Carr boasted of whipping an enslaved black woman.
"I horse-whipped a negro wench until her skirts hung in shreds," Carr told the crowd. He called it a "pleasing duty."
“Putting (Silent Sam) in a public place is not commemorative, it's celebratory," Tyson said. "The notion that this teaches history is just preposterous.”
NAACP leaders in Atlanta and Georgia launched a campaign in January to remove all Confederate symbols across the state.
They called on lawmakers to give individual communities discretion to take down statues. They say they would prefer to see them in graveyards or museums with their historical context.
“We are issuing a directive to our elected officials," said Gerald Griggs of the Georgia State Conference NAACP. "It’s time to bring the country together by removing these vestiges of the past."
Targets include the massive bas-relief at Stone Mountain, the "Mount Rushmore of the South."
The 1½-acre carving, the largest of its kind in the world, depicts Davis, Lee and Gen. Stonewall Jackson. Fifteen white men chose the site in 1915 to establish the second Ku Klux Klan. The Klan returned to burn a cross there each Labor Day for decades.
The Atlanta proposal dates to 2017, when then-Mayor Kasim Reed appointed a committee to study what to do with the city's Confederate monuments. Hale, of the Atlanta History Center, co-chaired the panel.
The Atlanta City Council is expected to vote on the measure soon.
Atlanta Councilwoman Natalyn Archibong said the signs would honor history while also sending a message that slavery and racism shouldn't be repeated.
“I do think it starts with a conversation, an unpacking of how we got here and where do we want to go," Archibong said.
Last year, the city renamed Confederate Avenue. Its new name is United Avenue.
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790596ad56fd8c61d86dba5dab7737a7
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/13/california-rail-los-angeles-san-francisco-abandoned-newsom/2856819002/
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California governor abandons $77 billion high-speed train between LA and San Francisco
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California governor abandons $77 billion high-speed train between LA and San Francisco
VISALIA, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom has announced that he’s abandoning a plan to build a high-speed rail line between Los Angeles and San Francisco.
The project's cost has ballooned to $77 billion.
“Let’s be real,” Newsom said in his first State of the State address on Tuesday. “The current project, as planned, would cost too much and respectfully take too long. There’s been too little oversight and not enough transparency.”
Newsom, though, said he wants to finish construction already underway on a segment of the high-speed train through the Central Valley. The project would connect a 119-mile stretch from Merced to Bakersfield.
“I know that some critics are going to say, ‘Well, that’s a train to nowhere.’ But I think that’s wrong and I think that’s offensive,” Newsom said. “It’s about economic transformation. It’s about unlocking the enormous potential of the Valley.”
He’s also replacing former Gov. Jerry Brown’s head of the state board that oversees the project and pledged more accountability for contractors that run over on costs.
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More:Newsom attacks Trump in State of the State: California will not be part of 'political theater'
Assemblyman Devon Mathis has, on many occasions, spoken out against the costly project. This week, he echoed his message to constituents.
“I feel it’s a little silly to continue this boondoggle of a project to just keep federal funding from returning to President Trump," Mathis said. "Now we have a train from Merced to Bakersfield; That was not what was sold to the voters. I’d ask for my money back if I was them.”
The Kings/Tulare high-speed rail station will be just a few miles from the Tulare County line.
More:Report: Add $1.6 billion to high-speed rail in the Central Valley
More:Gubler says Mathis is 'ignorant' and 'incompetent' over high-speed rail
The governor hopes the project will revitalize the economically depressed region of the state.
"Merced, Fresno, Bakersfield and communities in between are more dynamic than many realize," Newsom said. "The Valley may be known around the world for agriculture, but there is another story ready to be told."
Newly elected state Sen. Melissa Hurtado, who represents Kings County and a portion of Tulare County, is backing the governor's announcement.
"I respect the decision by California voters on the high-speed rail," she said. "Moreover, I applaud the governor’s effort to bring transparency and accountability to the HSR project."
High-Speed Rail Authority officials say they also welcome Newsom's new direction.
“We are eager to meet this challenge and expand the project’s economic impact in the Central Valley," said Brian Kelly, California High-Speed Rail Authority CEO. "Importantly, he also reaffirmed our commitment to complete the environmental work statewide, to meet our 'bookend' investments in the Bay Area and Los Angeles and to pursue additional federal and private funding for future project expansion."
In December, the authority released 2018 highlights that included the hiring of the 2,000th construction worker in the Central Valley.
Despite the progress, State Auditor Elaine Howle released a scathing audit on the rail's overall mismanagement.
Rushed construction and poor management cost the rail authority $600 million in budget overruns, according to the audit.
The 87-page audit also found that the authority's decision to start construction in 2013, before it had secured necessary property and utility clearances, contributed to the overruns.
It could cost another $1.6 billion to complete Central Valley segments alone, Howle's report found. That would bring the total for the initial track to $10.6 billion, about 75 percent higher than the original $6 billion estimate.
Newsom has laid out his vision for California twice already, in his inaugural address and through his first crack at the state budget. He spent his first month in office traveling to different parts of the state promoting his ideas on housing, juvenile justice and the environment.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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6fe94030270bb578b785ce098c0ba401
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/13/el-chapo-guzman-likely-supermax-prison-colorado-known-adx/2857116002/
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'El Chapo' escaped from two prisons. This time, he’s probably headed to the 'Alcatraz of the Rockies'
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'El Chapo' escaped from two prisons. This time, he’s probably headed to the 'Alcatraz of the Rockies'
Detaining Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman for the rest of his life won't be easy. He escaped from two high-security Mexican prisons.
That's why experts said the kingpin, who was convicted Tuesday of drug trafficking, is probably headed to the federal government's "Supermax" prison in Florence, Colorado.
The facility is known as ADX for "administrative maximum" – a prison so remote and protected that it has earned the nickname the "Alcatraz of the Rockies."
“El Chapo fits the bill perfectly,” Cameron Lindsay, who served as a warden in three federal lockups, including the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, told the Associated Press. “I’d be absolutely shocked if he’s not sent to the ADX.”
El Chapo's fellow inmates at ADX would include Unabomber Ted Kaczynski, Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, Sept. 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui and Oklahoma City bombing accomplice Terry Nichols.
More:Now that he's been convicted of all counts, what's next for El Chapo?
Although federal authorities have not publicly said where El Chapo will be sent, U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue said Thursday Guzman faces "a sentence from which there is no escape and no return."
El Chapo's escapes
Guzman escaped for the first time in 2001, when he was smuggled out of a top-security Mexican prison in a laundry basket.
His most famous escape came in 2015, when he broke out of the maximum-security Altiplano prison in central Mexico. After working with accomplices for weeks, he slipped into a hatch beneath his shower and drove a waiting motorcycle through a mile-long tunnel dug underground.
Start the day smarter:Get USA TODAY's Daily Briefing in your inbox
'High-tech version of hell'
Even considering El Chapo's history and his vast network of accomplices, escaping from Supermax is almost impossible.
The notorious prison, in an old mining town two hours south of Denver, is surrounded by razor-wired fences, gun towers, armed patrols and attack dogs.
In an interview with The Boston Globe, a former prisoner called Supermax a “high-tech version of hell, designed to shut down all sensory perception.”
Prisoners often spend years in solitary confinement and can go days without words spoken to them, according to an Amnesty International report. Although they have access to a television, their only look into the world outside is through one 4-inch window in their 7-by-12-foot cells. The window's design prevents prisoners from even seeing where in the facility they might be housed.
More:Ted Cruz says billions in assets tied to 'El Chapo' should fund the border wall
All meals are eaten in the solitude of a prisoner's cell, and the cells contain toilets. The prison holds approximately 400 inmates, and many are confined to solitude for 23 hours a day.
“If ever there were an escape-proof prison, it’s the facility at Florence,” Burl Cain, the former warden of the maximum-security Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, told the AP. “It’s the prison of all prisons.”
Prisoners at Supermax can't touch any visitors and are separated by a thick plexiglass screen.
“Other than when being placed in restraints and escorted by guards, prisoners may spend years without touching another human being,” the Amnesty International report said.
Contributing: Associated Press
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b3ef5659ec7dfd41652bc00d23a990fe
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/13/valentines-day-why-heart-icon-looks-nothing-like-human-organ/2811839002/
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The heart icon looks nothing like a human heart. Here’s why.
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The heart icon looks nothing like a human heart. Here’s why.
Sweethearts Candy may be gone this Valentine's Day, but that shape – you know the one! – is everywhere. The iconic symbol of love looks nothing like the human organ. Why? Blame Aristotle, or maybe a plant.
The mystery of how the heart icon achieved its shape likely began in the thirteenth or fourteenth century, scholars say.
Aristotle, the ancient Greek philosopher and scientist, wrongly believed the human heart had three cavities. In fact, the heart has four chambers that pump oxygen-rich blood in and out.
Pierre Vinken, who authored The Shape of the Heart, wrote that anatomists illustrating Aristotle’s mistaken notion of what a human heart looked like might have contributed to the shape.
By the time the anatomical error was corrected in the sixteenth century, the icon was so popular, the image stuck, Vinken wrote.
More:Mother nature's valentine: A heart-shaped island seen from space
Another possible theory includes the heart shape mirroring the seedpods of an ancient type of silphium plant that acted as an early form of birth control in the Greek colony Cyrene.
Follow Lilly Price on Twitter: @lillianmprice
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3c9335156dbd4932cdf68b9f44795e2a
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/14/kansas-boys-give-flowers-every-girl-school-valentines-day/2875487002/
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School boys ‘wanted every young lady to feel special.’ So they gave them all Valentine’s Day flowers
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School boys ‘wanted every young lady to feel special.’ So they gave them all Valentine’s Day flowers
A group of middle school boys in Kansas made sure Valentine's Day was special for every girl in their school: They gave all of them a flower.
Photos posted to social media on Thursday by Summit Trail Middle School in Olathe, Kansas, show the grinning boys holding a bucket of bright pink carnations. Dozens of girls are also pictured posing with their flowers.
The boys' generosity was a carefully planned effort, according to the school's principal. Sarah Guerrero told USA TODAY on Thursday that one of boys approached her with the idea a few weeks ago.
Tristan Valentine, an eighth-grader, wanted to do something special for Valentine's Day, Guerrero said. “He wanted every young lady to feel special that day and accepted.”
Valentine and two other boys arranged the funding and used some of their own money to buy the flowers, according to Guerrero.
They carefully planned how they would distribute the gifts at various school doors on Valentine's Day, doing their best to make sure no one was skipped. They distributed the flowers with words of encouragement, she said.
“Happy Valentine's Day”
“Hope you feel special today”
They even gave the male staff members carnations, Guerrero said.
Photos:Valentine's Day celebrated around the world
Jan. 30:Father and son “let it go” with flawless dance moves
In total about 270 girls and 70 staff members were given flowers. To some, it was a touching moment.
Guerrero said one girl approached her with the pink carnation in her hair. She told the principal that at her old school, she used to hate Valentines day because she wouldn't get presents.
The experience made Guerrero feel like the school, which is in its first year, has built a sense of community. It made her feel as if the school has become a family, she said.
Valentine was joined by Kyan Rice, a seventh-grader, and Lincoln Holmes, a sixth-grader, Guerrero said.
And many other boys wished they had thought of the idea, the principal said.
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eb01cef0250c083ec9cbb7abb93f831c
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/14/missouri-man-bound-dog-tape-left-ditch-police-say/2877640002/
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Man bound dog with duct tape, threw it into ditch to freeze, police say
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Man bound dog with duct tape, threw it into ditch to freeze, police say
A Missouri man is facing animal abuse and armed criminal action charges after allegedly binding a dachshund with tape and throwing it into a ditch during bitterly cold weather.
Paul Garcia, 39, allegedly wrapped the dog's legs and muzzle with electrical and duct tape, a Thursday release from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office says. Garcia allegedly threw the dog from a stopped vehicle into a ditch.
A deputy rescued the dog after approximately 12 hours, police say. Rescuers have named the dachshund Jimmy.
Sheriff Dave Marshak told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that temperatures before the dog was rescued were in the teens. The dog is not owned by Garcia, sheriff’s office spokesman Grant Bissell told the newspaper.
A photo posted to Facebook by the sheriff's office shows Jimmy's condition after being rescued. "He was cold, starving and may have had a concussion," the caption reads.
A later post shows that Jimmy's condition has improved after being rescued — the clip shows the dachshund playing with rescuers and wagging its tail.
Garcia is jailed on $50,000 bond.
Contributing: The Associated Press
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8fbbf0b4fbddcff0e92803adc9a9e32b
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/14/parkland-school-shooting-anniversary-remembers-17-lives-lost-florida/2877834002/
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Parkland remembers 17 lives lost one year ago, hopes for a safer future
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Parkland remembers 17 lives lost one year ago, hopes for a safer future
PARKLAND, Fla. – Valentine's Day was far from the minds of those Marjory Stoneman Douglas High students who arrived at school Thursday morning.
They wore "MSD Strong" maroon attire instead of pinks and reds. The flowers they brought weren't for their significant others but for the memorial garden growing in front of the school in Parkland.
The garden – "Project Grow Love" – is a peaceful place where flowers bloom, candles burn and colorful rocks display words such as: "Parkland heals together" and "Love always heals."
Throughout the morning, as students worked on community service projects on campus, people of all backgrounds visited the garden to pay their respects.
Jay Hamm, of Jupiter, brought his therapy dogs – Chibby Choo and K Poppy – to cheer up students.
Several men in red sweaters, who call themselves Guardian Angels, kept a watchful eye as families visited the site, where only a year ago lay a memorial for each of the 17 – students and teachers – who died in the shooting attack at the school Feb. 14, 2018.
"We've been here since day one," said David Clemente, who goes by the name "Cobra."
"We remain in the background and are a big supporter of the community and in keeping the students safe and alive," he said.
Schools superintendent, grieving mom talk
Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie held a news conference Thursday morning in front of the school where there was a large police presence.
Runcie addressed the progress made to increase school security districtwide this past year. Security camera and intercom systems have been updated. At Marjory Stoneman Douglas, the district doubled security staff from nine to 18, added more than 100 security cameras, and replaced door-locking mechanisms.
"It's an ongoing effort and the top priority for us to make our schools as safe as possible for our students and families," Runcie said.
One day before the first anniversary of the shooting, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called for a statewide grand jury to investigate the Broward County school system and other districts for their handling of school safety.
School attendance was lower than usual Thursday. Stoneman Douglas scheduled a “day of service and love.” Teachers organized community service projects on-campus, but attendance was voluntary.
"We gave our students and families the opportunity to spend the day in the manner in which they wanted," Runcie said.
Linda Beigel Schulman spent her's speaking at the same press conference prior to the superintendent about her son, Scott Beigel. He's the geography teacher who died a hero one year ago when he saved students by letting them into his locked classroom.
"Today never really had to happen. I believe reasonable gun control legislation must be passed in all states," Schulman said.
She says she isn't a politician and has no plans to run for any office. She's just a mother who wants to honor her son's life and this is the best way she knows how.
"I don't want anyone to stand in my shoes," Schulman said.
More:1 year after carnage in Parkland, where key figures are now
More:After Parkland shooting: A day-by-day fight over guns in America
She hopes that by publicly advocating for tighter gun control legislation, she'll get people to act.
"We can talk and explain but you have to listen to us and you have to help us," she told reporters. "I can't bring Scott back... I'm going to make sure that in his honor and his legacy, we save lives. I want children to go to school... where there's a resource officer, and the school is safe, not like a prison, but safe."
People gather at Temple of Time
In Coral Springs, a peaceful, wooden temple stands out among government buildings and city traffic. Only a 10-minute drive from the school, the towering work of art named the Temple of Time officially opened on Valentine’s Day.
It's meant to serve as a safe haven for those still grieving in the brokenhearted community.
Artist David Best is behind the design.
Best, who hails from California, built his first temple 19 years ago in Nevada. He’s since created more than a dozen, from Nepal to Ireland. These temples have traditionally been set ablaze in a ceremonial fire after a certain time. The Coral Springs temple will meet the same fate come May.
The purpose of burning it down, Best said, is to cast off the demons of pain and sorrow.
More than 500 volunteers, mostly local, rolled up their sleeves to build the temple in a short period of time.
Wayne Sanders, 70, came all the way from San Francisco to help. An engineer, he's helped Best build several temples worldwide. What struck him most about this area was the community outreach.
"It's the fastest temple we've built. Everyone helped," Sanders said.
At 10:17 a.m., the time the local school district set to commemorate the 17 lives lost on Feb. 14, 2018, people bowed their heads for a moment of silence.
Then people embraced. A little girl wiped the tears from her mother's face. People left messages of pain and love on the walls. A young boy placed a tiny piece of wood on a shrine. On it, he wrote heartfelt words. Others did the same. The blocks were offered at the temple. Some left more sentimental items like stuffed bears, flowers and even a baseball cap.
Ruth and George Graham, seasonal residents from New York, visited the temple Thursday. They saw the temple quickly come to life in their Florida town.
"It's amazing and gorgeous," said Ruth Graham, 75.
"It's very poignant," said her 79-year-old husband.
Dozens of people came and went throughout the afternoon to reflect and remember. Others took the gathering place as an opportunity to urge others to take action.
Bill Hilsenrath, 74, and his wife, Judy, helped pass out petitions to get a constitutional amendment on the Florida ballot in 2020 that would ban the sale of assault weapons, an initiative pushed by family members of victims and by David Hogg, now a Marjory Stoneman Douglas graduate, who became one of the most prominent young figures in the gun violence prevention movement.
"We had to do something and this is what we can do," Bill Hilsenrath said. He has five grandchildren and all this, he said, is for them.
Poetry, vigil inspire hope, healing
A tall white statue of Joaquin Oliver, one of the 17 people killed in the Parkland shooting, stood out from the sea of maroon. The statue, brought there by his family and friends, showed Joaquin wearing his signature beanie and holding a flower.
Students and parents surrounded the statue as 10 poets shared their thoughts, feelings and kind words to those they’ve lost.
One poet said: “Our empty seats will never be filled and our empty hearts will never be filled.”
Another: “I want change.”
After the poetry reading, many families drove or walked to Pine Trails Park in Parkland for an interfaith ceremony later in the evening.
The cool evening breeze swept through the open fields as families gathered on the grass and near the amphitheater or waited in a long line that moved through a collection of 17 unique art panels dedicated to the 17 victims. The outdoor exhibit was inspired by the thousands of paper hearts with thoughtful messages sent to HandsOn Broward from people worldwide after the mass shooting.
Governor DeSantis and his wife arrived minutes before the interfaith ceremony began. While he didn't speak onstage, there were a handful of leaders from all faiths who spoke and guided the audience in prayer, saying that love will conquer all.
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6283b43c72e9179eae8d3580500e320d
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/15/ciudad-juarez-mexico-el-paso-border-security-donald-trump-violence/2878082002/
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As Trump demands a wall, violence returns to Texas border in Ciudad Juárez
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As Trump demands a wall, violence returns to Texas border in Ciudad Juárez
CIUDAD JUÁREZ, Mexico – Julián Cardona remembers the dark days of this border city, when bodies littered downtown streets and friends were kidnapped or fled north to the U.S.
That was a decade ago, when feuding cartels made Ciudad Juárez one of the murder capitals of the world.
Today, Cardona, a Mexican photographer who has documented much of the last decade’s carnage, says the city is experiencing a revival: violence persists, but mostly between local drug gangs, kidnappings are rare and, most notably, people are no longer afraid to leave their homes.
“Not everyone’s talking about crime … There’s more people out on the street,” he said recently while enjoying a breakfast of fried eggs and coffee in a café near downtown. “Things have definitely improved.”
Ciudad Juárez, a city of 1.4 million people, sits across the Rio Grande from El Paso, Texas, where President Donald Trump led chants of “Finish that Wall!” at a rally Monday of more than 6,000 supporters, and warned of dangers lurking beyond the border. Days later, Trump declared a national emergency to access billions of dollars to pay for his long-promised border wall.
"We’re going to confront the national security crisis on our southern border, and we’re going to do it one way or another," Trump said Friday as he declared the emergency from the White House Rose Garden.
Even as many along the border have decried Trump's calls for a wall and stressed the border's safety, places like Ciudad Juárez have struggled to keep violence at bay.
El Pasoans for generations have lived in a symbiotic relationship with Juárez, sharing families and economies. Today, the city is a major trading partner for Texas and a key cog in the U.S. economy, said Jon Barela, chief executive of The Borderplex Alliance, an El Paso-based economic development and advocacy group.
Juárez is home to more than 360 manufacturers, from makers of U.S. car parts to semiconductors and surgical equipment, and sees more than $76 billion worth of trade with the U.S. each year, according to the alliance. It's also home to more than 70 Fortune 500 companies, Barela said.
The drop in violence has helped the city strive, he said.
"Ciudad Juárez is undergoing a renaissance," Barela said. "I'm hopeful that the really bad days of violence that took place there will never come back."
But the shadows of Ciudad Juárez's violent past linger. Starting around 2008, warring Sinaloa and Juárez cartels, vying for control of the city’s lucrative transnational drug trade, touched off a murder wave that left bodies strewn across downtown streets and where gang lords hung the beheaded corpses of rivals from highway overpasses. Kidnappings and killings soared. In 2010, the city’s murder rate reached more than 230 murders per 100,000 residents – higher than even Baghdad at the time.
The federal government dispatched military troops to the city to quell the violence but the federal forces were accused of conducting their own extrajudicial killings and kidnappings, according to international human rights groups. More than 5,000 federales patrolled Juárez's streets, many of them riding the backs of pickup trucks, toting assault rifles and hiding their faces behind balaclava masks to protect their identities from criminal groups.
The killings in Juárez continued, peaking at 3,058 in 2010. The violence then began to drop, sliding to 429 killings in 2014 and 308 in 2015, according to stats compiled by Molly Molloy, a research librarian and professor at New Mexico State University.
Not coincidentally, the violence in Juárez began to recede when the federal troops left the city around 2011, Cardona said.
Even as Juárez struggled with its eye-popping murder wave, El Paso, just across the border, experienced virtually no crime spillover. In 2010, at the height of the Juárez killings, El Paso recorded just five homicides, according to the El Paso Police Department.
Last year, Juárez's murders again began to rise: Juárez police recorded 1,259 homicides in 2018, including a murderous spasm of 182 deaths in August, according to the NMSU stats. In the same year, El Paso counted just 23 homicides.
Juárez's uptick in violence comes as Mexico is experiencing its own murder spike: Last year, the country counted 33,341 murders, its highest tally in more than two decades.
But Juárez residents say the city’s recent spate of killings feels much different from the violence that gripped the city a decade ago. A key difference: locals are not being targeted.
“Everyone was a target: doctors, architects, any type of business, barrio pharmacies, tortillerias,” Cardona said of last decade’s violence. “People are not targets like before. You don’t hear about extortion or kidnappings of people in your inner circle.”
On a recent mid-week afternoon, streams of tourists and locals clustered in the plaza outside the Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe Cathedral in central Juárez, perusing folding tables covered in books or pirated DVDs, or munching on roasted corn or churros, fried dough powdered with sugar.
At the nearby Mercado Reforma, crowds of mostly locals strolled past stalls selling blue jeans, kids’ backpacks, stuffed animals, leather purses, boots, and soccer balls.
Just a few years ago, the open-air market was nearly deserted, as people went straight home after work to hide from the violence, said David Burciaga, who runs a stall selling women’s blouses and girls’ dresses. Businesses closed and many of his counterparts left to the U.S., he said. That changed about seven years ago.
“Though it’s still a city with violence, today criminal groups don’t get mixed up with merchants or citizens,” Burciaga said. “It’s more between them.”
He added: “We’re no longer afraid. We don’t have to hide. We could work. The economy has been growing.”
But that false sense of security is dangerous in a city grappling with an alarming spike in violence, said Howard Campbell, a University of Texas at El Paso anthropology professor and author of Drug War Zone: Frontline Dispatches from the Streets of El Paso and Juárez.
“Most of 2018 was pretty bad: 1,250 is a lot of murders in a city like Juárez,” he said. “It’s a really serious problem.”
The current violence stems from fighting between local street gangs, such as the Aztecas, and police, not transnational cartels like before, Campbell said. Victims tend to be confined to gangs and police, not average citizens, he said.
Last month, a series of coordinated attacks wounded at least eight Juárez police officers when gunmen ambushed patrol vehicles, fired at a police station and set a public bus ablaze, prompting the U.S. consulate in Juárez to issue a security alert to U.S. citizens in Juárez and nearby Chihuahua City.
Another worrying aspect to the recent fighting: The emergence of methamphetamine, which for years was not prevalent in Juarez, Campbell said. “Meth is the new drug on the scene and does seem to be associated with more extreme violence,” he said.
For now, all eyes are on how newly-elected President Andrés Manuel López Obrador will tackle Mexico’s ongoing violence. In speeches, he’s vowed to do things differently from his predecessors. “You cannot fight violence with violence,” Obrador said in August during a security forum in Juárez.
Still, the Mexican president mobilized 600 military and federal police troops last week to Juárez to help combat the rising violence.
Cardona, the photographer, said he hopes it’s not a repeat of last decade’s strategy – with the same violent results.
“The logic is the same,” he said. “When you have external factors, like federal police, things can change for the worse.”
Follow Jervis on Twitter: @MrRJervis.
Contributing: Daniel Borunda, El Paso Times.
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5a4bd7f1cea71cdd7176380337494475
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/16/aurora-shooting-illinois-shootout-gary-martin-police-officers/2890406002/?inf_contact_key=47cd6767705eb3e85aee65c6cc629d17
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Police: Gunman in shooting rampage had 6 prior arrests in Aurora, Illinois, including domestic battery charges
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Police: Gunman in shooting rampage had 6 prior arrests in Aurora, Illinois, including domestic battery charges
AURORA, Ill. — The gunman who shot and killed five co-workers and injured five police officers after he was fired from his job had his gun permit revoked five years ago after a background check turned up a prior felony conviction in Mississippi, police said Saturday.
The gunman, Gary Martin, 45, was shot and killed by police after officers swarmed the scene Friday at the Henry Pratt Co. plant in Aurora. Henry Pratt is a subsidiary of Atlanta-based Mueller Water Products.
Aurora Police Chief Kristen Ziman said investigators are trying to determine why Martin was able to continue to possess a Smith & Wesson handgun even after it was discovered he was rejected for a conceal carry permit.
“Absolutely he was not supposed to be in possession of a gun,” Ziman said.
Three of the victims, including two who worked in the human resources department, were shot during the meeting where Martin was being terminated, Ziman said. The other two were killed in another part of the 29,000 square foot warehouse, Ziman said.
Mueller CEO Scott Hall said in a press conference on Saturday that Martin was set to be fired for a “culmination of various workplace rules violations.” He declined to specify the violations.
Hall said that the company conducted a background check on Martin prior to his hiring 15 years ago. The gunman’s 1995 felony conviction in Mississippi didn’t surface in the check, Hall said.
Hall said that Martin worked part of the workday Friday before he was called into a meeting room where he was to be fired.
Nine workers were in the warehouse space at the time of the shooting. The company had security cameras outside the building but no cameras inside the facility.
Police still do not know why Martin was being fired.
Ziman told reporters that Martin had six prior arrests, including one in 2008 for a domestic matter and one in 2017 for disorderly conduct and criminal damage to property.
She said that after a background check in January 2014, he was issued an Illinois firearms I.D. that allowed him to purchase the Smith & Wesson handgun from a local dealer on March 11, 2014. The weapon was believed to be used in the rampage.
More:Factory shooting rampage victims include HR manager, college intern and forklift operator
Five days later, when he applied for a concealed carry permit, which requires a more extensive background check, his fingerprints turned up a felony conviction in Mississippi in 1995. At that point, the firearms I.D. permitting him to carry the handgun was revoked.
“During the fingerprinting and background process it was discovered that he had a felony conviction for aggravated assault out of Mississippi,” Ziman said. “It should be noted that this conviction would not have shown up on a criminal background check conducted for an FOID card.”
In addition to the five fatalities, five Aurora officers received non-life threatening gunshot wounds during the rampage, Ziman said. A sixth officer received a minor injury not related to gunfire.
The dead were identified as Clayton Parks, of Elgin, a human resources manager; Trevor Wehner, of DeKalb; a human resources intern and student at Northern Illinois University; Russell Beyer, of Yorkville, a mold operator; Vincente Juarez of Oswego, a stock room attendant and fork lift operator; and Josh Pinkard, of Oswego, the plant manager.
Asked why Wehner, an intern, was in the sensitive situation of being in the room during the firing of a longtime employee, Hall paused and choked back tears during the Saturday press conference.
“That’s a really tough question,” Hall said. “I don’t think we had thought about that, ever.”
The Henry Pratt Co., about 40 miles west of Chicago, is one of North America’s largest manufacturers of valves for the potable water, wastewater, power generation and industrial markets. The company was founded in 1901.
During World War II, the Company manufactured propellers for Liberty Ships , and in the 1920s, the company made products for electric power plants and gas plants.
The company has a tradition of industry firsts. When welding came into use in the mid-1920s, Pratt was instrumental in the design and production of the first welded smoke stack, which was installed at Commonwealth Edison’s Fisk Street Generating Station.
Contributing: Associated Press
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323f547834714955af159d4657e66f0b
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/16/newport-beach-california-man-allegedly-kills-parents-housekeeper/2891854002/
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Son allegedly killed parents and their housekeeper in upscale Southern California community
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Son allegedly killed parents and their housekeeper in upscale Southern California community
A Southern California man in an upscale neighborhood allegedly killed his parents and their housekeeper, police say.
Camden Burton Nicholson, a 27-year-old from Newport Beach, California, was arrested Wednesday for the killings of his mother Kim Nicholson, 61, father Richard Nicolson, 64, and their housekeeper Maria Morse, 57, the city's police department said.
Police in Irvine, California, first came in contact with Nicholson the night before at a local hospital's emergency room and requested that Newport Beach police do a wellness check at the home.
When police investigated and found the three bodies at the house, Nicholson was detained at Irvine Medical Center, Newport Beach police said. Police have not indicated an alleged motive.
Nicholson was charged with three counts of murder and delayed entering into a plea at a court appearance Friday, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Online records indicate Nicholson is being held without bail and is scheduled to appear again in court on March 8.
According to KTLA-TV, the killings took place in the "upscale gated community of Bonita Canyon."
Neighbor Leslie Seigel told the TV station the family were "just wonderful people."
"I can't imagine taking my walks and, you know, not stopping and talking to them," she said. "It's too surreal right now."
Richard Nicholson worked in the clinical laboratory industry and was a previous president of the California Clinical Laboratory Association, according to the Associated Press.
Morse's daughter Miriam Trujillo told the Orange County Register that her mother worked for the family for over 10 years and became close with them.
"I got a feeling something bad happened," husband Wayne Morse told the newspaper he felt when his wife didn't come home from work.
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f86af5c233ee5f3a8e251fdeda4b8499
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/17/anthony-weiner-released-prison-must-register-sex-offender/2899966002/
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Disgraced ex-congressman Anthony Weiner released from prison, must register as sex offender
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Disgraced ex-congressman Anthony Weiner released from prison, must register as sex offender
Anthony Weiner, the former congressman convicted of sexting with a 15-year-old girl, has been released from a federal prison in Massachusetts to a transitional facility in New York and must register as a sex offender.
Weiner, 54, pleaded guilty in May 2017 to transferring obscene material to a minor. Four months later, he was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons website says Weiner was transferred from the Federal Medical Center in Devens to a Residential Re-Entry Management facility in Brooklyn. Weiner, who has a release date of May 14, most likely will serve out his time in a halfway house or home confinement.
Weiner must register as a sex offender and spend three years of supervised release.
Prosecutors said the teen initiated the communications with Weiner via Twitter in January 2016. The girl acknowledged she was a minor, but the contacts continued over Snapchat and other social media outlets.
More:I was 'a very sick man': Tearful Anthony Weiner gets 21 months in sexting case
Even after the girl told Weiner that she was 15, Weiner asked her to show him her naked body, which she did, prosecutors said. He also sent her pornography.
Weiner wept at his sentencing, saying he was sorry and that he was “a very sick man for a very long time.”
"The crime I committed was my rock bottom," Weiner said. "I live a different and better life today."
U.S. District Court Judge Denise Cote, however, rejected Weiner's request to avoid jail.
“This is a serious crime that deserves serious punishment," Cote said.
Weiner was elected to Congress from Brooklyn in 1998 and served 12 years in the heavily Democratic district. In 2010, his star rose after making a dramatic speech before Congress in which he blasted Republicans for voting against a federal aid bill for first responders to the 9/11 terror attacks.
Weiner married Huma Abedin, a longtime aide to Hillary Clinton, in 2010. The power couple had a son in 2011. But he resigned his seat that year after admitting he had been exchanging explicit messages and photos with a half-dozen women.
He attempted a comeback in 2013 via a mayoral campaign that collapsed when it emerged he was sending explicit photos to a 22-year-old woman under the pseudonym "Carlos Danger."
Abedin separated from Weiner in 2016 and filed for divorce after his guilty plea. The relationship became a crucial factor in the 2016 presidential campaign when then-FBI director James Comey reopened an investigation into Clinton emails less than two weeks before Election Day. The FBI cited a batch of emails discovered in the Weiner probe.
Days later, the FBI said nothing new or damaging against Clinton had been discovered.
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e1132de5ee29b13596db40d479e8f1e6
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/18/aurora-shooting-victim-josh-pinkard-texted-his-wife-he-lay-dying/2903328002/
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Aurora shooting victim Josh Pinkard texted love to his wife as he lay dying
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Aurora shooting victim Josh Pinkard texted love to his wife as he lay dying
One of the victims of a gunman's rampage that left five people dead last week in Illinois texted love to his wife as he lay dying.
Terra Pinkard said she received the text message Friday from her husband, Josh, who worked at a manufacturing plant in the Chicago suburb of Aurora.
"I received a text at 1:24 from my precious husband that said I love you, I’ve been shot at work," she wrote Sunday on Facebook. "It took me several times reading it for it to hit me that it was for real."
Josh Pinkard, 37, was the plant manager at Henry Pratt Co., where police said Gary Martin killed five co-workers and wounded six other people, including five police officers. Martin was fatally shot at the scene.
Terra Pinkard said she tried to call, text and FaceTime her husband several times but received no response. She called the plant, and the woman who answered said she was barricaded in a room and police were swarming the area.
Pinkard packed up their three children and drove to the plant but encountered closed roads. She drove to two hospitals, waiting at the second one for news. Pastors, co-workers and neighbors sat with her, she said.
"I finally got in touch with the Aurora (police) who told me of a staging area for victims families," she wrote. "I don’t know how my body drove itself there but it did. The police told us there were fatalities. He read my husband’s name."
She told her children their dad "did not make it and is in heaven with Jesus. I’ve never had to do something that hard."
She said she was asked by the news media to talk about him, but it was too hard.
"I want to shout from the rooftops about how amazing Josh was!" she wrote. "He was brilliant! The smartest person I’ve ever met! My best friend!"
More:Vigil honors victims of gun rampage in Aurora, Illinois
She thanked friends and family for their love, prayers and kindness.
"Please pray for my children," she said. "They are struggling because they miss a daddy who loved them so much. Please pray that somehow I can put that one foot in front of the other."
Martin, a 15-year employee at the plant, had been called into a meeting and was being fired when he began shooting, authorities said. Josh Pinkard was among three people at the meeting who were killed.
Martin had his gun permit revoked in 2014 after a background check turned up a felony conviction in Mississippi, Aurora Police Chief Kristen Ziman said. He was told to turn over his weapon but never did, she said.
About 1,700 people gathered in snow and freezing drizzle Sunday for a prayer vigil, bowing their heads and paying homage to the victims and first responders.
“Just to simply offer condolences is not enough," Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin told the crowd. "It doesn’t measure the amount of pain that we feel for the loss that we’ve experienced in this community.”
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7c36591c078da30ac7fbe47e4d633446
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/18/zombie-deer-disease-cwd-how-avoid-getting-it-cdc/2903849002/
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'Zombie' deer disease: How to prevent it and avoid eating infected meat
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'Zombie' deer disease: How to prevent it and avoid eating infected meat
As more than 20 states report cases of a brain-wasting animal disease informally called "zombie" deer disease, some officials worry that humans could be affected.
Chronic wasting disease has been found in deer, elk and/or moose in at least 24 states and two Canadian provinces since the start of the year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports. There are no vaccines or treatments available for the disease, which is always fatal.
"It is probable that human cases of chronic wasting disease associated with consumption with contaminated meat will be documented in the years ahead," said Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. "It’s possible the number of human cases will be substantial and will not be isolated events."
No cases of CWD have been reported in humans to date, but research suggests it poses a risk to humans.
Here's what the CDC says you should know about preventing CWD in infected areas:
Don't touch road-kill.
People shouldn't handle or eat meat from dead animals. Also, never shoot and handle a deer or elk that is acting strangely. Animals infected with CWD might be extremely underweight, stumbling and listless. If you see an animal that appears to be sick, take note of its location and contact wildlife officials.
More:‘Zombie’ deer disease: Why deer with CWD are actually nothing like zombies
Test deer before eating meat.
Some states recommend hunters have deer or elk tested before eating their meat. But even a test can detect CWD only at a certain stage. There is not a test that can definitively say the animal is negative for the disease, Texas Parks and Wildlife notes. Information about what your state recommends is available from state wildlife agencies.
More:'Zombie' deer disease: What is it, and could it affect humans?
More:'Zombie' deer disease is in 24 states and thousands of infected deer are eaten each year, expert warns
Wear gloves when field-dressing a deer.
The CDC recommends wearing latex or rubber gloves when handing a hunted animal and its meat. Also, minimize the time spent touching organs such as the brain and spinal cord tissues. Never use household knives or utensils for field dressing. Always wash hands and disinfect hunting instruments after use.
Process meat individually.
Hunters who typically have deer or elk commercially processed might want to ask whether their animals can be processed individually to avoid any chance of contamination.
Contributing: Karen Chávez, Sarah Bowman and Ryan Miller. Follow Ashley May on Twitter: @AshleyMayTweets
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f1c09383ed21fb996759db6f63dae2e3
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/19/vaticans-secret-rules-priests-who-father-children/2918042002/
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Vatican secret out: There are rules for priests who father children
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Vatican secret out: There are rules for priests who father children
The Catholic Church has required celibacy from its priests for centuries, yet those vows were broken so frequently that the Vatican established a secret set of guidelines for dealing with clerics who fathered children.
This latest revelation, first reported by The New York Times, comes amid a new wave of developments tied to the burgeoning sexual abuse scandal that has rocked the church for close to two decades.
On Monday, the Diocese of Oakland, California, released a list of 45 clergymen and religious brothers it said have had “credible accusations’’ of child sexual abuse made against them, going as far back as the 1960s. Several other dioceses have taken similar steps in recent months.
On Saturday, Pope Francis defrocked former Washington archbishop Theodore McCarrick after he was found guilty of a series of sexual crimes, making him the first American cardinal to be expelled from the priesthood.
Two weeks ago, Francis acknowledged the long-known but rarely addressed problem of nuns being sexually assaulted by priests.
More:The stakes are high for Pope Francis, Catholics worldwide ahead of unprecedented sex abuse summit
Now, just ahead of Thursday’s unprecedented meeting of more than 100 bishops summoned to the Vatican to address the sexual misconduct crisis, the Catholic Church faces yet another sexually related controversy.
Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti acknowledged to the Times and other news outlets the existence of the guidelines, although he would not reveal specifically what they are.
More:The stakes are high for Pope Francis, Catholics worldwide ahead of unprecedented sex abuse summit
Gisotti said the instructions seek to protect the child and require – others contend they only encourage – the priest to request a leave from his clerical duties and “as a layman, assume his responsibilities as a parent by devoting himself exclusively’’ to the child.
Vincent Doyle, an Irish psychotherapist who learned in his late 20s his father was a priest, told the Times that church leaders initially misled him to believe his was a rare instance.
Though there’s no exact count of how many children have been fathered by clergymen, he eventually learned that wasn’t true when an archbishop showed him the Vatican instructions for cases like his.
“It’s the next scandal,’’ Doyle said. “There are kids everywhere.’’
More:Catholic Church: Jesuits name priests with 'established accusations' of child sex abuse
Doyle formed a global support group, Coping International, that provides counseling and resources to “children of the ordained,’’ as the church calls them. He said the organization’s website has 50,000 users in 175 countries.
Doyle told CBS News he wants to see them codified so the offspring of clergymen don’t have to live in the shadows. The Irish Catholic Church did as much two years ago, establishing a set of rules that prioritize the child’s well-being and mandate that the priest own up to his parental duties in every way.
“The first problem with children of priests is they're not recognized," Doyle said. “When you're hidden … you are characterized by secrecy.’’
More:Vatican clarifies Pope Francis on issue of ‘sexual slavery’ of nuns
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0100574a376e74b8af54f2a02c9462bd
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/20/montana-canada-lawmakers-resolution-trillion-deficit/2929304002/
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Sell Montana to Canada? State lawmakers aren't opposed to it. Formally, at least.
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Sell Montana to Canada? State lawmakers aren't opposed to it. Formally, at least.
Montana lawmakers on Wednesday shot down a resolution formally opposing the sale of the state to Canada, an intended tongue-in-cheek pushback to a now-viral petition.
The petition, launched one week ago on Change.org, calls for sale of the Treasure State to our neighbors up north for a cool $1 trillion, which would then supposedly help eliminate the national debt.
"We have too much debt and Montana is useless," the petition's founder, identified as Ian Hammond, wrote. "Just tell them it has beavers or something."
The petition drew 11,000-plus signatures, sparking a gobsmacked column in the Great Falls Tribune and catching attention of Rep. Forrest Mandeville, a Republican from Columbus and chair of the state's House Administration Committee.
He had an idea. A vision. A proposal for "a little fun": a formal House resolution from lawmakers opposing the petition's goal.
As the 20-person committee convened Tuesday morning, Mandeville spelled out just what the resolution could entail.
"I’m thinking stuff like ... 'Whereas, we don’t know the Canadian national anthem after the first two words," he said. "Some stuff like that just to have a little fun.”
More:Selling Montana to Canada? What nerve.
Swift opposition came from Rep. Jessica Karjala, a Billings Democrat. “What about those of us who would like more maple syrup, better tea and free health care?” she said.
“You can vote against it, Rep. Karjala," Mandeville said.
“Or you could move," said Rep. Wendy McKamey, a Republican from Great Falls.
"There’s still an option to move to Canada," Mandeville said. "We wouldn’t take that away.”
He needed three-quarters approval to authorize a draft of the resolution. He got it: 15-5.
The naysayers raising their hands seemed unamused.
Staffers could now begin work on a resolution pushing back on this preposterous petition. "Montana is worth a heck of a lot more than $1 trillion!" Mandeville later said.
More:5 reasons California won’t split into three states
But the victory was short lived, he told USA TODAY on Wednesday: The committee had reconsidered the bill request, and it was defeated. There would be no bill on the issue, Mandeville said
His fun deprived, Mandeville seemed unconcerned about the petition's success.
"I don't think anyone really believes there is a snowball's chance in Florida that the U.S. will sell Montana to Canada," he said. "So, it's easy to sign a petition that will not really affect anything."
Contributing: Kristen Inbody, Great Falls Tribune
Follow Josh Hafner on Twitter: @joshhafner
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c910367a7d6798a4b624a6d2793af471
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/21/kentucky-teacher-comes-out-bisexual-lgbt-and-gets-fired/2942282002/
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Kentucky teacher came out as bisexual to stop a student's suicide. Then he got fired
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Kentucky teacher came out as bisexual to stop a student's suicide. Then he got fired
Nicholas Breiner hadn’t even told his family on April 7, 2017, when he came out on Instagram and told the world — more particularly, his students — that he was bisexual.
He spoke up because one of his students, struggling with her own sexuality, had told a friend that she was going to kill herself.
“I couldn’t help but wonder how many students I had that were in a similar situation to that student; feeling completely alone and nearing that irreversible decision,” he said recently.
Three days after he posted on Instagram, he said he was hauled into his principal’s office, questioned about his sexuality by a deputy school superintendent, and warned to keep his sexual orientation to himself. A month later, he was told that his contract with the Montgomery County Public Schools was not being renewed.
Breiner, who was a choral teacher at J.B. McNabb Middle School in Mount Sterling, Kentucky, thinks he was fired because he is bisexual. The Montgomery superintendent says he was fired because of unrelated job performance issues.
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It’s impossible to tell why Breiner was fired at McNabb. In a letter a month and a half after he was let go, Superintendent Matthew Thompson wrote him saying it was because of his teaching technique, lack of classroom management and that he failed to post grades in a timely manner.
But Thompson declined to provide items such as annual evaluations from Breiner’s personnel file that might show if there were ongoing concerns, and there were no letters of reprimand in his file suggesting there was a problem.
Even if the school district acknowledged that Breiner was cut loose because he’s bisexual, there may not be much, if anything, he can do about it.
Kentucky civil rights law doesn’t prohibit discrimination against people because of sexual orientation, and Mount Sterling — where Breiner taught at McNabb — isn’t one of 10 cities in the state that offers civil rights protections to LGBTQ people.
None of that seems likely to change soon, either.
State Sen. Morgan McGarvey said the bill he’s filed in the Senate that would extend civil rights protections based on sexual orientation statewide probably won’t get a hearing. It’s doubtful a similar bill in the House will move either.
Some fear the episode will have a chilling effect on teachers who, like Breiner, is wrestling with coming out to help students who are struggling with their own sexuality and are perhaps facing parents who just won’t accept who their children are.
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That’s how this whole episode started.
Sometime around the end of March 2017, one of Breiner’s students told him that she was a lesbian and that her parents weren’t taking it very well.
“Over spring break of 2017, I received a frantic text from another student who had just received this young lady’s suicide note. I rushed out to her house with police and, thankfully, we got to her in time,” he said recently.“If she knew long before that I, a teacher she liked and had a good relationship with, knew exactly what she was feeling, would she have gotten to that point? It’s impossible to know but, with the possibility that I could save even a single life, I could no longer ethically stay in the closet. I needed to value my students’ safety and well-being over my own privacy."
So, he hopped on Instagram and posted the message he believes got him fired. Here’s what it said:
“I honestly never intended to come out. I’ve known I was bi for years but, as far as I was concerned, that was nobody’s business but my own. It’s something I have never pursued and, honestly, likely never will. A couple of weeks ago, however, I was working with a person who was struggling. This was partially due to their orientation. I felt that they needed to know there was someone in the room that understood and supported them, regardless of who they were. As terrifying as it was to admit, I had to value someone else’s well-being over my own privacy. After a lot of support from people I decided that 30 years was long enough to wait. Hey world, I am what I am.”
On the first day back to school after spring break, another teacher was sent to monitor Breiner’s class and he, like a chastened school boy, was sent to the office.
“I was cautioned about being open with my sexuality in a small Eastern Kentucky town," he said. "That a number of parents were concerned that I would be actively trying to change their children’s religious beliefs."
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Since then, Breiner said he has intervened in 17 cases of young people who were considering suicide, many of whom were conflicted about their sexuality. Some of his former students who are part of the LGBTQ community have urged to him to continue what he’s doing, he said.
That includes pursuing a federal lawsuit against Montgomery County schools.
U.S. District Judge Karen Caldwell dismissed a suit he filed against the school system last month, saying that federal law doesn’t bar discrimination based on sexual orientation.
He’s appealing Caldwell’s ruling. The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has ruled sexual orientation is protected under federal law that bars discrimination based on sex, but the U.S. Supreme Court hasn’t weighed in.
Breiner found a job working at Tates Creek Middle School in Lexington the following year, but said he was laid off after one year because of budget cuts. Since then, he’s been acting professionally and trying to launch a nonprofit acting company.
Discrimination:A tax service turned away a gay couple. Both sides claim discrimination
Report:LGBTQ families are on the cusp of dramatic growth, and millennials lead the way
Adoption:Tennessee bills would allow adoption agencies to deny LGBT couples on religious grounds
Follow Joseph Gerth on Twitter: @Joe_Gerth.
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a783274ab53bf800aec8ed7efb61e6d3
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/21/washington-state-proposes-carbon-fee-gas-tax/2945489002/
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Washington state lawmakers seek to approve nation's first carbon fee
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Washington state lawmakers seek to approve nation's first carbon fee
Washington state lawmakers proposed a measure on Thursday to limit carbon pollution that would be the nation's first if passed.
The carbon fee is part of a transportation funding package that marks Washington's third major attempt to create such a policy since 2018. Similar state proposals have failed.
At least 10 other states have introduced carbon fee or tax proposals, however, as emissions of the greenhouse gas linked to global warming hit an all-time high last year, scientists found. Washington's latest proposal also follows a federal report that showed the impacts of climate change are intensifying, including increased extreme weather, poor air quality and food shortages.
Charging $15 per ton of carbon, the fee would raise about $7.9 billion over the next 10 years. The $17.1 billion fee-and-bond package it's part of also features a 6-cent-per-gallon fuel tax increase.
If it passes, said Senate Transportation committee chairman Steve Hobbs, Washington residents would most likely see the most expensive gas in the nation. The carbon fee would add 15 cents per gallon, an increase of 21 cents per gallon.
After voters turned down a 2018 ballot initiative for a carbon tax, Republican state Sen. Curtis King said it was too soon to revisit the issue. Opponents to the ballot measure outspent supporters 2-to-1, spending a total of $30 million to defeat it.
More:U.S. impacts of climate change are intensifying, federal report says
More:Carbon dioxide in our atmosphere may soar to levels not seen in 56 million years
Despite Democratic control of both legislative chambers and support from Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee, a 2018 carbon fee bill also died in the Senate.
But proposing a carbon fee is just one of the ways the state is tacking pollution, Washington Environmental Council communications director Nick Abraham told USA TODAY. Several local governments have committed to 100 percent renewable energy, he said, and the state has a slate of pending bills from creating a clean fuel program to building light rail, giving people more options to get around.
The package announced Thursday would also raise fees on property development and commercial, electric and private vehicles, as well as taxes on rental cars, bicycles, and auto parts. Funds would go toward projects including highway maintenance, the state ferry system and federally-mandated culvert replacement projects.
“If you look at this package as a whole it deals with both environmental and infrastructure needs,” Hobbs said.
Sen. Tim Sheldon said the proposal is the best alternative for Republicans. Business and petroleum groups may take an interest, Hobbs added, in how the bill limits future fuel standards. It also sets the carbon fee at a fixed rate, without increases over time.
The carbon fee and gas tax account for about $10 billion of the roughly $13.6 billion in fees in the package. Bonds add an additional $3.5 billion, bringing the total to just under $17.1 billion.
Contributing: The Associated Press
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5162331b363b9c4a072dbd25c773f051
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/22/joaquin-el-chapo-guzman-loera-sinaloa-jalisco-nueva-generacion-cartel/2885199002/
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After El Chapo: Sinaloa, other Mexican drug cartels still strong, and now diversifying
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After El Chapo: Sinaloa, other Mexican drug cartels still strong, and now diversifying
NEW YORK – So long, El Chapo. El Mayo is still around. And El Mencho is on the rise.
El Chapo – the internationally notorious drug trafficker born Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera – faces life in prison for running a continuing criminal enterprise.
Federal prosecutors say the Sinaloa drug cartel leader smuggled tons of cocaine and other drugs into the United States, generating billions of dollars in illegal profits over more than two decades.
The jury in Guzmán's federal trial agreed last week, voting to convict on each of 10 criminal counts. He still faces charges in other U.S. courts.
Officials declared victory, touting the deterrent effect and symbolic value of taking down the world's most famous drug trafficker.
But analysts and researchers on Mexican crime organizations that the actual impact on the transnational drug trade might be minimal.
The Sinaloa cartel remains a strong drug-smuggling and violence threat on both sides of the Southwest Border, they say, and a newer, rival crime group, the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, poses similar danger.
"The conviction is a great moral victory for the United States, Mexico and other countries that have been severely damaged by the flow of illegal drugs coming from the flow of Chapo Guzmán and the Sinaloa cartel," said Mike Vigil, a former chief of international operations for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
"The unfortunate aspect is that the Sinaloa cartel continues to function and is just as powerful," Vigil said.
He likened the organization to "a very strong NFL team that has a great backup quarterback," along with a "diversified income stream."
That new Sinaloa boss isn't actually new at all. He's Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, who was indicted with Guzmán, but never captured. The longtime cartel leader is believed to be living in Mexico, government testimony during the trial showed.
Zambada's son and brother testified against Guzmán during the trial. But Zambada himself remains a force in Mexico, Vigil and other say.
As Guzmán's trial opened in November, the Sinaloa cartel remained prominent in the Drug Enforcement Administration's 2018 assessment of Mexican transnational criminal organizations.
"It maintains the most expansive international footprint compared to other Mexican transnational criminal organizations," the DEA reported.
The Sinaloa cartel still smuggles wholesale quantities of methamphetamine, marijuana, cocaine, heroin and the synthetic opioid fentanyl into the United States through border crossings in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, the DEA said. Distribution is handled through hubs in Phoenix, Los Angeles, Denver, and Chicago, and other cities.
Major drug seizures in recent years demonstrate the cartel's reach.
DEA investigators in New York City seized more than 145 pounds of fentanyl in August 2017. The synthetic opioid is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Linked to the Sinaloa cartel, it was the largest fentanyl haul in the United States up to that time, the DEA said.
The Ventura County, California, Sheriff's Office arrested 13 suspects with alleged Sinaloa ties in October 2018. Detectives seized 161 pounds of methamphetamine, 121 pounds of cocaine, 13.2 pounds of heroin and 6.6 pounds of fentanyl – a haul with a combined street value of more than $10.8 million.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers reported a record load of hidden fentanyl last month at the border crossing in Nogales, Arizona. They say they discovered nearly 254 pounds of the opioid hidden in a special floor compartment of a tractor-trailer truck carrying a load of cucumbers from Mexico. The compartment also held almost 395 pounds of methamphetamine, they say, bringing the combined street value to an estimated $4.6 million.
Driver Juan Antonio Torres Barraza, a Mexican national, was arrested on drug charges. He said he had no knowledge of the illegal cargo. The case against Torres is still at an early stage, and federal investigators have not yet publicly linked the incident to a specific Mexican drug cartel.
David Shirk, director of the Justice in Mexico project at the University of San Diego, says the Sinaloa cartel and its rivals plunged into the growing fentanyl market after Guzmán's reign peaked.
"Fentanyl is shaping the drug trade in Mexico today," said Shirk. "It's cheaper, and so much more potent. With a small amount of fentanyl, you can make the same profit" as with cocaine or other drugs.
By many accounts, the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación is vying with the Sinaloa organization for market share.
Described by the DEA as "one of the most powerful and fastest growing cartels in Mexico and the United States," the organization maintains drug distribution hubs in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and Atlanta. It smuggles drugs through several border cities, including Tijuana, Juarez, and Nuevo Laredo, the agency said.
Nathan Jones researches drug policy and Mexican security issues at Sam Houston State University in Texas.
He says the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación began a rapid rise in 2010 – aided in part by the U.S.-Mexican strategy of targeting drug kingpins that captured Guzmán.
The group enlisted "orphan" criminal cells left by the fragmentation in Mexico's organized crime groups, Jones wrote in a study last year.
The rise of the new cartel shows how organized crime groups adapt after leadership structures have been disrupted, Shirk and co-author Lucy La Rosa concluded in a separate study, also released last year.
The organization now rivals the Sinaloa cartel as the primary suspects in smuggling fentanyl across the Southwest Border, the DEA said.
The Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación is also suspected of smuggling "high heat" cocaine, a high-end product reported as more than 97 percent pure.
Investigative reporting from San Diego "identified a wholesaler operating between Tijuana, Mexico and San Diego who was seeking to import 'High Heat' cocaine into the U.S. supplied by CJNG for prospective clients," the DEA reported.
More:Federal jury finds drug lord Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán guilty of all counts
More:'El Chapo' heading to Supermax prison? Who else is inside the hellish 'Alcatraz of the Rockies'
More:Now that he's been convicted of all counts, what's next for El Chapo?
Federal authorities in North Carolina charged six suspects last week with conspiracy to possess and distribute methamphetamine and cocaine. A confidential informant linked the alleged trafficking to the CJNG, authorities said in a court filing.
The Treasury Department targeted alleged Jalisco Nueva Generación leader Nemesio "El Mencho" Oseguera-Cervantes under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act in 2015.
Oseguera and 10 other alleged members of the cartel were charged in new or superseding drug-trafficking indictments in October.
But U.S. efforts to break or disrupt the alleged criminal organization could prove difficult. In recent years, the cartel has diversified its operations, reportedly making drug trafficking just part of its income stream.
"Kidnaping and extortion have become part of the business model," along with tapping into fuel lines in Mexico and "forcing businesses to sign contracts with vendors favored by the cartel," Jones said.
Follow USA TODAY reporter Kevin McCoy on Twitter: @kmccoynyc
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155af9763888608897da9b782073c196
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/22/no-speed-limits-nevada-montana-last-states-full-freedom/2947782002/
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'Probably safer': What it was like when states had no speed limits
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'Probably safer': What it was like when states had no speed limits
No highway speed limits? For some Nevada and Montana motorists with long memories, that's what made their states special.
As California deals with a proposal to remove speed limits through its Central Valley, there are those elsewhere in the West who remember what it was like to be happy leadfoots who didn't have to worry about speeding tickets.
Nevada and Montana were holdouts when it came to not having speed limits in sparsely populated, wide-open spaces. Some might say that was crazy.
"It was probably safer than it is now just because there weren't as many people," recalls Toni Mendive, 76, an archivist at the Northeastern Nevada Museum in the town of Elko. "There was just more common sense then."
As a result, Mendive said she doesn't recall driving a car any faster than 70 mph – even though she legally could have gone faster.
Some did. Elko newspaper publisher Warren "Snowy" Monroe became the stuff of legend when he raced an airplane about 300 miles from Elko to the capital of Carson City in days before the speed limit – and won.
Speed limits have become as American as federal income taxes. Connecticut was likely the first to enact speed limits at the dawn of the automotive age in 1901. But in the rugged West, both Nevada and Montana clung to their independent ways until Congress, with President Richard Nixon's blessings, clamped down with a national speed limit in 1974 after the gasoline shortages.
It was the dreaded "double nickel" – 55 mph.
While Nevada and Montana lost their policies of limitless highway speed, they did find a way around the federal policy. Both limited tickets to low-cost penalties that didn't penalize drivers' records. The crime wasn't deemed speeding. Rather, it was wasting energy.
A Montana newspaper, The Missoulian, which compiled a history of state's dealings with the speed limit, said the penalty was $5. Some drivers kept a wad of $5 bills in their glove compartments so if they were pulled over, they would be ready to pay the fine on the spot. In Nevada, the penalty was $15.
In 1995, when Congress removed the 55 mph speed limit, Montana took away its speed limit and went without once again, the Missoulian reported. But it was reinstated in 1999 after a state supreme court ruling, but set at a maximum of 75 mph. In both Nevada and Montana, the speed limit can now go as high as 80 mph.
Still, the age without a speed limit in Montana kindles nostalgia. Coming of age in Missoula, Gordon Noel said everyone drove fast. The goal was to just stay on the road. It didn't help that cars of that age, like the 1950 Chevrolet he started driving when he was 16, were far more primitive than those today. They didn't have safety systems, advanced suspensions and better tires.
"On a fast, straight stretch of road I could go 80 mph, but most of the time you didn't dare," said Noel, 77, author of a new memoir of growing up in the Big Sky Country State, "Out of Montana."
Noel, a Harvard graduate who became a physician, said his dad drove even faster.
"My father would say he needed to 'blow the carbon out' of his car. We would see how long it would take to get to 100 mph," said Noel, who now lives in Portland, Oregon. But at least he and dad were always able to stay focused on the road.
"We certainly didn't keep our eye on the speedometer because we were worried about the speed limit," he added.
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ab1717ad25f3d641154bdf066ca8736c
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/22/weekend-weather-blizzard-tornadoes-floods-winds-bitter-cold/2950508002/
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Wild weather weekend: Blizzard, tornadoes, floods, ferocious winds all expected
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Wild weather weekend: Blizzard, tornadoes, floods, ferocious winds all expected
The final weekend of February will deliver a wild potpourri of weather as winter and spring do battle across the United States.
Blizzard conditions are possible in the Upper Midwest Saturday and Sunday as a potent winter storm hammers the region. Portions of Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan should see 8-12 inches of snow, while parts of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan could pick up 20 inches.
Snow-weary Minneapolis could see several inches, adding to its record February snowfall of 31.7 inches.
Freezing rain will also bring icy misery and dismal travel conditions to much of Wisconsin and northern Michigan.
The Weather Channel has named the storm Winter Storm Quiana. No other private meteorological companies, nor the National Weather Service, uses that name.
In addition to the snow, temperatures will drop to 20 degrees below zero overnight Sunday into Monday in the northern Plains. Wind chills will approach 40 below zero in North Dakota.
Farther south, the U.S. will also see its first significant tornado threat of the year this weekend.
On Saturday, an outbreak of severe weather will unleash strong winds and a few tornadoes to the Mid-South. Eastern Arkansas, northern Mississippi, and southwestern Tennessee are the areas at highest risk, according to the Storm Prediction Center.
The metro area most at risk for dangerous severe storms is Memphis.
Other parts of the South will endure ongoing rounds of drenching rain and the potential for more flooding, all the way from Arkansas to West Virginia. Over 20 million people are at risk for floods.
The Tennessee River could crest at a level unseen in decades.
Already, dozens of school districts were closed Friday due to flooding.
Meanwhile, the winter storm will also unleash ferocious winds across the central and eastern U.S. On Saturday, Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas will see the strongest winds.
Winds will be especially strong for the Great Lakes states and Northeast on Sunday. Wind gusts of up to 75 mph could knock down trees, cut power and lead to travel problems.
"For some, it may seem more like an inland hurricane, rather than a winter storm," said Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist.
The storm has already wreaked havoc in the western U.S, bringing rare snowfalls to Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Tucson the past few days. Flagstaff, Arizona, was buried with nearly 3 feet of snow just on Thursday alone, which was the city's snowiest day on record, the weather service said.
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4a8b325044ce63de97b5cabceb7299bc
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/23/jussie-smollett-alleged-hoax-security-cameras-police-osundairo-brothers-empire/2953688002/
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How did police catch 'Empire' actor Jussie Smollett? Lots and lots of cameras
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How did police catch 'Empire' actor Jussie Smollett? Lots and lots of cameras
CHICAGO – Dozens of private and city-owned security cameras played a critical role in helping investigators unravel “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett’s alleged hoax attack, police and prosecutors say.
Officials say investigators were suspicious of Smollett from the outset.
Officers were dispatched to investigate a brutal racist, homophobic attack on Smollett early on the morning of Jan. 29. During the attack, he said, two men threw a rope around his neck, in the manner of a noose.
When officers arrived at the actor's apartment in Chicago's swanky Streeterville neighborhood about 40 minutes after the alleged beating, one detail caught their eye.
“Chicago Police Officers observed that Smollett had a rope draped around his neck,” said Risa Lanier, a Cook County State’s Attorney. “This was captured on police body worn camera. Seconds later, Smollett asked police to shut off the cameras.”
Still, police continued for nearly three weeks to publicly identify Smollett as a victim of a possible hate crime.
That all changed after police arrested two U.S.-born brothers of Nigerian descent – Abel and Ola Osundairo – as they arrived in Chicago Feb. 13 from a two-week trip overseas.
Abel, 25, was a close friend and personal trainer of Smollett who provided the actor with the club drug Ecstasy, prosecutors say. Both brothers had worked on the set of "Empire."
Smollett was charged this week with disorderly conduct by filing a false police report.
Prosecutors say he falsely told police that the perpetrators flung racial and homophobic slurs as they pummeled him, poured a chemical substance on him, and screamed “This is MAGA Country,” a reference to President Trump’s 2016 campaign slogan.
He remains free on $100,000 bond as he awaits trial.
The Osundairo brothers initially resisted giving police much information. But as investigators prepared to charge them with a hate crime, prosecutors say, they came clean.
Eventually, the Osundairos' defense attorney Gloria Schmidt told police her clients would give police a video statement.
The brothers said Smollett paid them $3,500 to assist with a carefully choreographed attack, police and prosecutors say. They also said Smollett was involved in sending a threatening letter addressed to him at the Chicago studio where "Empire" is filmed. The letter arrived at the studio one week before the alleged hoax attack.
Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said Smollett was unsatisfied with his salary for the Fox television show and wanted to use the attack to raise his profile.
Investigators say they learned many of the details of the alleged conspiracy through their conversations with the Osundairos.
The brothers might never have made it on to detectives' radar if it weren't for an array of roughly 55 city, business and doorbell cameras that captured snippets of the men's movements as they came to and from the crime scene.
“It was because of these (police) cameras, our investment in technology in the city of Chicago and the great assistance from the community with those other cameras that led us to a really solid timeline of where our two persons of interest went,” said Commander Edward Wodnicki, who led the team of detectives investigating the case.
Police started with a grainy video that showed only the silhouette of two men walking away from the scene soon after the attack. Wodnicki said it was just enough for police to begin tracking the Osundairo brothers “forward” from the crime scene.
Footage showed the brothers jumping into a cab not far from where Smollett said he was attacked. Investigators were able to track down the cab driver, who had a security camera inside the taxi that captured the brothers' faces.
The brothers took the cab several miles to the city’s North Side before they “abruptly stopped the cab” and began walking, police say.
Suspended:Jussie Smollett suspended from ‘Empire’ after prosecutors said he faked attack to boost salary
Bogus reports:Jussie Smollett hate attack claim: 'Bogus police reports cause real harm,' police say
Smollett goes to court:Jussie Smollett directed brothers to pour gas on him and yell slurs, prosecutor says
At that point, Wodnicki said, investigators began looking backward in time in hopes of spotting the brothers in video footage near Smollett’s home before the alleged attack occurred.
They would find footage of the brothers getting out of a taxi just blocks from the crime scene, Wodnicki said.
That taxi, which was also equipped with a camera, provided police with additional video footage of the Osundairos, Wodnicki said. Investigators backtracked the brothers' movements to the point where they hailed the taxi – about two miles from the crime scene in the city's Old Town neighborhood.
Security or police cameras in Old Town captured footage of the brothers arriving in the neighborhood by Uber shortly before they got into the taxi, Wodnicki said.
From there, Wodnicki said, it took a only search warrant to figure out that Ola Osundairo had hailed the ride using his smartphone from the brothers' home on the city's North Side.
That proved to be "the lead we needed to identify the two persons of interest," Wodnicki said.
Through the brothers’ eventual cooperation – as well as phone records – investigators were able to further establish that Smollett and Abel Osundairo spoke briefly by phone a little more than an hour before the attack, according to Lanier, the prosecutor.
Smollett told Abel Osundairo during that call that the attack should be carried out at 2 a.m. at an already scouted location near the actor’s home, Lanier said. Minutes later, Ola Osundairo hailed the Uber and the brothers started making their way to the crime scene.
Less than 18 hours after the incident, Smollett and Abel Osundairo traded brief phone calls, Lanier said. The brothers then boarded a flight for their overseas trip. The next day, Smollett made a nearly 9-minute call to Abel in Turkey, Lanier said.
“The way that they carried this out, there was never a thought in their mind that we would be able to track (them) down," Johnson said. He credited the detectives' intense focus on helping crack the case.
While the Osundairos allegedly assisted in the scheme, Wodnicki indicated that police see them as victims whom Smollett was attempting to wrongly implicate in a hate crime. Prosecutors have not commented on whether the brothers have been offered immunity for their cooperation.
Bo Dietl, a former New York Police Department detective, called the brothers “scumbags” for taking part in the alleged hoax. Still, he said, it would be understandable if prosecutors didn't go after them.
“With cooperating witnesses, sometimes you have to weigh out culpability,” Dietl said. “In reality, you have to look at who is the main person. Sometimes you have to give a person a play to get to the main culprit.”
Johnson lambasted Smollett for trying to take "advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career.”
In the days after Smollett reported the attack, celebrities and politicians including 2020 Democratic presidential hopefuls Senators Corey Booker and Kamala Harris expressed outrage.
Over the three weeks police were investigating the alleged hoax attack, Chicago endured at least 18 killings and dozens of shootings.
Among the victims of gun violence were 1-year-old Dejon Irving, who was shot in the head on Feb. 7 as he sat in a car with his siblings and grandmother. The boy remains in critical condition. Police believe the assailants were targeting his mother.
While Dejon’s shooting received little national media attention, Smollett’s case attracted media coverage from around the globe.
“I just wish that the families of gun violence in this city got this much attention, because that’s who deserves the amount of attention we’re giving this particular incident,” Johnson said.
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8db2f3f5da4f093d533e56deb836f705
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/23/peta-steve-irwin-tweet-group-faces-fire-conservationists-birthday/2962313002/
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Twitter rips PETA for criticizing Steve Irwin's Google doodle on the late conservationist's birthday
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Twitter rips PETA for criticizing Steve Irwin's Google doodle on the late conservationist's birthday
After tweeting criticism of the late wildlife conservationist and TV personality Steve Irwin, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is facing backlash on social media.
Irwin would have turned 57 on Friday, and to honor the host of "The Crocodile Hunter," Google changed the logo on its search page.
The doodle was a slideshow featuring illustrations of Irwin searching for crocodiles and feeding the animals while working at the Australia Zoo. He died in 2006 during a snorkeling expedition when a stingray barb pierced his heart.
In response, PETA on Friday said Irwin "was killed while harassing a ray" and that the Google doodle "sends a dangerous, fawning message."
More:Crikey! Google honors wildlife conservationist Steve Irwin's birthday
The animal rights organization doubled down on the criticism in a pair of tweets to follow, implying Irwin didn't act like a "real wildlife expert."
Many Twitter users called out PETA for not being respectful of Irwin and his work.
Others said Irwin can both work with animals and respect them.
Some praised Irwin for educating the public about rare animals.
In a statement to USA TODAY about the backlash to the tweets, PETA said, "People should examine Steve Irwin’s record of wildlife molestation."
Part of PETA's motto is that animals not be used for entertainment.
Earlier this week, PETA also faced online criticism for a tweet that appeared to celebrate the death of fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld.
More:PETA slammed for 'cruel' tweet that appears to celebrate Karl Lagerfeld's death
"Karl Lagerfeld has gone, and his passing marks the end of an era when fur and exotic skins were seen as covetable. PETA sends condolences to our old nemesis's loved ones," the official Twitter of PETA UK posted less than an hour after his death.
Contributing: Brett Molina, USA TODAY. Follow USA TODAY's Ryan Miller on Twitter @RyanW_Miller
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b6d3554302c7c826e9f93dbc2e67134e
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/24/columbus-mississippi-first-tornado-death-2019/2971660002/
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Tornado tears through Columbus, Mississippi, leads to first tornado death of 2019
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Tornado tears through Columbus, Mississippi, leads to first tornado death of 2019
Stunned residents of a small Mississippi city were picking up the pieces Sunday after a violent tornado ripped through town, leaving one person dead – and marking the first tornado death of 2019.
The tornado in Columbus, which was triggered by a line of intense thunderstorms on Saturday evening, was confirmed by the National Weather Service in Jackson. The twister, part of a severe weather outbreak that battered the South, toppled trees and shattered businesses and homes in the city of 24,000 on the eastern border of the state.
Ashley Glynell Pounds, 41, of Tupelo died after a building collapsed on her and three other people, the office of Columbus Mayor Robert Smith confirmed in a Facebook post. Smith said 12 other people were injured.
Pounds' death was the first tornado death of 2019, according to The Weather Channel.
Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant said Sunday in a tweet that state emergency officials were working with first responders. "So far one fatality has been confirmed and damage assessments are now underway. We are saddened by the loss of life but thankful it was not much worse. We are grateful this Sunday morning," he said.
The tornado seriously damaged a school, two community center buildings and other warehouses and businesses, city spokesman Joe Dillon said.
More:Wild weather weekend: Blizzard, tornadoes, floods, ferocious winds all expected
Pastor Steve Blaylock of First Pentecostal Church of Columbus hugged his wife, Pat, on Sunday amid the broken lumber, destroyed pews and sheared-off roof that was once his church.
The building was “a total loss,” Blaylock said. But he said the church would still hold a Sunday prayer service and a scheduled baptism, using a borrowed portable baptismal pool.
“We will rebuild. We’ve got a good church here,” Blaylock said. “It will be a testimony of God.”
Residents described a harrowing rainstorm and powerful winds Saturday evening.
“The wind all of a sudden just got so strong and it was raining so much you could hardly see out the door, and I could hear a roaring. Evidently it came close,” Lee Lawrence told the Associated Press. Lawrence said four buildings on his used car lot were destroyed, car windows were blown out and uprooted trees were flung across vehicles.
Dax Clark, a meteorology student at Mississippi State University, told The Weather Channel he and some classmates took refuge at a gas station.
"We knew from the radar on our phones that the tornado was moving north of us, but the wind was still crazy," Clark said. "It did not hit our gas station directly but it was still pretty substantial."
More:2018 was an all-time record quiet year for tornadoes in the U.S.
Clark witnessed a trail of destruction after the storm roared through. "We saw homes without roofs and outer walls, a car flipped over into a ditch, and lots of trees and power lines down," he said.
Early damage reports indicate that at least 300 homes, 190 roads and bridges and 30 businesses in 20 counties were damaged by weekend storms throughout the state, according to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.
The agency said the National Weather Service confirmed that another tornado hit Tishomingo County, damaging two homes, two bridges and 22 roads.
Elsewhere, a man died after his vehicle became submerged in high water fueled by heavy rains in Knoxville, Tennessee. Officials in some eastern Kentucky counties also declared emergencies because of flooding and mudslides.
Contributing: The Associated Press
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832ebafaaa81a0f2717c26e0d0930325
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/24/military-draft-judge-rules-male-only-registration-unconstitutional/2968872002/
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With women in combat roles, a federal court rules male-only draft unconstitutional
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With women in combat roles, a federal court rules male-only draft unconstitutional
A federal judge in Texas has declared that an all-male military draft is unconstitutional, ruling that "the time has passed" for a debate on whether women belong in the military.
The decision deals the biggest legal blow to the Selective Service System since the Supreme Court upheld the draft registration process in 1981. In Rostker v. Goldberg, the court ruled that a male-only draft was "fully justified" because women were ineligible for combat roles.
But U.S. District Judge Gray Miller ruled late Friday that while historical restrictions on women serving in combat "may have justified past discrimination," men and women are now equally able to fight. In 2015, the Pentagon lifted all restrictions for women in military service.
More:Q&A: A judge has ruled the male-only military draft unconstitutional. What happens now?
The case was brought by the National Coalition For Men, a men's rights group, and two men who argued an all-male draft was unfair.
Men who fail to register with the Selective Service System at their 18th birthday can be denied public benefits such as federal employment and student loans. Women cannot register for Selective Service.
The ruling comes as an 11-member commission is studying the future of the Selective Service System, including whether women should be included or whether there should continue to be draft registration at all. The U.S. has maintained an all-volunteer military after the draft was discontinued in 1973, but the Selective Service System was reactivated in 1980 as a contingency in case military conscription becomes necessary again.
The National Commission on Military, National and Public Service released an interim report last month giving no hints on where it would come down on those questions. But, commission chairman Joe Heck told USA TODAY, "I don’t think we will remain with the status quo."
More:Should women be required to register for the draft? Commission likely to recommend big changes
The government had argued that the court should delay its ruling until that commission makes its recommendations. But Miller said Congress has been debating the issue since 1980, and the commission's final report won't come until next year. And because the commission is advisory, there's no guarantee Congress will act, he said.
Miller said Congress has never fully examined whether men are physically better able to serve than women. In fact, he noted in a footnote, "the average woman could conceivably be better suited physically for some of today's combat positions than the average man, depending on which skills the position required. Combat roles no longer uniformly require sheer size or muscle."
Quoting the Supreme Court's ruling overturning bans on same-sex marriage, Miller ruled that restrictions based on gender "must substantially serve an important governmental interest today."
The judge denied the government's request for a stay of the ruling. Justice Department officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
But the ruling came in the form of a declaratory judgment and not an injunction, meaning the court didn't specifically order the government how to change Selective Service to make it constitutional.
"Yes, to some extent this is symbolic, but it does have some real-world impact," said Marc Angelucci, the lawyer for the men challenging the Selective Service System. "Either they need to get rid of the draft registration, or they need to require women to do the same thing that men do."
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7a1ba77758cd0ccd39dbe95310efbe97
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/26/global-warming-99-9999-percent-chance-humans-cause/2994043002/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=usatodaycomnation-topstories
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99.9999 percent chance we're the cause of global warming, study says
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99.9999 percent chance we're the cause of global warming, study says
There's a 99.9999 percent chance that humans are the cause of global warming, a new study reported Monday.
This means we've reached the "gold standard" for certainty, a statistical measure typically used in particle physics.
Humanity burns fossil fuels such as oil, coal and gas, which release carbon dioxide (CO2) into the Earth's atmosphere and oceans. CO2 is the greenhouse gas that's most responsible for warming.
Study lead author Benjamin Santer of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory told Reuters that “the narrative out there that scientists don’t know the cause of climate change is wrong."
With only a one-in-a-million chance that humans aren't the cause, it's obvious that we need to dramatically reduce our emissions of carbon dioxide, experts say.
“We can’t afford to ignore such clear signals,” said Stephen Po-Chedley, a study co-author, referring to the past four decades of satellite measurements that plainly show increasing temperatures.
While not at 99 percent, the American public is getting on board with the issue: A poll last year from the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication found that 62 percent of Americans say that "global warming is caused mostly by human activities." This was a rise in 47 percent from five years earlier.
More:'Frogs in hot water?' We're getting used to weird weather as globe warms
More:UN report: 'Unprecedented changes' needed to protect Earth from global warming
The most recent report from the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, released in 2013, put the likelihood at 95 percent. That report said that in the Northern Hemisphere, the years 1983–2012 were likely the warmest 30-year period of the past 1,400 years.
The study was published Monday in the peer-reviewed British journal Nature Climate Change.
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42fb935493f4cf9932ccd34e9ae20d38
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/26/viral-girl-scout-cookie-buyer-faces-federal-drug-charges/2997284002/
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He went viral for buying out a Girl Scout cookie stand. Now he faces federal drug charges
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He went viral for buying out a Girl Scout cookie stand. Now he faces federal drug charges
A man who gained internet fame earlier this week for spending more than $500 on Girl Scout cookies was arrested Tuesday on federal drug charges.
Detric Lee McGowan posed for a photo with a group of Girl Scouts who were selling cookies outside a Bi-Lo grocery store in Mauldin, South Carolina, on Friday. He bought out their entire supply and said he wanted to help the girls get out of the cold, rainy weather.
In a social media post, Kayla Dillard, who manages cookie sales for the troop, described the exchange and included a photo of McGowan posing with two Girl Scouts. Before the post was deleted, it had been shared at least 5,000 times.
A DEA spokesman confirmed that McGowan was arrested Tuesday and was the same man who appeared in the photo that went viral. The spokesman said McGowan's arrest was unrelated to the social media post or cookie purchase.
An indictment filed on Feb. 19 states McGowan, who is also known as "Fat," is one of several suspects in an ongoing drug investigation that dates back to 2016. According to the indictment, he is charged with conspiracy to distribute heroin, cocaine and fentanyl; racketeering and conspiracy to defraud the United States. The drugs were transported from Mexico, the indictment states.
On Tuesday night, Karen Kelly, vice president of recruitment and marketing for Girl Scouts of South Carolina-Mountains to Midlands, responded to news of the arrest:
"Nobody was hurt. Nobody was threatened. We had no reason to believe that this man was anything other than one of our valuable customers that is helping Girl Scouts power awesome experiences through the Girl Scout Cookie Program.
"This is now in the hands of law enforcement and of course we will cooperate with authorities."
The story of McGowan's generosity gained national attention in recent days, with publications including The Washington Post, CBS News and USA TODAY reporting on the act of kindness.
When the viral photo was taken, McGowan revealed little about himself. "The only information we got out of the man was that he owns several businesses and that he was going to take the cookies to the businesses," Dillard told CBS.
His act left a positive impression on Dillard at the time, the network reported: "That man was just a very kind, sincere and humble man who loves children."
Contributing: Elizabeth LaFleur, The Greenville News; Joel Shannon, USA TODAY
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4d57b204bf41059a22a42ebe1fb5975f
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/27/28-women-may-have-miscarried-ice-custody-past-2-years/3003310002/
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28 women may have miscarried in ICE custody over the past 2 years
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28 women may have miscarried in ICE custody over the past 2 years
PHOENIX - The delivery of a stillborn baby by a 24-year-old Honduran woman at an immigration detention center in Texas has prompted renewed outrage from advocates about the dangers of detaining pregnant women.
ICE officials told The Arizona Republic in a statement that 28 women may have experienced a miscarriage just prior to or while in ICE custody over the past two fiscal years. Ten of the miscarriages occurred in fiscal year 2017, and 18 occurred in fiscal year 2018, according to a manual review of medical records as of Aug. 31, 2018, the statement said.
The delivery of a stillborn baby comes after the Trump administration ended an Obama-era policy against holding pregnant women in detention centers.
In 2016, under then-President Barack Obama's administration, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued a memo that said “absent extraordinary circumstances or the requirement of mandatory detention, pregnant women will generally not be detained by ICE.”
But in December 2017, President Donald Trump's administration ended that policy as part of a crackdown on illegal immigration.
More:Thousands of migrant children report they were sexually assaulted in U.S. custody
More:Honduran migrant delivers stillborn baby while in ICE custody in Texas
The decision prompted an outcry from 250 advocacy organizations. They warned in an April 2018 letter that detention centers were not equipped to provide the specialized medical care that pregnant women need, and holding pregnant women in detention centers endangered their lives.
"This is again another example of how the Trump administration's aggressive anti-immigration enforcement policies are subjecting vulnerable immigrants to abuse and just tragic outcomes that are completely unnecessary," said Victoria Lopez, an attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union.
The group, along with several other organizations, filed a complaint against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in September 2017 after hearing reports from immigration lawyers that ICE was violating its own policy against detaining pregnant women, she said.
The complaint documented the accounts of nine pregnant women who had been held in immigration detention centers while in ICE custody. The nine women complained of inadequate medical care, and at least one said she suffered a miscarriage while being held in a detention center.
Advocacy groups have complained about care at immigration facilities
From Oct. 1, 2017, to Aug. 31, 2018, a total of 1,655 pregnant women were booked into ICE custody, the statement said. As of Aug. 31, there were 60 pregnant detainees in ICE custody, the statement said.
The statement noted that ICE policy requires urinalysis testing for all females of reproductive age entering ICE custody. The testing is likely to pick up some early pregnancies and miscarriages that may have been unknown to the individual, the statement said.
Advocacy organizations have long complained about poor medical care at immigration detention facilities, where at least 34 people have died since December 2015, according to the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
More:ICE halts force-feeding detainees on hunger strike at El Paso immigration detention center
The Honduran woman was six months pregnant when she was apprehended by the Border Patrol shortly before midnight on Feb. 18 near Hidalgo, Texas, ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said in a joint statement released Monday.
While in Border Patrol custody, the woman was taken to the hospital and cleared for release on Feb. 21 after receiving two medical screenings, the statement said.
On Feb. 22, the woman went into premature labor and delivered a stillborn child after being transferred to the Port Isabel Detention Center, near Brownsville in south Texas, the statement said.
Hispanic Congressional Caucus wants ICE to investigate stillborn death
On Tuesday, members of the Hispanic Congressional Caucus demanded that ICE conduct a full investigation into the stillborn child.
U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, the chairman of the caucus, said medical experts have stated that immigration detention centers do not have the necessary medical facilities to properly care for pregnant women and they should be released in a timely manner.
But the Trump administration announced last year that it would detain most pregnant migrants instead of releasing them as the previous administration chose to do, Castro said in a statement.
More:Multiple detainees at ICE facility have mumps, Texas authorities confirm
"As a result of this cruel policy change, we have heard of several alarming stories of pregnant women receiving inadequate medical care and even miscarrying while in DHS custody," the statement said.
The delivery of a stillborn baby comes as the Trump administration is already under fire after three people, including two children, died while in the custody of U.S. Customs and Border Protection since December.
More:Emails show how fake university set up by ICE lured foreign students
Follow Daniel Gonzales on Twitter: @azdangonzalez
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724b3bd8f55c487e7589c13b4e6428e3
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/27/california-floods-hundreds-flee-their-homes-thousands-refuse/3004836002/
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Hundreds flee as record rainfall swamps northern California, but thousands refuse to leave
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Hundreds flee as record rainfall swamps northern California, but thousands refuse to leave
Rivers swollen by days of heavy rain inundated portions of northern California on Wednesday, forcing hundreds of people to flee their homes.
However, about half of the 4,000 people ordered to leave have refused to do so. "We want you to leave now," Sonoma County Sheriff Mark Essick urged. "The roads may become impassable and you may not be able to get out."
Those who decided to stay stocked up on food and drinking water.
Two towns – Guerneville and Monte Rio – were islands surrounded by water, local officials said. The only way to reach the two communities now is by boat.
The swollen Russian River topped 32 feet Tuesday evening and it could crest at more than 46 feet by Wednesday night, which would be its highest level in about 25 years, according to the National Weather Service.
More:More rain, snow expected in storm-battered California, following days of mudslides and floods
The weather service issued flood warnings throughout the Sacramento Valley on Tuesday as tame roadside gullies boiled angrily with runoff, and creeks rushed over roads in some areas.
“It’s been mainly the small streams that have been running really high," said meteorologist Craig Shoemaker at the weather service office in Sacramento.
Parts of northern California scarred by last year's devastating wildfires are especially vulnerable to flooding, he said.
One rain gauge in Shasta County near Lassen National Park has picked up over 20 inches of rain in the past few days, the weather service said.
Heavy snow in the Sierra Nevada will continue, the weather service said, and "an additional 1 to 3 feet of snow is possible there through Friday morning."
Mount Shasta Ski Park, about 185 miles north of Sacramento, was closed Tuesday as park officials shoveled the resort out from under the dumping of snow it received over the past day.
"We have not experienced this amount of snow in such a short span in a long time," the park posted on Facebook Tuesday morning. "We have received 40 inches of snow in the last day and we are expecting 20 inches more today.”
The snow has already buried other parts of the Northwest: Officials in rural western Montana are prepared to rescue nearly 50 snowed-in residents of Cascade County if they need help.
Contributing: The Associated Press; The (Redding, Calif.) Record Searchlight
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5f87a84eae6c0206d253705397cc86bb
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/28/75-year-old-man-gets-bit-rattlesnake/3024545002/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=usatodaycomnation-topstories
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Man rode his bike for half-hour to seek help after being bit by rattlesnake
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Man rode his bike for half-hour to seek help after being bit by rattlesnake
PHOENIX – Jim Watkins was on a bike ride with a friend on an Arizona trail Wednesday afternoon when he fell off his bike and into a bush.
If that wasn't bad enough, he was bit by a rattlesnake after he landed.
Watkins, 75, was biking up a steep part of the trail at Apache Wash in northern Phoenix at about 3:45 p.m. when he lost momentum and fell beside the trail, he said, discussing the ordeal Thursday from a hospital where he was being treated.
“It felt like a bee sting. And then as I looked down, I could see the snake was recoiling back up, but still vibrating his rattles. And so I pulled away,” Watkins said.
Watkins, who was bit on his left calf, then rode with his friend for 30 minutes to get back to the trailhead. His friend called poison control right away to seek advice.
"Once I got in the truck, I got poison control on the speaker phone and started talking with them. And they said, 'This is serious, you need to go to an emergency room,'" Watkins said.
Wakins responded: "Well, right now I feel fine. It just feels like a bee sting."
Watkins went to Banner University Medical Center and was assessed once he arrived.
He received three treatments of anti-venom – 12 vials in all – that counteracted the snake's venom and reduced the swelling.
"Most Arizona emergency departments and hospitals have anti-venom. But there's only a couple of hospitals that have medical toxicologists that specialize in this care," said Daniel Brooks, medical director of Banner’s Poison and Drug Information Center.
Brooks advises that anyone who gets bit by a rattlesnake should get anti-venom as soon as possible. Walking, running and riding a mountain bike all increase blood circulation and can put your at risk for secondary injuries, Brooks said.
"Wherever the bite is, is where most of the damage is going to occur. And that means breakdown of muscle and skin, as well as a lot of edema and swelling," Brooks said.
Brooks said the most important factor in a rattlesnake bite is to consider how much venom is injected.
As the weather warms up, rattlesnakes are out on the hiking trails. Brooks gives this advice to anyone planning on hiking:
"In the warm deserts, rattlesnakes are most active from March through October. In the spring, they are active during daylight hours. As days become increasingly hot around early May, rattlesnakes become more active at night and spend the day in a spot of shade or a cool shelter," according to the Arizona Game and Fish Department.
More:Rare two-headed snake found in Virginia has died
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5a01ef6dc5ea6f5fd9115aeba30c459a
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/03/02/stephon-clark-shooting-if-cops-face-charges-over-black-man-death/3040152002/
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Cops who fatally shot Stephon Clark, an unarmed black man, last year will not face criminal charges, Sacramento AG says
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Cops who fatally shot Stephon Clark, an unarmed black man, last year will not face criminal charges, Sacramento AG says
Prosecutors on Saturday announced they would not charge two Sacramento police officers in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man in his grandmother's backyard, saying video evidence showed the cops had a reasonable belief at the time that the victim had a weapon and threatened their lives.
After the shooting last March, emotions ran high when protests and rallies disrupted traffic and blocked access to NBA basketball games. At least one city council meeting was interrupted by protesters.
In a lengthy presentation to reporters, Sacramento District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert said the evidence – including video of the scene – showed that the victim, Stephon Clark, 22, was advancing on the two officers and was in a shooting posture when they opened fire.
Officers Terrance Mercadal and Jared Robinet both said they saw a light that appeared to be either a flash from the muzzle of the gun or light reflecting off of a firearm.
“We must recognize that they are often forced to make split-second decisions and we must recognize that they are under tense, uncertain and rapidly evolving circumstances,” Schubert said.
Clark, however, was not armed, but was carrying a cellphone at the time.
“Clearly we all know he didn’t have a gun,”Schubert said. “But the officers didn’t know that."
Schubert's recitation of the evidence included a detailed description of the contents of Clark's phone that showed he was upset over a domestic violence incident with his girlfriend, Selena, two nights before. It also showed that he had been trying to reconcile with her and had, at the same time, been searching the internet for information on how to commit suicide.
Schubert said the strains with Selena, the mother of his children, including her threats to notify his probation officer, prompted him to call her 76 times in the two days before the backyard fatal shooting.
At one point he drafted, but never sent, a text to law enforcement, "I'm pretty scared I'm going to be put in jail."
Schubert said it was clear that the personal incidents "weighed very heavily on his mind."
In addition, Schubert said a toxicology screen also showed that he had traces of Codeine, marijuana and Xanax in his body at the time of the incident.
Clark was shot seven times by police searching for a suspect smashing car windows in the area. Although the officers were not aware of it at the time, the prosecutor said evidence in the investigation showed that Clark had been the vandal.
Video from a sheriff's department surveillance helicopter showed Clark jumping a fence into the yard moments before the shooting. Police were also not aware at the time that he had entered his grandmother's yard.
Schubert said her role in the highly emotional case was simply to determine whether a crime had been committed by the officers, and the authorities determined that the answer was no.
“The evidence in this case demonstrates that both officers had an honest and reasonable belief that they were in imminent danger of death or great bodily injury,” Schubert wrote in a seven-page summary that accompanied the report. “Therefore, the shooting of Mr. Clark was lawful and no criminal charges will be filed.”
Clark’s family, including his two sons, his parents and his grandparents, filed a wrongful death lawsuit in January seeking more than $20 million from the city, Mercadal and Robinet, alleging that the cops used excessive force and that Clark was a victim of racial profiling.
One of the officers who shot Clark is black and the other is white, police said.
Regarding the potential reaction from the community, which had mounted angry demonstrations following the shooting last March, Schubert said she realizes many people will be upset at her findings, but she said the decision "does not diminish in any way the tragedy" of the loss of a human life.
"Stephon Clark’s death was a tragedy that has had a devastating impact on his family and our community,” Schubert wrote in a summary of the extensive report. “A young man lost his life and many lives have been irreversibly changed. No decision or report will restore Stephon Clark’s life.”
The two officers were initially placed on administrative leave after the shooting but were back on the job within a few weeks.
Although an independent autopsy ordered by Clark's family determined that he was shot by police mostly from behind, a Sacramento County Coroner's report conducted by a forensic pathologist found Clark had been shot once in the front of the left thigh, three times directly to the side, and three times in the right side of the back.
Clark didn't immediately die from his wounds even though just one of the wounds could have been fatal on its own, said Dr. Bennet Omalu, who conducted the autopsy for the family.
Authorities have said several minutes passed before Clark was treated because of fears he was armed.
Black Lives Matter Sacramento tweeted Saturday that a protest was mounting at the police station. "MURDER IS MURDER! Stephon was stolen from his family! THERE ARE NO EXCUSES! WE DEMAND JUSTICE!!!! COME THRU NOW!!!!"
More:Stephon Clark's family seeks $15+ million against Sacramento cops
Autopsy:Stephon Clark shot 8 times, mostly in back, independent autopsy finds
On Facebook, the local chapter of the activist movement posted that the protest is happening from 1 to 5 p.m. PST. "They murder us in our yards and on our streets and get away with it every single time! Let them feel us TODAY!”
So far, 131 people marked that they are going to attend and 187 others marked that they are interested.
The founder of Black Lives Matter Sacramento told a reporter that the organization was planning the event for a year, according to the organization's Twitter page.
Business owners and political leaders have received warnings in recent days to stay away from downtown at least through the weekend.
The Rev. Al Sharpton, who delivered a eulogy at Clark’s funeral in 2018, tweeted support for the Clark family and said the shooting was an "outrage!!"
In a follow-up tweet, Sharpton wrote: "We must stand w/ Stephon Clark ‘s family and pursue justice. This young man’s life should not be marked worthless. Where’s accountability."
Paramedics took Clark's grandmother to the hospital on Saturday after the announcement was made that no criminal charges are being filed against the two officers, the Washington Post reports. She had been under extreme stress since Clark’s death in 2018, and the events of the day had been “too much,” a family friend told the Washington Post.
Sacramento Mayor Darrel Steinberg issued a statement saying that there "are safe zones available to families and young people looking for somewhere to go today to talk about their feelings following the #StephonClark decision.”
The mayor, who has served since 2016, tweeted, "I’m proud of the community leadership in @TheCityofSac for their heartfelt examination in recent weeks of how we can have both peace and justice."
California Gov. Gavin Newsom and civil rights advocates are calling for reforms in the state's criminal justice system.
“This must be a time for change,” Newsom said in a statement. “We need to acknowledge the hard truth – our criminal justice system treats young black and Latino men and women differently than their white counterparts. That must change,” Newsom said.
The American Civil Liberties Union tweeted, "We stand with the Clark family in calling on California legislators to act now to prevent more of these deadly tragedies – and subsequent miscarriages of justice – from happening."
“No family should have to live through what Mr. Clark’s family is going through: first traumatized by a system of policing that violently and unjustly takes the lives of unarmed Black men at alarming rates and retraumatized again by a justice system that is set up to sanction these unnecessary killings,” Lizzie Buchen, legislative advocate for the ACLU of Northern California said in a statement.
Sequette Clark, the 22-year-old victim's mother, spoke at a news conference Saturday afternoon, saying she doesn't accept the prosecutors' decision not to file charges.
"My faith in the justice system is what it has been. It's not for us. It's not for the black community," Sequette Clark said.
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f54434af0004d63a056de1b58090b6cf
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/03/02/wanaque-virus-outbreak-feds-impose-600-000-fine-11-childrens-deaths/3044724002/
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Feds impose $600,000 fine on New Jersey nursing home after 11 children die
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Feds impose $600,000 fine on New Jersey nursing home after 11 children die
WOODLAND PARK, N.J. – The federal government has imposed a $600,000 fine on a New Jersey nursing home where 11 children died and 36 became sick during a virus outbreak last fall.
The penalty results from inspections by state and federal health officials during the outbreak that found conditions at the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation posed an “immediate jeopardy” to the lives and health of the facility’s 53 ventilator-dependent children and 150 other pediatric and elderly residents.
Inspectors described lapses in hand-washing and infection control, substandard care, a lack of involvement by the medical director, and poor oversight by the facility's administration. Federal inspectors said those alleged failures “directly contributed” to the inability to prevent the outbreak and contain it once it started, leading to the deaths.
Those conditions existed from Oct. 9, the day the center learned that one of its patients had died of adenovirus, to Nov. 16, according to a letter from Lauren D. Reinertsen of the regional office for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which regulates nursing homes.
The center is now in compliance with federal and state regulations, according to officials. But it is still barred from admitting pediatric ventilator patients while awaiting state approval for its written infection-control plan.
Wanaque center appeals
The Wanaque center strongly disputed the findings in the federal inspection report, first described this week by NorthJersey.com and the USA TODAY Network.
It is appealing the federal inspectors’ findings because “their conclusions are so wrong and so damaging,” Paul Fishman, the former federal prosecutor who represents the center’s owners, said in an interview Friday with NorthJersey.com.
A spokesperson for the federal agency, however, said it "stands behind the findings” in its report, which “stemmed from direct observation, interviews with facility leadership and staff, and medical record reviews.”
“We will continue to demand accountability from facilities that fail to meet the fundamental health and safety needs of the patients and residents they serve,” the spokesperson said.
The center has appealed to an Administrative Law judge at the Department of Health and Human Services and also asked for an independent mediator to try to resolve the dispute informally, before it goes to a judge. A conclusion is likely to take months.
The legal debate over responsibility for the catastrophe may obscure the disturbing details of how some of the Wanaque children spent their final days. Those details are contained in the 114-page federal inspection report of the facility.
More:Staff failures led to 11 deaths at New Jersey care center, report says
Inspectors cite poor care
Some children were wracked with fever for days before the staff sent them to the hospital, where two died within hours of arriving at the emergency room, according to federal inspectors. Another child spent 19 days in the hospital before being sent back to the nursing home with a hole punched in her airway to help her breathe.
Even after the state had advised the Wanaque center how to control the outbreak of adenovirus, at least two children who’d been free of symptoms – but had roommates who were sick – became ill themselves and died, federal inspectors wrote, citing medical records.
The nursing home “failed to provide timely interventions and care in accordance with professional standards of practice,” the inspectors wrote. That pattern of substandard care put all of the home’s residents in jeopardy, they found.
The team from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid spent five days at the facility in mid-November, at the peak of the outbreak. The team included specialists in infection control and epidemiology, and surveyors and managers from the agency’s regional office in New York, an agency spokesperson said.
Lawyers for the center say the findings about patient care were wrong. They are “sensational accusatory conclusions that lack any support whatsoever,” said Andrew Aronson, in a lengthy letter to the federal agency. The inspectors did not speak with medical professionals at the center about the care of the patients cited, he said.
One child whose case was highlighted by the inspectors was bleeding from his trachea, the airway in the neck where the ventilator tube connects, when he was taken to the hospital on Oct. 20. His nurse had noted blood in the feeding tube to his stomach the day before. He never made it out of the emergency room, dying there less than four hours after he arrived.
The emergency room doctor who treated two patients from the Wanaque center told NJ.com in November that the two boys were in “irreversible shock upon arrival.”
When the child arrived at the hospital, he had already been sick for eight days: his temperature had spiked at 103.5 degrees on Oct. 12 and came down only for short periods as nurses alternated doses of Tylenol and Motrin, the report said, citing medical records. Six days before he died, the boy’s temperature was 103.9. The nurses in the center also noted that his heart rate was abnormally fast – 140 or 150 times a minute, the report said.
The nurses repeatedly suctioned large amounts of thick secretions from his breathing tube, the report said. They tried cooling measures, such as flushing his feeding tube with ice water, but nothing worked. Ultimately, the doctor ordered them by telephone to send the boy to the hospital via ambulance.
He died there soon after arriving, having spent his short life suffering from cerebral palsy, convulsions, brain damage due to lack of oxygen – and finally, adenovirus.
The boy became ill after the outbreak was already reported as adenovirus to the state Health Department and the center said it had implemented the state’s infection control recommendations. But the boy’s roommate – from whom he was not separated – was already sick, the report noted.
Doctor: outbreak 'unavoidable'
In a rebuttal to the federal report’s findings, Edward J. McManus, an infectious disease specialist hired by the Wanaque center at the direction of the state, noted that adenovirus has a two-week incubation period.
Nearly all the residents of the pediatric ventilator unit had been exposed by the time the nursing home learned on Oct. 9 that adenovirus had caused the death of one of the children, he wrote. When they did learn, additional precautions were taken.
Nothing the center could have done "could have prevented its residents from being exposed to the virus,” he wrote, in a statement submitted to the federal mediator. The outbreak was “unavoidable”; its spread and tragic results were due to its severity and the vulnerability of the center’s patients.
Adenovirus 7, the strain that infected Wanaque, is one of the most difficult strains of the virus to contain, and the young patients at the center – who relied on ventilators to breathe and, in many cases, feeding tubes for nutrition – were particularly susceptible.
More:Killer virus outbreak from mom for weeks
Days with high fever
Another child who died in the hospital emergency room was feverish for a week at the nursing home – with a temperature reaching 104.6 one day – before being sent to the hospital.
The boy, who had brain damage and was ventilator-dependent, was treated with antibiotics at the center but they didn’t help, the report said, citing medical records. He died within five hours of his arrival at the emergency room on Oct. 17.
And another child who survived adenovirus spent 19 days in the hospital before returning with a new tracheostomy, an opening into the neck that allows air to enter the lungs through a tube.
The child’s temperature bounced around from 101 to 104 degrees for five days before she went to the hospital, the inspectors noted, writing that the pediatric medical director and the nurse practitioner “waited one week before sending (the child) to the hospital. This delay in treatment and transfer resulted in the resident returning with a tracheostomy.”
Aronson said the federal inspector’s report “inappropriately focuses almost exclusively on whether and when (the residents) were running a fever.” Some of the children ran fevers often, wrote Aronson. He added that the child who received a tracheostomy had been expected to get one even before the outbreak occurred.
The report “substitutes the opinion of federal surveyors for the medical judgment of the licensed, experienced medical professionals who have attended and cared for these residents every day for years," Aronson wrote.
The outbreak was “a tragic event,” Rowena Bautista, the center’s administrator, said in a statement. But it was "not caused by any delayed treatment or any other unfounded allegation contained in the [federal] CMS Report.”
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2689cf16443106119dd0ca16cad1a5bc
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/03/03/taco-bell-rescue-man-survives-5-days-snow-taco-sauce/3048665002/
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Man, dog survive 5 days in Oregon snow: 'Taco Bell fire sauce saves lives!'
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Man, dog survive 5 days in Oregon snow: 'Taco Bell fire sauce saves lives!'
A man stranded for five days with his dog when their car became stuck in Oregon's deep snow survived by eating taco sauce packets and periodically starting his vehicle for warmth.
Jeremy Taylor, 36, and his dog Ally were found Friday by a snowmobiler on a Forest Service road near Sunriver, about 180 miles south Portland, the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office said.
"Jeremy and Ally were found to be in good condition but hungry after being stuck in the snow for five days," Sgt. William Bailey said. Rescuers shuttled the tandem out of the woods on a snow tractor.
Taylor told investigators his 2000 black Toyota 4Runner became stuck in the snow Feb. 24. He awoke the next day to even more snow and tried to walk out but was turned back.
Taylor posted thanks on Facebook to his rescuers – and to Taco Bell.
“Thank you everyone, I’m safe my Ally dog is safe," he said. "I really appreciate all the help. Got lucky, let's never do that again."
The Cascade Range in central Oregon has been hammered for more than a week by a series of intense snowstorms. Scores of friends and others commented on Taylor's good fortune to survive and be rescued. Some were amazed that Taylor could survive on packets of taco sauce.
"Taco Bell fire sauce saves lives!" Taylor responded.
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61ad18fda7c9f42d5d0605cb8b4813a2
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/03/04/alabama-tornado-victims-identified-lee-county/3062733002/
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'Heartbroken': Alabama tornado victims to be identified, 23 dead
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'Heartbroken': Alabama tornado victims to be identified, 23 dead
BEAUREGARD, Ala. — Lee County authorities on Tuesday will release the names of the 23 people killed when a tornado tore through the rural area Sunday shredding homes, trees and power lines.
County coroner Bill Harris on Monday night said he expected the death toll to be higher, based on the devastation. The twister packing 170-mph winds cut a mile-long swath through the area.
"I can't believe it," Harris said Monday. "I thought we'd see more."
The victims ranged in age from a nine-year-old boy who died at a hospital from his injuries, to a woman in her 90s who died near her home. The storm also killed an entire family of three and a family of four. Most of the victims suffered extensive blunt-force trauma, Harris said, and many were sucked out of their homes.
Sunday's tornado was the deadliest twister since 2013, when 25 people were killed in Oklahoma.
About 10,000 people live in the Beauregard community, which is about 60 miles east of Montgomery and has a few small stores, two schools and a volunteer fire department along the main highway.
“Everybody in Beauregard is a real close-knit family,” said Jonathan Clardy, who huddled with his family inside their trailer as the tornado ripped the roof off. “Everybody knows everybody around here. Everybody is heartbroken.”
Steve Whatley's wife, daughter and mother-in-law, Vicki Braswell, hunkered under a mattress in their mobile home as the tornado sucked their home into the air. Whatley said his mother-in-law died when the mobile home collapsed.
“We heard it coming but by the time we knew what it was, it hit us. That’s when all hell broke loose,” said Whatley, 36. “It picked us up and dumped us back down 50 feet away.” Watley’s wife was still hospitalized Monday with multiple injuries.
More :Resident in rural Alabama community hit by twister: 'I thought I was gone'
More:Alabama tornado in Lee County has killed more than all 2018 US tornadoes combined
Of the injured, Harris said two people remained in intensive care. The coroner called in help from the state to assist his staff of four with body recovery, identification and cause of death.
He then sat with the families for about four hours on Monday, formalizing IDs and explaining how their loved ones died.
"I thought I could handle this but I found out right quick it was beyond my scope," Harris, 64, said Monday night as a stream of hearses and minivans collected the bodies for transport to funeral homes.
Contributing: The Associated Press; Joseph Castle,The Montgomery Advertiser
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cabfee39286e39b8d46dbab45edfdb7f
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/03/05/no-criminal-charges-uber-fatal-tempe-crash-tempe-police-further-investigate-driver/3072478002/
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No criminal charges for Uber in Arizona death; police asked to further investigate driver
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No criminal charges for Uber in Arizona death; police asked to further investigate driver
PHOENIX – Prosecutors announced Tuesday that they didn't find evidence to criminally charge Uber in the crash that killed a woman a year ago in Tempe.
But it is leaving possible criminal charges against the autonomous car's operator back in Maricopa County officials' hands.
Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Sullivan Polk's Office took the case at the request of Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery after he cited a potential conflict of interest. Polk in a Monday letter to Montgomery said her office would recommend that Tempe police further investigate to help Montgomery's office determine if any other charges should be filed against the driver.
A report the Tempe Police Department released in June revealed 44-year-old Rafaela Vasquez, the operator of Uber's self-driving vehicle, was watching "The Voice" via a streaming service when the autonomous car hit 49-year-old Elena Herzberg on March 18 as she crossed a street outside of a crosswalk with her bike.
Vasquez's eyes were focused on the phone screen instead of the road for approximately 32 percent of the 22-minute period, the report said. Tempe investigators later determined the crash would not have occurred if Vasquez had been "monitoring the vehicle and roadway conditions and was not distracted.”
But Polk said that wasn't enough to prosecute Uber.
"After a very thorough review of all the evidence presented, this Office has determined that there is no basis for criminal liability for the Uber corporation arising from this matter," Polk wrote in her letter. "Because this determination eliminates the basis for the MCAO conflict, we are returning the matter to MCAO for further review for criminal charges."
Specifically, Polk said in her letter, that police should have an expert analyst view the video of the crash.
"The purpose of the expert analysis is to closely match what (and when) the person sitting in the driver’s seat of the vehicle would or should have seen that night given the vehicle’s speed, lighting conditions, and other relevant factors," Polk wrote in her letter.
$10 million claim
In February, Herzberg's daughter, Christine Wood, and Herzberg's husband, Rolf Ziemann, through their lawyers, filed a $10 million claim against the city of Tempe.
The notice says the city is liable for the accident because the median of the street where the accident occurred "has a brick pathway cutting through the desert landscaping that is clearly designed to accommodate people to cross at the site of the accident."
The city of Tempe tore out that X-shaped brick path in the median south of Curry Road in the fall, city spokeswoman Nikki Ripley confirmed. The brick walkway was replaced with rock landscaping and plants.
The change was made about the time the city was hit with the claim.
More:Tempe faces $10 million claim in Uber self-driving vehicle fatality
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f5e6acd0484938d9f6bb50bac4e00238
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/03/06/daylight-saving-time-2019/3078574002/
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Daylight saving time begins Sunday: Who observes it, will it affect health?
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Daylight saving time begins Sunday: Who observes it, will it affect health?
Editor's note: Part of this story from The Arizona Republic was published in 2017.
The vast majority of Americans will lose an hour of sleep on Sunday as clocks are set ahead for daylight saving time.
Arizona and Hawaii do not observe daylight saving time, which was first enacted by the federal government March 19, 1918, during World War I as a way to conserve coal. Other non-observers of daylight saving time are American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
While most cellphones and other devices take care of the time change automatically, traditional clocks need to be adjusted manually when the time changes at 2 a.m. Sunday. (Yes, that makes it 3 a.m.)
How daylight saving time messes with your body
Heart attack or stroke. According to a study led by a University of Colorado fellow in 2014, when Americans lose one hour of sleep in the spring, the risk of heart attack increases 25 percent. When the clock gives back that hour of sleep the risk of heart attack decreases by 21 percent. (The limited study looked at hospital admission data in Michigan over a four-year period.)
Nov. 2:How Daylight Saving affects your sleep and overall health
Sleep. Gaining or losing an hour probably will affect sleep patterns, often for about five to seven days, said Timothy Morgenthaler, Mayo Clinic's co-director of the Center for Sleep Medicine. The most notable changes are in those who regularly do not get enough sleep. People who are sleep-deprived might struggle with memory, learning, social interactions and overall cognitive performance.
"People have more changes in how sleepy they feel or how it affects the quality of their sleep when we 'spring forward' than when we 'fall back,' " Morgenthaler said.
The nonprofit Better Sleep Council suggests going to bed at least 15 minutes earlier than your set bedtime days before the time change.
Daylight saving facts
• Daylight saving was ostensibly started to save energy, but it turned out people enjoyed having an extra hour of daylight after work. But not in Arizona, where sunlight only extends the heat-related misery.
• The Navajo Reservation observes daylight saving time; the Hopi Reservation does not. The Navajo Reservation surrounds the Hopi Reservation, so if on Monday you drive from Flagstaff to Gallup through Tuba City and Ganado, you'll change time on four occasions.
• Western Indiana used to be even more confusing as some counties and cities observed daylight saving while others did not. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 put an end to that, leaving Arizona as the only two-timing state, so to speak.
• On Feb. 9, 1942, Americans set their clocks an hour ahead and kept them there until Sept. 30, 1945. It was officially War Time, with zones reflecting the change (Arizona, for example, was on Mountain War Time).
• China may or may not manipulate its currency, but it does mess with the clock. Though spread over five time zones, China recognizes only one, Beijing time. It is supposed to promote unity, but for those who live in the far west, the summer sun sets as late as midnight.
• If the U.S. observed the one-time-zone policy (Washington, D.C., time, of course), the summer sun in Arizona would set as late as 10:42 p.m.
• In 1991 and again in 2014, a few lawmakers floated the idea of having Arizona join daylight saving time. Republicans and Democrats were united in their rejection of such a proposal.
March 2018:Daylight saving time is almost here — and it's turning 100 years old
• Massachusetts officials considered moving the state into the Atlantic Standard Time Zone from the Eastern Time Zone. In effect, Massachusetts would be an hour ahead of the rest of New England, effectively adopting DST year-round.
• More than 70 countries observe daylight saving time. No one is sure just how much daylight is saved, globally, each year, though physics indicates none.
• It is daylight saving time, not daylight savings time. So it is decreed by those who spend inordinate amounts of time policing words.
States consider year-round daylight saving time
In 2017, 26 states considered making daylight saving time permanent, according to Time Zone, a group tracking and promoting the effort.
While ditching daylight saving involves a state merely notifying the Department of Transportation, enacting it year-round is more involved, including approval by Congress. A state can not “permanently” stay on daylight saving time under federal law, the DOT says.
The Florida Legislature voted last year to observe daylight saving time year-round, meaning when the rest of the county moves their clocks back in the fall, Florida wouldn't. Rick Scott, who was the governor, approved the measure to go into effect on July 1, but the move hasn't been approved by Congress.
On Wednesday, Sen. Marco Rubio, Scott, now the junior senator from Florida, and Rep. Vern Buchanan, all Republicans from Florida, introduced the "Sunshine Protection Act" in Congress that would make daylight saving time permanent across the country.
In November, a ballot initiative that proposed authorizing the California Legislature to reform daylight saving time passed with 60 percent voter approval. State legislators can now vote to keep California permanently on daylight saving time. The policy change will require two-thirds approval in the Legislature, then passage in Congress and a presidential signature.
A month after the election, Assemblyman Kansen Chu, a Democrat from San Jose, California, introduced Assembly Bill 7, which proposed keeping California on daylight saving time year-round.
Chu said he's confident the bill will pass through the state legislature with bipartisan support and two-thirds approval.
“It’s going through the process and will hopefully have its first hearing hopefully toward the end of the month,” Chu said.
If the bill passes, California will join Florida, whose legislature passed a similar bill to implement daylight saving time year-round and which now awaits permission from the federal government.
Congress has considered bills to allow states to remain on daylight saving time permanently, but they've stalled before legislators in either the House or Senate have had the chance to vote on them.
How daylight saving time affects Arizona
When daylight saving time begins Sunday, Arizona will be three hours behind New York, two hours behind Chicago, an hour behind Denver and the same time as Los Angeles.
• Sporting events outside Arizona will start an hour earlier, a welcome change when NCAA's March Madness rolls around (though inconsequential for baseball because who outside of sports reporters watches to the end?).
• Shows will start earlier on some cable TV networks.
• More importantly for Arizona, the sun will set at its normally scheduled time, though in summer it's always way-too-late-thirty. If DST were enforced, the sun would stay up until 8:42 p.m. around the summer solstice, past the bedtime of the average Baby Boomer.
Daylight saving time will end Nov. 3.
Scott Craven writes for The Arizona Republic; Ashley May and Doyle Rice write for USA TODAY. Contributing: Dejanay Booth, Detroit Free Press; Ashley White, Tallahassee Democrat; Sam Metz, Palm Springs (Calif.) Desert Sun; Jim Little, Pensacola (Fla.) News Journal. Follow Craven, May and Rice on Twitter: @Scott_Craven2, @ashleymaytweets and @usatodayweather
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87b5b67837e027f9ff99785dc0db7541
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/03/06/esketamine-nasal-spray-drug-could-transform-treatment-depression/3077883002/
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'It saved my life': Relative of party drug 'Special K' could revolutionize depression treatment
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'It saved my life': Relative of party drug 'Special K' could revolutionize depression treatment
A new medication related to the iconic party drug "Special K" that can rapidly treat depression could revolutionize the treatment of the condition affecting more than 16 million Americans, experts say.
A subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson has won fast-track approval from the Food and Drug Administration for use of the drug esketamine combined with an oral antidepressant for adults who have tried at least two other treatment options without success.
Esketamine, administered as a nasal spray, is a cousin of the anesthetic ketamine, which was once a popular recreational drug. Studies have shown ketamine's effectiveness against depression, and ketamine clinics already operate across the nation.
Psychiatrist Steven Levine operates nine ketamine clinics nationwide to treat major depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and other conditions with intravenous "infusions."
He said the FDA approval will mean more patients will be willing to try the drugs – and that the new drug will be covered by insurance.
"This is an enormous deal in terms of access to care," Levine said. "And the degree of advancement can't be overstated. This is truly the best new option in over 60 years. And more will be coming down the pike."
Levine said he has treated more than 3,000 patients with ketamine at his Actify Neurotherapies clinics. But he said he expects to stock esketamine within months "happily coexisting" with the older drug.
Jonathan Herbst, 42, says he has been battling depression for more than 20 years.
A financial services manager in Philadelphia, he began ketamine treatments in August – five or six treatments in the first two weeks, then one maintenance treatment every three or four weeks.
"It's been a lifesaver – literally I feel like it saved my life," Herbst said. "I lived my life carrying around a ton of bricks and suddenly that bag of bricks isn't there anymore."
The drug is not a panacea. The FDA warned that esketamine distribution will be tightly controlled due to the potential for abuse, suicidal thoughts and sedation along with possible problems with attention, judgment and thinking.
Demitri Papolos, associate professor of clinical psychiatry at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, says the new drug might not work as well as the old one. Papolos, who said he has been successfully treating patients with ketamine for a decade, said esketamine could also end up costing more than the generic ketamine.
"I am also afraid that if these drugs are hyped too much they will be overused," he said. "Ketamine is valuable for a specific form of mood disorder, not run-of-the-mill depression, in my experience."
Esketamine is for patients with "treatment-resistant depression," a major depressive disorder that at least two alternative antidepressant treatments failed to adequately address. Levine estimated that about half of the 16 million or more people who are treated for depression are treatment-resistant.
Tiffany Farchione is acting director of the Division of Psychiatry Products in the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.
"There has been a long-standing need for additional, effective treatments for treatment-resistant depression, a serious and life-threatening condition," she said.
Farchione said the agency reviewed controlled clinical trials of the drug before approving it. The spray may not be taken home; the patient self-administers Spravato nasal spray in a doctor’s office or clinic. Patients must be monitored by a health care provider for at least two hours after receiving their Spravato dose.
In a four-week clinical trial, the Spravato nasal spray demonstrated a "statistically significant effect" compared to a placebo, the FDA said, and some effect was seen within two days.
A longer-term trial showed treatment with Spravato plus an oral antidepressant provided "significantly longer time to relapse of depressive symptoms" than patients on a placebo.
The most common side effects in the clinical trials were disassociation, dizziness, nausea, sedation, vertigo, decreased feeling or sensitivity, anxiety, lethargy, increased blood pressure, vomiting and feeling drunk.
The FDA approved ketamine as a general anesthetic in 1970. “Special K" emerged on the party scene years later, and ketamine became a controlled substance in 1999.
"Esketamine isn't really much different for our purposes," Levine said. "But the impact will be tremendous."
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6291ebdb3154fd7b2eaedd6ddff47695
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/03/06/florida-sisters-perfect-murder-love-triangle-confession/3087243002/
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Police say two sisters committed 'the perfect murder' in 2015. Here's how they got caught
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Police say two sisters committed 'the perfect murder' in 2015. Here's how they got caught
Two sisters in Florida have been charged with killing their father after one of them confessed four years later to a man they both had a relationship with.
Linda Roberts, 62, and Mary-Beth Tomaselli, 63, were arrested Tuesday and charged with first-degree murder in the 2015 death of 85-year-old Anthony Tomaselli, according to a statement from the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.
"This is in some respects – as we sometimes call these things – it's the perfect murder, because there was absolutely no sign of struggle, no sign of foul play," Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said at a news conference. "He had cancer. He had dementia. He was seriously ill. ... They could have easily gotten away with it."
Deputies were called March 6, 2015, to a Palm Harbor home, where they found Anthony Tomaselli unresponsive and attempted CPR, according to police. He was pronounced dead by paramedics and no signs of foul play or criminal activity were reported.
The sisters told police that they had taken their father for a ride to the beach and that he’d fallen asleep on the couch. They claimed when they awoke the next morning, they discovered he wasn’t breathing, attempted CPR and called 911.
Because of his advanced age and medical conditions, a physician listed his cause of death as natural, meaning no autopsy would be performed.
Gualtieri said detectives began investigating Tomaselli’s death as a homicide when a man who had a sexual relationship with both of the sisters informed detectives he had a recording of Roberts confessing to murdering her father in 2015.
The man, who has not been identified by police, worked with authorities to get additional recordings from both Roberts and her sister concerning their father’s death.
According to Gualtieri, the women first attempted to give their father sleeping pills mixed with alcohol, but that didn’t work so they tried to suffocate him with a pillow. When that also didn’t work, they stuffed a rag down his throat, pinched his nose and held down his arms until he stopped breathing.
Mary-Beth Tomaselli also admitted to giving sleeping pills to her adult daughter, who was at the home that night, so that she wouldn’t witness the murder.
The women later sold their father’s home and split $120,000 in proceeds with their brother, who was not involved in the murder, Gualtieri said.
Both women repeatedly referred to the killing as “premeditated,” saying that they “euthanized” their father because he was going to die soon and refused to live in an assisted living facility, according to police.
“It’s terrible that they put that much effort and thought into killing their dad,” Gualtieri said. “Thankfully, they’re not getting away with it.”
Follow N'dea Yancey-Bragg on Twitter: @NdeaYanceyBragg
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11ad85dd096883964c1806187b80ab5d
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/03/07/chris-watts-murder-confession-mostly-truthful-credible-da-says/3098939002/
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Chris Watts grisly murder confession: ‘Reality turns out to be much worse’ than DA imagined
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Chris Watts grisly murder confession: ‘Reality turns out to be much worse’ than DA imagined
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Prosecutors and investigators believe Christopher Watts' recent confession as to how and why he killed his wife and daughters in August is largely truthful.
Weld County District Attorney Michael Rourke previously invited Watts to one day come forward with a full, truthful confession after he was sentenced Nov. 19.
Rourke told the Coloradoan on Thursday he was surprised to hear how forthcoming Watts was when investigators from the FBI, Colorado Bureau of Investigation and Frederick Police Department unexpectedly came to the Wisconsin prison and asked to speak with him Feb. 18.
Throughout their investigation and prosecution of this case, Rourke said they tried to figure out what happened, but he told the Coloradoan that “reality turns out to be much worse than anything any of us surmised from the evidence we had ... about the worst you could imagine.”
More:Chris Watts confesses to killing daughters for first time
After Watts was sentenced to three consecutive life terms in prison, Rourke said he doubted Watts would ever give an honest account of the killings. But on Thursday, Rourke said he believes Watts' recent confession to investigators is a "truthful, credible account" of the killings.
Mostly.
“I’m assuming what he is telling is truthful,” Rourke said, adding that the skilled investigators who interviewed Watts also believe he was honest in his most recent confession. “I don’t think that everything that came out of his mouth during those interviews was the truth because I honestly don’t believe that this monster has the ability to have remorse at all.”
Rourke said some pieces of evidence match Watts' most recent confession, including footage from a neighbor's security camera that shows another shadow aside from Watts' by his truck when he was loading Shanann's body into the back seat.
In the video released by the Weld County District Attorney's Office, Watts is seen standing by his work truck when another shadow appears to be moving toward him, and Watts leans down to pick something up, likely one of the girls.
That video "would be consistent with his statements that the girls were alive when they left the house and walked out to the truck," Rourke said.
Watts has never testified under oath with the threat of perjury in this case.
Prosecutors and investigators previously believed Watts killed his wife, Shanann, and their daughters, 4-year-old Bella and 3-year-old Celeste, at their Frederick home before disposing of their bodies at the oil site owned by Watts’ former employer.
They believed Watts killed his family to start a new life with a coworker whom he had recently begun having an affair with. On Feb. 18, Watts told investigators his affair “contributed” to the murders, but she never asked him to harm his family.
Watts said he didn’t realize he was unhappy with his marriage until he started having the affair in July.
“God gave me opportunities to get out," Watts said, referring to his affair. "I just wish I could take it all back."
Watts and Shanann were having what he described as an emotional conversation about their relationship in the early-morning hours of Aug. 13 when Watts told Shanann he no longer loved her.
Shanann told him, "You're never gonna see the kids again," and he said he "snapped" and immediately strangled her.
Watts also admitted to killing Bella and Celeste after driving them over an hour away to an oil site, where he buried Shanann in a shallow grave and dumped his daughter’s bodies in oil tanks.
“Once she was gone, I didn’t know what was going on,” Watts recently told investigators. “It was like a traumatic … a traumatic event. I was shaking, I didn’t know what had happened. … I wasn’t in control of what I could think or what I could do at that point in time.”
Prior to his arrest Aug. 15, about 24 hours after pleading for his family’s safe return on television news stations, Watts told investigators he strangled his wife “in a rage” after seeing her kill their two daughters on a baby monitor screen.
Watts admitted to those same investigators in the recent interview that he wouldn’t have thought to place the blame on Shanann if investigators hadn’t brought it up to him.
“I never thought about that story,” Watts told investigators Feb. 18. “And, you know, that’s what my attorneys were going with.”
Watts said he “just went with it” partly because he knew his family would believe it because they never liked Shanann.
But, two weeks after he was arrested, Watts said he told his attorneys the truth about what happened. His attorneys asked him “about 100 times” if he would be interested in accepting a plea agreement if one was offered, and Watts said he would plead guilty to “end it all.”
Watts said his attorneys never pressured him into taking a plea deal and they were “ready to fight” for him, but his parents still feel like he was “railroaded” into accepting the plea agreement, which involved pleading guilty to all nine charges in order to remove the death penalty as a sentencing option.
Watts said his parents received tips from people worldwide that a supplement he used that claims to help with health and weight loss is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration and “can alter someone’s mind.”
Watts told investigators wearing the Duo Burn patches increased his heart rate, made him “feel like he was working out all day,” and allowed him to sleep for just three hours a night.
His parents also suggested he defend himself by saying he had complex post traumatic stress disorder from an emotionally abusive relationship, but Watts told investigators while he may have related partly to the CPTSD diagnosis, “it doesn’t make up for what happened.”
Follow Sady Swanson on Twitter: @sadyswan.
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c9868d8dc08341fc4e23d798dac24670
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/03/07/utah-teacher-forced-student-wash-off-ash-wednesday-cross/3097026002/
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Utah teacher on leave after forcing student to wash off Ash Wednesday cross
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Utah teacher on leave after forcing student to wash off Ash Wednesday cross
A Utah school district has placed a teacher on administrative leave for forcing a 9-year-old student to remove the cross of ashes from his forehead on Ash Wednesday.
Student William McLeod, who is Catholic, was left crying and embarrassed by the experience in a Davis School District classroom, grandmother Karen Fisher said. The teacher told McLeod that the cross was inappropriate and forced him to wash it off, according to Fisher's account of the incident.
"We take the matter very seriously and are investigating the situation. The teacher is currently on administrative leave," Davis School District spokesman Christopher Williams told USA TODAY in a written statement on Thursday.
"We are sorry about what happened and apologize to the student and the family for the teacher’s actions. The actions were unacceptable. No student should ever be asked or required to remove an ash cross from his or her forehead," the statement reads.
Ash Wednesday – officially known as the Day of Ashes – is a day of repentance, when Christians confess their sins and profess their devotion to God. The ashes are placed on a worshiper's forehead in the shape of a cross. The symbol is meant to show that a person belongs to Jesus Christ, and it also represents a person's grief and mourning for their sins.
In an interview with Salt Lake City's Fox 13, McLeod said he was the only student in his class who had an ash cross. When he was asked to remove the cross by his teacher, he says he tried to explain its significance.
“She took me aside and she said, ‘You have to take it off,’” McLeod told the station. “She gave me a disinfection wipe – whatever they are called – and she made me wipe it off.”
Williams says the teacher gave the student a handwritten apology. He also told USA TODAY that the school district worked with the family to have an ordained Catholic deacon apply an ash cross to McLeod's forehead.
Contributing: Brett Molina, USA TODAY; Dwight Adams, Indianapolis Star; The Associated Press
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35913f225f484d5e079cb247331a4fec
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/03/08/tornadoes-blizzard-wild-weather-blast-u-s-weekend/3091668002/
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Wild weather weekend to bring blizzard for Midwest, possible tornadoes in Southeast
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Wild weather weekend to bring blizzard for Midwest, possible tornadoes in Southeast
A massive storm is bringing a mix of wild weather to the central and southern U.S. this weekend, including blizzard conditions in the Midwest and the chance for tornadoes in the Southeast.
The snowstorm will likely be at its strongest later Saturday and into Sunday, AccuWeather meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said. The heaviest snow is expected in the Dakotas and Minnesota. "Strengthening winds will greatly lower the visibility and cause extensive blowing and drifting snow," he said.
Wind gusts of up to 45 mph are likely, weather.com meteorologist Linda Lam said, which could result in reduced visibility, drifting snow and blizzard conditions in some locations in the northern Plains.
Roads will quickly become slick and snow-covered once the snow starts falling, AccuWeather said. Travel this weekend could be difficult at times, the National Weather Service warned.
At least another foot of snow could paste winter-weary Minneapolis, which has already seen over 5 feet of snow this season. "This will be a heavy, wet snow and add extra stress to buildings, which could lead to roof collapses," the weather service said.
The weather service in North Dakota issued a "cold advisory for newborn livestock" because of the severity of the forecast.
More:All missing people have been accounted for from deadly Alabama tornado, sheriff says
Winds from the storm will howl around the Great Lakes states on Sunday; gusts of 60 to 70 mph are possible in Chicago, Detroit and Buffalo, New York.
Meanwhile, another outbreak of severe weather and tornadoes is taking aim on the Deep South on Saturday. The areas at highest risk include Arkansas, southern Missouri, northern Mississippi and western Tennessee, the Storm Prediction Center said.
Memphis is the city most at risk for severe weather Saturday. The city and the area around it is under an "enhanced risk" for severe storms, which is level 3 on the 1-5 scale of risk areas.
More:Alabama tornado victims revealed; area braces for weekend storms – and possible severe weather
"The full spectrum of severe weather is anticipated, ranging from damaging wind gusts, large hail and frequent lightning strikes to flash flooding and tornadoes," according to AccuWeather meteorologist Kayla St. Germain.
"The greatest period of concern is from early Saturday afternoon into Saturday night," St. Germain said.
Alabama, where the worst of last weekend's devastating outbreak hit, is not in the highest risk area for severe weather this weekend.
Last Sunday, at least 39 tornadoes hit the Southeast, the weather service said. The worst was the EF4 twister that roared through Lee County, Alabama, with 170 mph winds, killing 23 people and injuring 90.
Unfortunately, looking ahead to early next week, yet another big storm will again deliver a mix of snowy and stormy weather to the central United States.
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1d1f22a662ba8f371c1d8e1110f70546
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/03/09/smoking-hookah-tobacco-harmful-cigarettes-heath-experts/3113536002/
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Smoking hookah tobacco can be as harmful as cigarettes, health experts say
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Smoking hookah tobacco can be as harmful as cigarettes, health experts say
For years, many people have been convinced that smoking tobacco in a hookah is less harmful than cigarettes because the tobacco is filtered through water.
It's risen in popularity among young people, in particular, who are drawn to tobacco sold in colorful packaging and in fruit and candy flavors.
But a new scientific statement released this week by a group of medical researchers debunks that misconception, saying that smoking tobacco in windpipes, water pipes or hookahs results in inhaling toxic chemicals, often at even greater levels than cigarette smoke.
The statement, published in the American Heart Association's journal Circulation, says that hookah smokers, during sessions that typically last 30 minutes, tend to inhale liters of smoke filled with large quantities of hazardous matter at higher levels than cigarettes.
Aruni Bhatnagar, professor of medicine and director of the University of Louisville Diabetes and Obesity Center in Kentucky, said in a statement that hookah smoke contains harmful substances and that the American Heart Association "strongly recommends" avoiding the use of tobacco in any form.
Bhatnagar helped write the statement on behalf of 10 other health experts who are co-authors. The main features of hookahs — which have entire bars devoted to the popular practice across the U.S. — include a head or a bowl to hold the tobacco, a water base and a hose that connects to a mouthpiece.
The statement says that direct comparisons between hookah smoking and cigarettes have limitations, but that a hookah session has greater carbon monoxide exposure than a single cigarette. Hookah users on average take three to five sessions a day, studies have shown.
"Comparing a single cigarette with a single water pipe session shows that water pipe use exposes smokers to significantly higher levels of heavier and more toxic (PAHs) polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons than cigarette smoking," the statement says.
More:Millions of teens are vaping every day. Here's what they have to say about it
More:Surgeon General calls youth vaping a public health threat
But it isn't just the length of a hookah session that makes it harmful, the researchers say.
Short-term exposure to carbon monoxide in hookahs is toxic as well. They argue it "acutely impacts heart rate and blood pressure" and that chronic use is associated with increased long-term risk for coronary artery disease.
The medical statement says that hookah smoke contains other potentially harmful chemicals as well that can affect the cardiovascular system: nicotine, air pollutants, particulate matter, volatile organic chemicals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, acrolein, lead, cadmium and arsenic.
"Most of these toxins are higher in hookah than cigarette smoke," the American Heart Association warns.
Helping fuel the popularity of hookahs, health experts say, is a misconception that smoking from a hookah is not addictive. In reality, they argue, people who smoke hookahs are in greater risk to start smoking cigarettes than people who don't smoke.
In the United States, hookah smoking is most popular among young adults between 18 and 24, which accounts for 55 percent of hookah smokers, according to studies cited by the American Heart Association.
Hookah tobacco smoking is used by 13.8 percent of young adults and 4.8 percent of high school students. That's on the rise, reflecting greater hookah usage among young people in the United Kingdom and the Middle East.
The group of health care professionals say that more research is needed to more effectively communicate the negative health impacts of hookah smoking.
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/03/09/winter-storms-heavy-snow-wind-likely-midwest-severe-storms-south/3114189002/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=usatodaycomnation-topstories
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Tornadoes cause damage in south; no injuries reported
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Tornadoes cause damage in south; no injuries reported
Tornadoes touched down in the south as two powerful winter storms Saturday threatened dangerous winds and heavy snow from the Northern Plains to Upper Midwest, and hail and tornadoes from northeast Texas into southern Indiana.
By Saturday afternoon, two tornadoes had already touched down in Arkansas.
There were no reports of injuries or deaths nearly a week after a tornado killed 23 people in Alabama.
A tornado touched down near Carlisle, about 30 miles east of Little Rock, Arkansas, and a second storm was near the unincorporated community of Slovak, southeast of Carlisle, said National Weather Service meteorologist Joe Goudsward.
Video on Facebook appears to show the destructive weather phenomenon in Slovak.
Prairie County Sheriff Rick Hickman in Arkansas said several buildings were destroyed, power lines were brought down and at least one home was damaged.
“It was more than straight-line winds. One of the shops, it had debris strewn over two miles, (another) one of them was just twisted in a big twist with metal on top of automobiles that were in there,” Hickman said.
March 8:Wild weather weekend to bring blizzard for Midwest, possible tornadoes in Southeast
In northeast Mississippi, strong winds tore away roofs and pulled down bricks from some buildings in the small community of Walnut, population about 3,000.
The National Weather Service in Jackson, Mississippi, confirmed on Twitter that a tornado touched down in Montgomery County on Saturday afternoon.
"Take shelter if you're in the path of this storm!" the weather service tweeted.
AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski warns of heavy, wind-driven snows from the Dakotas to parts of northern Michigan from Saturday night to Sunday morning.
The National Weather service warned of hazardous driving conditions on the snow-covered roads in the target areas.
Wind gusts in excess of 50 mph threaten to topple high-profile vehicles and bring widespread power outages and property damage, according to AccuWeather.
Winter storm warnings were in effect from parts of the northern Plains into the upper Mississippi Valley.
By mid-morning Saturday, parts of the western Dakotas had already seen up to 9 inches of snow.
Much of central and western Minnesota, in the Twin cities, was bracing for up to 10 inches of snow.
In the south, warm, humid air pushing out of the Gulf of Mexico ahead of a cold front was expected to produce heavy rains, thunderstorm, hail and possible tornadoes from the central Gulf Coast to the Ohio Valley.
The Weather Channel says a powerful jet stream pushing into the Mississippi Valley will deliver the deep wind shear – the change in wind speed and direction with height – required to support severe thunderstorms.
Contributing: The Associated Press.
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/03/11/clay-shrout-killed-family-held-class-hostage-parole/3135674002/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=usatodaycomnation-topstories
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At 17, Clay Shrout killed his family and held his classmates hostage. Now he's up for parole
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At 17, Clay Shrout killed his family and held his classmates hostage. Now he's up for parole
CINCINNATI - Clay Shrout has been in jail for the past 25 years, all of his adult life. This month, the man who killed his entire family and took a classroom full of students hostage could be released on parole.
Shrout was 17 in 1994. By all accounts, he was smart, gifted even. He excelled as a student at Ryle High School in suburban Northern Kentucky, but there were signs he was in a spiral.
His friends said he had become depressed and obsessed with death and gore. He inexplicably quit his job at Rally's, jumping out of the window mid-shift. He brought a stun gun and bullets to school.
His parents took away the keys to his truck, his phone privileges and insisted he stop listening to heavy metal and alternative rock.
The stories about Shrout from the time have all the buzzwords that would later sprinkle coverage of school shooters: Anarchist Cookbook, black trench coat, combat boots. It would be another five years before the Columbine school shooting in Colorado.
"He wrote grotesque stories for creative writing class and began collecting knives, brass knuckles and making pipe bombs," one reporter wrote.
Shrout even has his own entry on the website schoolshooters.info, but he never hurt any of his fellow students. No shots were fired at Ryle High School that May 25.
What happened is really a tale of two crimes: The first was horrific, but the second was, in some ways, more memorable. Today, it is easy to see the classroom takeover as a foreshadowing of things to come.
Parkland shooting anniversary:Parkland remembers 17 lives lost one year ago, hopes for a safer future
Four dead in their bedrooms
Walter and Becky Shrout were college sweethearts meeting while they were both at Georgetown College. They were in their mid-20s when their son was born. In the following years, they had two daughters, Kristen and Lauren.
The churchgoing family lived in a two-story house on Tiburon Drive in Florence, Kentucky. There was a pool in the back and flowerbeds in the front. They owned two horses.
Kristen, 14, and Lauren, 12, were both involved in gymnastics and rode the family horses at shows. They played with the family pets: Cleo the black Labrador, Lady the poodle and a gerbil.
On Tuesday, May 23, Walter and Becky were attending a school concert to watch Lauren play the xylophone. That's the last time most people ever saw them alive.
The sole account of what happened that Wednesday morning comes from Shrout's best friend, Richard Brown. Shrout called him around 6 a.m.
More:Friends of Clay Shrout said teen hated violence but became 'consumed' with it
Brown said Shrout woke up with the intent to kill his parents. The rest of the conversation he recounted to reporters at the time:
Shrout said he got up at 5 a.m. armed himself with a .380 caliber pistol and walked into his parent's bedroom. He shot his mother first, then his father. The noise brought Kristen to the doorway of her own room where she was also gunned down.
Shrout didn't say how he shot and killed his sister Lauren, but did say he shot his father a second time as he crawled toward the door of his bedroom.
"He told me, 'I wish it was a dream; I wish I could wake up,' " Brown said.
It was the murder of his family that sent Shrout to prison. The charges related to his actions at the school were dropped as part of a plea deal, a deal that Shrout accepted to avoid the death penalty.
There was no trial. The judge declared he was guilty, but mentally ill.
Shrout never had to explain why he did what he did. The courts sealed his psychological evaluations.
For Gale Sams Sipple, whose son attended Ryle at the same time as Shrout, the slaying of his family outweighs anything that happened at Ryle. She thinks Shrout should stay in jail.
"He has none of the things that parolees who are successful in re-entering life outside prison have; most importantly, a support system," Sipple said. "He killed his support system that day in 1994."
'I could come face to face with him'
After his phone call with Brown, Shrout called another friend, then his prom date, Danielle Butsch. He drove to pick up Butsch, who went to a different school, and headed for Ryle. Police later called it an abduction.
Teacher Carol Kanabroski didn't know Shrout had a gun when he walked into her trigonometry class that Wednesday. She just knew he was late and had brought a girl with him, and she wanted an explanation.
When Shrout encountered his math teacher, he explained someone was holding a class hostage. Kanabroski asked who.
"It was me," Shrout said, according to students in the room, and he pulled out the gun.
More:How an Indiana school protects against mass shootings as the 'safest school in America'
Kanabroski asked if she could help him, and the teen then told the class he had just killed his family. He told Kanabroski to keep teaching.
"My one concern through that whole thing was how do I keep my students safe," Kanabroski told The Enquirer in a recent interview.
She said she tried offering herself as a hostage and found herself wondering if her desk would stop a bullet.
"My students were terrific. They followed my lead, staying calm," she said. "Believe me, it was hard to stay calm."
When a student came to the door of the classroom, Kanabroski managed to quietly pass along that someone had a gun in the classroom. That student relayed the information to the office, and Vice Principal Steve Sorrell quickly came in.
In an act of heroism, he convinced Shrout to let the class go and turn over the gun. The ordeal was over in about 17 minutes.
Marcie Fillmore Francis was in the classroom that day. She said it was the first time she really felt it could be the end.
"This could be the time that I die," she recalled thinking. "Do I need to square anything with God?"
Now, a quarter century later, she believes Shrout should be released if he has reformed.
"I would love for him to have another chance to grow and move on," Francis said and suggested he could possibly help troubled teens.
Kanabroski tries not to think about the incident very much, but she never really moved on. She kept teaching in the same classroom - Room 203 - for another 20 years until she retired in 2015.
"It was a matter of saying 'I'm in control,' " she said. "I guess I was just stubborn."
Kanabroski said she has put her trust in the parole board to make the right decision.
"It does frighten me," she said. "If he gets released on parole, I could come face to face with him."
More:Arming teachers in schools will be banned in New York, among other new gun-control measures
A warning shot
There was gun violence in schools before Columbine and before Shrout took a pistol a class.
In September 1993, a New Richmond, Ohio, freshman brought a gun to school and took his social studies class hostage until a teacher was able to talk him into surrendering. The student was sentenced to six months in juvenile detention.
Aaron Gillum sits on Kentucky's State School Security and Safety Board. He was also in Kanabroski's classroom the day Shrout came in with a gun.
He remembers when the code phrase was broadcast over the intercom that day, a signal for other teachers to lock their doors. He said it was something like, "Would the superintendent please report to the office." It was part of Ryle's newly formed crisis plan.
Gillum said there were three people in class that day who knew what that code meant. Kanabroski, himself and Shrout. Gillum said he and Shrout were both fascinated by computers and both had accessed administrative files on the school computer system that contained the code.
"He said, 'That means they know I'm here,' " Gillum said.
Gillum considers what happened at Ryle a warning shot.
After Parkland shooting:A day-by-day fight over guns in America
"I don't know that we've learned enough in the last 25 years," he told The Enquirer. "I don't know how many of those warning shots you get."
Gillum says schools are still having major problems in anticipating troubled students and developing realistic safety plans. He says a lot the shortfalls come down to funding issues.
"Through a horrifically massive amount of evidence from the school violence events in our country over the past two and a half decades," he said, "we should equally have amassed enough research and conclusions on how to predict, prevent, and repel any situation we've encountered."
Kanabroski echoed many of Gillum's concerns and added that teachers need help.
"Teachers can see 125 students a day," she said. "It's hard to do your job and be a mental health professional.
'Once you go over that line'
Shrout's parole hearing is scheduled for March 20. The board could decide his fate that same day, but they have the option of taking several days to finalize their decision.
In addition to the murders, the board will also consider Shrout's behavior since he's been in prison.
During the first 10 years of his sentence, Shrout accumulated 29 pages of infractions. These included having weapons in his cell and planning an escape.
Gillum doesn't believe Shrout will be granted parole and thinks he should stay in prison because of how remorseless he was after the killings.
"When you observe something like that directly, you have your sense that everything is OK destroyed," Gillum said. "I don't think once you go over that line there's any coming back."
Follow Cameron Knight on Twitter: @ckpj99
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/03/11/mom-charged-kids-locked-suv-rolled-into-creek/3136622002/
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Mississippi mom charged after two children drown locked in SUV that rolled into creek
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Mississippi mom charged after two children drown locked in SUV that rolled into creek
JACKSON, Miss. – The mother who left her three children in a vehicle that slid into a creek has been arrested and charged with negligent manslaughter.
Jenea Monique Payne, 25, was arrested around noon Monday and charged with two counts of negligent manslaughter and one count of child neglect, according to Leland Assistant Chief of Police Marcus Davis.
According to Davis, Payne told investigators she left her three children — Steve Smith, 4; Raelynn Johnson, 2; and Rasheed Johnson Jr., 1 — asleep in the car while she went inside a local quick stop. The car was turned off, Davis said, but Payne left the keys in the vehicle. Using witness accounts, the Clarion Ledger previously reported the car was in park and running at the time of the incident.
The 4-year-old was in a seatbelt in the front seat while the youngest two children were in carseats in the back, David said. Payne was in the store for "five to 10 minutes."
Davis said investigators believe the 4-year-old put the keys in the ignition, turned the car on and put it in neutral, causing it to roll into the creek.
Davis could not explain why Payne would have left her sleeping children in a locked car with the keys inside or how the 4-year-old could have reached the brake to depress it in order to crank the SUV.
"We'll look into it further," he said.
More:Indiana mother arrested on neglect charge after missing 3-month-old found dead
More:Iowa couple accused of stealing $163k, running unlicensed day care tied to child's death
Firefighters and bystanders rushed to save the children, jumping into the creek and trying to break the vehicle's windows. They managed to free Raelynn but couldn't save the two boys. The SUV was taken by the water river and found hours later with the bodies of the two boys inside.
Payne was charged for the children's deaths, Davis said, because "she ended up leaving three minors unattended for a length of time when she went into a store. That's illegal in itself. That was part of the negligence that led ultimately to their deaths."
The case will now go to the district attorney's office, Davis said, but the department did not consult with the DA before filing charges against Payne. District Attorney Dewayne Richardson could not immediately be reached for comment Monday.
Payne bonded out of jail Monday afternoon, Davis said. The bond amount was not immediately available. An attorney has not yet been appointed.
When asked about Payne being charged with manslaughter on what could possibly have been an accident, Davis said, "The charge ain't the problem. It's losing the children that's the problem. That's the horrible thing."
More:Mother guilty of murder in death of infant found amid maggots in baby swing
More:5-year-old Delaware boy left on freezing school bus for several hours after multiple safeguards fail
Follow Sarah Fowler on Twitter: @FowlerSarah
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/03/11/national-napping-day-holiday-daylight-saving-time/3128194002/
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#NationalNappingDay is here for you, this Monday after daylight saving time
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#NationalNappingDay is here for you, this Monday after daylight saving time
After most Americans lost an hour of sleep over the weekend, a day to celebrate naps seems more than welcome.
Clocks were set ahead Sunday morning to observe daylight saving time (not daylight savings time) in all states apart from Arizona and Hawaii, states that don't observe the time change first enacted by the federal government in 1918 as a way to conserve coal.
While clocks jumped ahead, our bodies likely haven't adjusted — and they probably won't for about five to seven days, according to sleep experts. Hence, #NationalNappingDay. The holiday is about as official as Pancake Day. According to Boston University, a professor and his wife began observing the day to show the health benefits of napping.
"We chose this particular Monday because Americans are more ‘nap-ready’ than usual after losing an hour of sleep to daylight savings time,” professor William Anthony said in a statement.
People who regularly don't get enough sleep are usually most affected by the lost hour, said Timothy Morgenthaler, Mayo Clinic's co-director of the Center for Sleep Medicine. People who are sleep-deprived might struggle with memory, learning, social interactions and overall cognitive performance.
Some advocate that napping could help. Short naps (10 to 30 minutes) in the afternoon can be a great way to recharge, Lois Krahn, a psychiatrist and a sleep specialist at Mayo Clinic Arizona says.
The internet couldn't agree more, as #NationalNappingDay topped Twitter trends Monday morning.
But, don't get caught napping for too long, as Krahn says napping too much could disrupt nighttime sleep. Also, for those waiting until the weekend to catch up on lost sleep — beware. A recent study out of Current Biology suggests people who use weekends to sleep in could gain more weight compared with those who don't.
More:Using weekends to catch up on sleep is not healthy, study says
Follow Ashley May on Twitter: @AshleyMayTweets
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/03/11/virginia-woman-deborah-brown-wins-pick-4-lottery-30-times-one-day/3135074002/
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Lady luck: Virginia woman wins Pick 4 lottery 30 times in one day
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Lady luck: Virginia woman wins Pick 4 lottery 30 times in one day
A Virginia woman who won the lottery 30 times in one day said she just had a “feeling” about the numbers.
Deborah Brown initially bought 20 Pick 4 tickets with the same four numbers – 1-0-3-1 – according to a statement from the Virginia Lottery.
“A couple of times during the day, I saw those numbers,” she said in the statement.
She had such a good feeling about the numbers she bought 10 more tickets at the Shell station in Chesterfield County, Virginia.
The top prize for each $1 ticket was $5,000, so when Brown’s combination was drawn on Feb. 11 she racked up $150,000 in winnings.
As she was collecting her winnings, the Richmond woman said she "nearly had a heart attack."
The chances of matching all four numbers in that exact order are 1 in 10,000, according to lottery officials.
Brown said she doesn’t have immediate plans for her winnings, but is considering home renovations, according to the statement.
More:Park ranger furloughed in shutdown wins $29.5 million New Jersey jackpot
More:Winner of $1.5 billion Mega Millions jackpot has finally come forward in South Carolina
Follow N'dea Yancey-Bragg on Twitter: @NdeaYanceyBragg
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5f7ae851d959573c5d02014080d7a19b
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/03/12/boeing-max-8-what-we-dont-know-ethiopian-airlines-crash/3137239002/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=usatodaycomnation-topstories
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Will the US ground Boeing 737 Max 8 jets? Questions following Ethiopian Airlines crash left unanswered
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Will the US ground Boeing 737 Max 8 jets? Questions following Ethiopian Airlines crash left unanswered
(Corrections & Clarifications: This story has been updated to clarify the vacation travel of Melvin and Bennett Riffel.)
Days after an Ethiopian Airlines flight plowed into the ground after takeoff from Addis Ababa, killing all 157 people aboard, international investigators are still searching for answers.
Officials know the 4-month-old Boeing 737 MAX 8 plane crashed six minutes into its flight to Nairobi on Sunday morning after its pilot, who had more than 8,000 hours of flight experience, issued a distress call. The airline said crews did a "rigorous" maintenance check of the plane on Feb. 4.
A team of National Safety Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration investigators arrived at the crash site early Tuesday to aid the crash probe.
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The tragedy comes less than five months after a Lion Air plane of the same model crashed into the Java Sea 12 minutes after departing from Jakarta, Indonesia, killing all 189 passengers and crew.
Debuting in 2017, 74 MAX 8's fly in the U.S. and 387 fly worldwide. China, Indonesia, Singapore and Australia have temporarily grounded the planes, along with numerous airlines around the world.
In the U.S., the FAA has ordered no such grounding but said it expects to require Boeing to complete flight control system enhancements for the plane by month's end.
The stakes for Boeing are high: Airlines have ordered 4,661 more of the planes – the newest version of the 737 and best-selling airliner ever.
Here are three unanswered questions surrounding Sunday's crash:
Why did the plane crash?
We'll know soon since officials have recovered the black box voice and data recorders.
“They already have the black boxes and they will be able to read them in the next 48 hours,” said Michael Barr, an aviation safety expert who instructs at the University of Southern California’s Viterbi School of Engineering. “It’s going to be pretty quick.”
In the Lion Air investigation, it took officials one month to announce the plane was not airworthy on a flight the day before it crashed. Investigators determined an automatic safety feature repeatedly pulled the plane's nose down as the pilots struggled to control the plane.
More:How the Boeing 737 Max safety system differs from others
The Air Line Pilots Association, which represents more than 61,000 pilots at 33 airlines, warned against jumping to conclusions.
“As the various parties responsible for this investigation begin their work, we caution against speculation about what may have caused this tragic accident,” the organization said in a statement. “ALPA stands ready, through the International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations, to assist the international aviation community in every way possible with the shared goal of advancing a safer air transportation system around the globe.”
Will the U.S. ground the plane model?
Some experts and legislators have called upon regulators to ground all MAX 8 planes as a precaution, but airlines operating the model expressed confidence Monday in their fleets.
Southwest Airlines, which operates 34 of the planes, said on Twitter that the airline had completed 31,000 flights using the model and planned to move forward with them. American Airlines, which has 22 of the planes, doesn't plan to ground them, either, even as the union representing its flight attendants issued a bulletin detailing its concerns.
Boeing 737 Max:What you should know if you're booked on a flight
Ex-NTSB chief:Former NTSB chief: Hundreds of Boeing jets should be grounded in wake of Ethiopia crash
U.S. senators Dianne Feinstein, D-California, and Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, called on the Federal Aviation Administration and the airline industry to take precautionary measures.
“Until the cause of the crash is known and it’s clear that similar risks aren’t present in the domestic fleet, I believe all Boeing 737 MAX 8 series aircraft operating in the United States should be temporarily grounded,” Feinstein wrote. “This aircraft model represents only a small fraction of the domestic fleet, and several other countries have already taken this important step, including China and Indonesia.”
Mexican airline Aeromexico and Brazil’s Gol Airlines announced Monday night that they would suspend use of MAX 8 airplanes. And, early Tuesday, India’s Jet Airways announced it was grounding its five MAX 8 planes.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao said the department is monitoring the investigation, stressing that "safety is our first priority."
"I want travelers to be assured and that we are taking this seriously and monitoring latest developments," Chao said in a statement.
Who are the victims?
Investigators are still identifying the victims, including 149 passengers and eight crew members. The dead include at least 21 United Nations staff members along with others who worked with the organization, according to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Among the eight Americans who died were brothers from California, Melvin and Bennett Riffel. The Redding residents were traveling to Africa as part of a vacation.
Jake Mangas, a friend of the Riffel family, said Melvin was expecting to become a father in the spring.
"Our family is devastated for Ike and Susan (the brothers' parents) and certainly for Melvin's wife, Brittney," Mangas said. "They are wonderful, faith-filled people and if there is any encouragement to me, it's in this difficult circumstance, I know they are surrounded by a community that loves them very much."
A third-year Georgetown Law student was also lost. Cedric Asiavugwa was heading to Nairobi after his fiance's mother died, according to the university.
Contributing: John Bacon, USA TODAY; David Benda, Redding Record Searchlight; The Associated Press
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/03/12/ethiopian-airlines-plane-crash-faa-joins-probe-over-boeing-737-max-8/3137819002/
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FAA: 'No basis' to order grounding of Boeing 737 MAX 8 despite calls worldwide
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FAA: 'No basis' to order grounding of Boeing 737 MAX 8 despite calls worldwide
The Federal Aviation Administration stood by the safety of the Boeing 737 MAX on Tuesday, saying it hasn't found any issues at fault with the jetliner that would merit a grounding order, even as Britain, France and Germany joined the list of countries banning it from their skies.
"Thus far, our review shows no systemic performance issues and provides no basis to order grounding the aircraft," said Acting FAA Administrator Daniel K. Elwell in a statement.
He said the FAA continues to investigate the aircraft in the wake of Sunday's crash of an Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX 8 and that the agency will "take immediate and appropriate action" if something crops up.
More than two dozen airlines around the world have grounded the planes since the crash of Flight 302 that killed all 157 aboard, the second deadly crash of a MAX 8 in less than five months.
The Boeing 737 MAX fleet includes 74 flown by domestic carriers, among almost 400 worldwide.
Boeing stressed its “full confidence in the safety" of the planes Tuesday.
“The Federal Aviation Administration is not mandating any further action at this time, and based on the information currently available, we do not have any basis to issue new guidance to operators,” Boeing said in a statement.
The MAX 8 was 4 months old and minutes into a Nairobi-bound flight from Addis Ababa on Sunday when it nosedived into a field. In October, a Lion Air plane of the same model crashed into the Java Sea – 12 minutes after departing from the airport in Jakarta, Indonesia. None of the 189 passengers and crew survived.
Earlier in the day before Elwell issued his statement, the FAA said "external reports are drawing similarities between this accident and the Lion Air Flight 610 accident," but it added "this investigation has just begun, and to date, we have not been provided data to draw any conclusions or take any actions."
The agency said it expects to require Boeing to complete MAX 8 flight control system enhancements – prompted by the Lion Air crash – by month's end.
The United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority said it did not have sufficient information about the latest crash.
"We have, as a precautionary measure, issued instructions to stop any commercial passenger flights from any operator arriving, departing or overflying UK airspace," the authority said in a statement.
China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Oman and Australia are among other nations that grounded the planes. Turkish Airlines, Polish carrier LOT and Norwegian Air Shuttle joined more than two dozen airlines parking their MAX 8s Tuesday.
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There has been pushback in the USA as well.
Transport Workers Union Local 556 represents flight attendants on Southwest Airlines, which flies 34 of the planes. TWU issued a statement saying the planes should be grounded pending further investigation. "People must always be put over profits," the union tweeted.
The Association of Flight Attendants, which says it has nearly 50,000 members and is part of the Communications Workers of America, called for grounding the planes.
Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, urged the FAA to ground the planes "out of an abundance of caution for the flying public" until safety can be assured. Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.; Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.; and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., also called for the FAA to ground the MAX 8.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, in joining the growing chorus, said he would hold a hearing into the causes of the crashes as chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Aviation and Space.
The FAA said it was providing technical support to the Ethiopian Accident Investigation Bureau. Boeing said it was also aiding the investigation.
The plane was delivered to the airline in November, had flown 1,200 hours and had undergone a maintenance check Feb. 4. The pilot, who had more than 8,000 hours of flight experience, had issued a distress call and tried to return to the airport.
The "black box" voice and data recorders were found, raising hopes that investigators would soon learn more details of the crash. Airline CEO Tewolde GebreMariam told CNN the pilots told air traffic control they were having “flight control problems” before the crash.
More:3 questions don't have answers following Boeing MAX 8 crash
The stakes for Boeing are high: Airlines have ordered 4,661 more of the planes – the newest version of the 737 and best-selling airliner ever.
Southwest and American fly the plane, and both expressed confidence in their fleets. Southwest, which has 34 of the planes and is adding more, said on Twitter that the airline had flown 31,000 flights on 737 MAX planes and plans on "operating those aircraft going forward."
More:Boeing 737 Max: What you should know if you're booked on a flight
President Donald Trump weighed in on Twitter but took no position on grounding the planes. Trump said planes have become so complex that "computer scientists from MIT" are required to fly them.
"Split second decisions are needed, and the complexity creates danger," Trump added. "I don’t want Albert Einstein to be my pilot. I want great flying professionals that are allowed to easily and quickly take control of a plane!"
Trump spoke by phone with Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg, said two officials speaking on condition of anonymity because it was a private conversation. They declined to detail the conversation, except to say it came after Trump's tweet Tuesday.
Contributing: Bart Jansen, David Jackson, Donovan Slack and Tom Vanden Brook
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bd70d1b4ac274673ff35a29a6c89e26c
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/03/12/measles-outbreak-unvaccinated-students-barred-rockland-county-school/3145739002/
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Judge in New York denies request to allow 44 unvaccinated students back in class
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Judge in New York denies request to allow 44 unvaccinated students back in class
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. – A federal judge in New York on Tuesday denied a request for a temporary injunction that would have allowed 44 unvaccinated children to go back to class, citing an "unprecedented measles outbreak."
"The plaintiffs have not demonstrated that public interest weighs in favor of granting an injunction," U.S. District Court Judge Vincent Briccetti said in federal court in White Plains.
After the ruling, many parents in the court room embraced.
"Preventing my child from being with his class, his teacher, his classroom, has had a significant social and psychological impact," said a parent of a 4-year old preschooler who declined to give her name.
"He is confused, given his young age, about why he isn't allowed on his campus," she said, her voice wavering.
More:Facts alone don't sway anti-vaxxers. So what does?
The judge's ruling came during a court appearance by the lawyer for parents representing students at the Chestnut Ridge school in Rockland County who have filed a lawsuit against the county Health Department and its commissioner, challenging an order barring the unvaccinated children from school.
The parents and students names are not listed in the lawsuit, which only uses initials.
“We have had success, but this case is not over," Rockland County Attorney Thomas Humbach said in a statement. "While no one enjoys the fact that these kids are out of school, these orders have worked; they have helped prevent the measles outbreak from spreading to this school population."
The lawsuit states that Commissioner Patricia Schnabel Ruppert's order violates the families' religious objections to vaccinations and is unnecessary because the cases have been largely confined to insular Hasidic Jewish communities.
Myths debunked:Vaccines are definitely not linked to autism, and other facts you can throw at anti-vaxers
The federal lawsuit filed by 24 plaintiffs states that throughout the measles outbreak that started last fall, no cases have been reported among any of the Chestnut Ridge school's excluded children, their families or in the Fellowship Community that surrounds it.
No future court date was set by the judge, who told Michael Sussman, the parents' lawyer, that he might have better success in state court.
"It’s a tough situation and I feel bad about it ... but I don’t feel I have the authority to do this," Briccetti said.
Sussman replied: “There is a degree of parochialism that exists with elected judges.”
Rockland is experiencing the longest outbreak in the state since measles was officially eliminated from the United States in 2000, with a total of 145 cases reported since last October. Three more suspected cases are under investigation.
The outbreak, which has mostly affected the Orthodox Jewish community in Spring Valley, Monsey and New Square, led Ruppert on Dec. 5 to impose an order that area schools with vaccination rates under 95 percent must keep unvaccinated children from attending.
Although court papers filed by Sussman state Green Meadow's students are "97 percent immune from the disease by all accounts," the county's Law Department said the school's vaccination rate was about 33 percent when the Dec. 5 order was imposed. It subsequently has risen to about 56 percent.
The exclusion, which includes Chestnut Ridge, ends when there are no new cases in that area for 21 days, but because of the continuing increase in the number of measles infections, the exclusion time can be increased to 42 days.
Follow Gabriel Rom on Twitter: @GabrielRom1
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9c93d59fee18f5fe11e5708cbcc50e2f
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/03/12/new-jersey-man-birthday-wishes-sons-prank/3146488002/
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New Jersey dad gets thousands of birthday wishes after his sons pull billboard prank
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New Jersey dad gets thousands of birthday wishes after his sons pull billboard prank
Many parents expect a call from their kids on their birthday, but one New Jersey dad is getting thousands of birthday wishes thanks to a prank from his sons.
At first, Chris Ferry’s two sons couldn’t decide what to get him for his 62nd birthday. Then one of them had an idea.
"What if we put his big head on a billboard and said, 'Wish my dad happy birthday,'" Ferry's son, also named Chris, thought.
Ferry immediately called and told his brother Michael who "started dying laughing" at the idea.
The brothers hesitated for a few days, fearing their dad would get mad at them sharing his personal number on a billboard. Eventually they decided they had to "go big or go home."
The billboard, which includes their father's photo and phone number, went up last Wednesday morning and can be seen on the way to the Atlantic City casinos.
The elder Chris Ferry told WPBF 25 he began receiving texts from strange numbers within minutes of the giant sign going up. The volume of calls and texts increased dramatically when his son shared a photo of the billboard on Facebook.
“I think I’ve had 15,000 calls, texts and Facebook hits in the last three days,” Ferry told the station. “I’ve received texts from all over the world, as far as the Philippines, Kenya, Luxembourg.”
Ferry’s actual birthday is March 16, but the billboard will stay up until April 6, according to CBS 2.
The stunt was a continuation of a childhood prank in which the boys would tell waiters and waitresses that it was their father's birthday, the younger Chris Ferry said. He doesn't quite know how he's going to top this gift next year.
"Maybe get a bigger billboard," he said with a laugh.
More:On his birthday, Twitter mocks Mitt Romney for the way he blows out his candles
More:Girl with inoperable brain cancer has the sweetest wish: A letter from your dog
More:No family would be at a WWII veteran's Valentine's Day funeral. So, hundreds of strangers showed up
Follow N'dea Yancey-Bragg on Twitter: @NdeaYanceyBragg
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b1192f002785b6bad260b70cd196ba13
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/03/12/uc-irvine-freshman-noah-domingo-died-alcohol-poisoning/3145683002/
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Father of UC Irvine freshman blames 'fraternity hazing' for son's death
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Father of UC Irvine freshman blames 'fraternity hazing' for son's death
A Southern California college freshman who was found unresponsive in a home near the University of California, Irvine in January died from “accidental acute ethanol poisoning,” authorities announced Monday.
Noah Domingo, 18, had a blood alcohol level of approximately 0.331 when he died around 3:30 a.m. on Jan. 12, according to a statement from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. No other substances were found in his system, a toxicology report found.
“The Irvine Police Department is actively investigating this case. At the conclusion of our investigation we will present our findings to the District Attorney’s Office, which will determine whether charges are warranted,” Lt. Mark Anderson said in a statement released Sunday.
Domingo was a first-year biology major who wanted to go into sports medicine, according to a GoFundMe set up for his family which has raised more than $37,000. He was also a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, according to the organization.
After his death, UC Irvine placed the fraternity on interim suspension pending the investigation. The fraternity’s national organization has since closed the university’s chapter indefinitely according to a statement released by the school.
Jan. 15:California fraternity suspended after student, 18, found dead near Irvine campus
Opinion:A fraternity hazing ritual killed our son. Now, we're making sense of his senseless death.
"We remain shocked and saddened by Noah's tragic death, and we offer our deepest sympathies to the Domingo family for their loss. His death brings an urgent focus on alcohol and substance abuse, from the cultural pressures that encourage unhealthy behavior to the policies designed to mitigate danger,” the statement read.
Dale Domingo, told CBS he believes his son’s death was the result of a fraternity hazing ritual in which "Noah was compelled to guzzle a so-called 'family drink' to become part of his big brother's family."
"We have discovered the horrifying truth about fraternity hazing,” Dale Domingo told the outlet.
Police:DKE frat members arrested for hazing, urinating upon LSU pledges
'Grave consequences':Federal lawsuit filed against Penn State frat in Tim Piazza death
Contributing: The Associated Press
Follow N'dea Yancey-Bragg on Twitter: @NdeaYanceyBragg
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c65215a7ad0d837bdfd8a2d07ee8ee04
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/03/12/valley-fever-soil-fungus-serious-illness-new-mexico/3138831002/
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Valley fever: Why the CDC calls this little-known disease a 'silent epidemic'
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Valley fever: Why the CDC calls this little-known disease a 'silent epidemic'
LAS CRUCES, N.M. — Lorenzo Fernandez installs fences for a living. Travis Hart worked as a landscaper. Richard Myers ripped out bushes so he could widen his driveway.
Those simple, everyday activities caused all three men to contract a potentially deadly disease called valley fever that the Centers for Disease Control called a "silent epidemic."
All three activities disrupt the soil, exposing the men to a spore that lives in the soils of southern New Mexico and causes the disease. They inhaled the spore when the soil was disturbed, and the spore became airborne.
All three recovered, mostly, but a poor farmworker who came from another New Mexico city to Las Cruces to be treated for the disease died from it last year. Two others in Las Cruces' county have died from it in recent years.
"I feel lucky that I’m alive," said Fernandez, who suffered two collapsed lungs, was hospitalized for 11 months, underwent a five-hour surgery, and lost 76 pounds as his health deteriorated.
200 deaths each year. Who is at risk?
There are about 14,000 reported cases of valley fever in the United States each year and roughly 200 people die from it.
Doctors say symptoms are similar to other illnesses and many doctors don't know much about it. A New Mexico Department of Health survey in 2011 found two-thirds of the state's doctors did not feel confident in diagnosing valley fever.
"It’s not terribly common, but it's not rare," said Dr. Obi Okoli, a Las Cruces physician who specializes in valley fever.
Most who acquire valley fever never show symptoms or have symptoms so common that they don't go to a doctor. Young people are more likely to overcome it on their own. Severe cases are more common among older people and those with weakened immune systems.
Pregnant women and people with diabetes have a higher risk. Blacks and Filipinos are more likely to get the disease than those of other groups. Pets, especially dogs, can also get it. It is not contagious.
Valley fever is most common among older people. Okoli noticed that many of his patients are elderly people who have retired to New Mexico from somewhere else. He thinks those who grow up in the desert, exposed to the spores that cause the disease all their lives, develop a degree of immunity.
A multi-state threat
Valley fever, or coccidioidomycosis, is a fungal infection caused by a spore that grows in soils in areas of low rainfall, high summer temperatures and moderate winter temperatures.
Spores stay in soil until disturbed. Those who work in occupations that disrupt soil, such as farming or construction, are especially vulnerable. But gardeners and those spending significant time outdoors, like mountain bikers and ATV riders, also face elevated risk.
Wind also stirs up the soil, picking up spores and blowing them around, increasing exposure. Dust storms, common in New Mexico, are especially hazardous.
The infection is most prevalent in southern Arizona — about 70 percent of reported cases in the country are detected in the state — but is also endemic to parts of California, southern New Mexico, and southwest Texas. It is also found in Central and South America.
What are the specific symptoms?
Symptoms of valley fever are common: fatigue, cough, fever, shortness of breath, headache, night sweats, muscle aches and joint pains.
Valley fever is mistaken for pneumonia, tuberculosis, chronic fatigue syndrome, even cancer. Because it is frequently misdiagnosed, the disease is often not detected until treatments for other illnesses fail and the person ends up in the hospital.
Symptoms take one to three weeks to develop after a person inhales the fungal spores. Three-quarters of people known to have valley fever miss work or school. About 40 percent are hospitalized.
The disease is most commonly diagnosed with a blood test. It can be treated with antifungal medications, but antibiotics have no effect. Those with the most severe cases may take medication for life.
Valley fever usually begins in the lungs, but it can spread elsewhere including the skin, bones, and, most hazardously, the brain.
Two collapsed lungs: 'I'd never be the same'
Fernandez, 61, has been installing fences and disrupting soil for 41 years. But that didn't cause any health problems until he moved to Las Cruces in 1990.
Health problems began after he was diagnosed with diabetes in 2017. Fernandez began feeling weak. He had dizziness and night sweats.
"I just didn't feel normal," he said.
His primary care doctor discovered a collapsed lung. Doctors put a tube in his chest. His lung was re-inflated. The doctor soon discovered Fernandez's other lung had collapsed.
Finally, in November 2017, Fernandez was diagnosed with valley fever. A five-hour surgery in Albuquerque fixed his problems. He spent 11 months in hospitals, all told.
Fernandez, who lives in Old Picacho, is recovering. He can't install fences yet or lift heavy loads, and he lost 76 pounds because of health difficulties. He's gained back some weight, but still weighs 46 pounds less than before.
"They told me I’d never be the same," he said.
Rash, aches and a 103-degree fever
Richard Myers, 74, moved to Las Cruces last year. He and his partner, Lorry Hoksch, relocated from Iowa. They own an RV, so they set out to widen the driveway leading to their home for the vehicle.
To do that, they had to remove some desert vegetation. That disturbed the soil.
In April 2018, Myers got a rash on his back. His joints were achy. Then he started feeling sick. He went to MountainView Regional Medical Center's urgent care center and was diagnosed with pneumonia.
A week later his condition had not improved, so he went to the emergency room.
He spent seven days in the hospital. He had a 103-degree fever. He was still being treated for pneumonia, but doctors gave him stronger medication. He went home, but again he didn’t get better.
Two weeks later, he went back to the emergency room. On his third day in the hospital, Okoli told him he thought he had valley fever. He took Myers off antibiotics and put him on antifungal medication.
"I started to improve almost immediately," Myers said.
Nine months later, Myers is back to normal, though he’s still taking antifungal medication. He has gained back all the weight he lost.
Stroke-like symptoms at age 19
Travis Hart was 19 years old when he became infected, just a year out of Las Cruces High School.
At the time, he worked as a landscaper. One day a big job required him to shovel large amounts of dirt. A few days later, he developed a lung infection.
Not long after, he was riding in a car when he suddenly developed stroke-like symptoms. The left side of his tongue went numb. His stepdad rushed him to the hospital.
"I couldn't hardly speak," said Hart, now 27. "I couldn’t remember where I was born. I couldn’t remember my mom's name."
Doctors decided he suffered from migraines. They sent him home.
Not long after, Hart blacked out at a friend's house. His friend rushed him to MountainView Regional Medical Center. He was unconscious for 10 minutes.
Tests revealed that Hart had valley fever.
The disease had spread to his brain. When it spreads to the brain, it produces meningitis. They immediately gave him antifungal medication, which eventually relieved the worst of his symptoms.
Now a Las Cruces firefighter, Hart will deal with consequences of the disease for the rest of his life. Though he feels normal, the meningitis has impacted his short-term memory. Learning is difficult. He must take the antifungal medication permanently.
All valley fever victims who develop cocci meningitis, like Hart, must take antifungal medication the rest of their lives if they want to stay healthy. That creates another problem for those patients who don't have good health insurance or any insurance at all.
Some insurance companies balk at paying for the medication indefinitely. That’s what happened in the case of the 49-year-old farmworker who died from valley fever. He was a patient of Okoli's.
Okoli learned that the man had died when he called his home recently. He wasn’t surprised.
"If you don’t get the medicine and it's in the brain," he said, "you’re going to die."
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3757a87b8d4a6ed711ae4f7115362ff2
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/03/12/vice-cop-allegedly-forced-women-into-sex-says-federal-indictment/3137866002/
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Vice officer arrested for allegedly forcing women into sex
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Vice officer arrested for allegedly forcing women into sex
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A longtime police officer forced women to have sex with him under threat of an arrest, pressured others to help cover up crimes, and lied to federal investigators when he said he’d never had sex with prostitutes, according to charges unveiled Monday.
Columbus vice squad Officer Andrew Mitchell, 55, was arrested Monday and faces a detention hearing this week. He is charged with witness tampering, obstruction of justice, making a false statement to federal investigators, and deprivation of rights under color of law, the language used to describe crimes committed by police officers while on duty.
A federal indictment accused Mitchell, a 30-year veteran, of arresting two different women and forcing them to have sex before he would release them.
Later, during the federal investigation, Mitchell lied when he told the FBI he’d never had sex with a prostitute, since Mitchell knew “he has had sex with numerous prostitutes, including having paid women money for sex,” according to the indictment.
Committing the alleged crimes while on duty is “a nightmarish breach of trust,” said Ben Glassman, the U.S. attorney for the southern half of Ohio.
“We rely on the police to serve and protect us, and when you have a police officer who commits a crime, that is a very serious breach of trust,” he said.
Police officers take an oath to the constitution and promise to obey federal, state and local laws, said Thomas Quinlan, interim Columbus police chief.
“The community has every right to be disgusted by the news, as well as everyone who wears this badge,” he said.
Mitchell plans to fight the charges and enter a not guilty plea, his attorney said Monday.
“These allegations are unfounded, and my client is going to exercise his right to a jury trial in the federal system,” Collins said. His understanding, he said, is that the alleged victims named in the indictment were prostitutes.
Mitchell has also been investigated by state authorities after police said he fatally shot a woman who stabbed him in the hand while sitting in his unmarked police car. Donna Castleberry, 23, had struggled with drugs and was likely working the streets as a prostitute, her family has said. She left behind two young daughters.
“Our family has been asking questions for a long time,” said Mary Laile, a cousin to Castleberry. “We miss her everyday and days like today feel like a success, but then we remember that we still do not have Donna with us, so it’s hard to really view it as a successful day.”
Franklin County prosecutor Ron O’Brien said Monday he expects to take that case to a grand jury soon.
Mitchell plans to appear before the grand jury, Mitchell said, “and testify truthfully and indicate as to why it was a good use of force.”
The charges were the latest black eye for the vice squad, which has also been under scrutiny since last year’s arrest of porn actress Stormy Daniels. Charges were dropped hours later.
Earlier this year, Daniels sued several Columbus police officers for $2 million over that arrest. Daniels’ federal defamation lawsuit alleges that officers conspired to retaliate against her because of her claims she had sex with Donald Trump before he became president.
Last week, an internal police investigation concluded Daniels’ arrest was improper, but not planned or politically motivated.
More:Stormy Daniels arrest not motivated by politics but still improper, investigation finds
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fb29b8f3e788ed0618f3429f5aea22eb
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/03/13/boeing-737-max-8-pilots-voiced-safety-concerns-before-ethiopia-crash/3145393002/
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From the flight manual to automation, why pilots have complained about Boeing's 737 MAX 8
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From the flight manual to automation, why pilots have complained about Boeing's 737 MAX 8
In the months before an Ethiopian Airlines crash killed 157 people Sunday, the second recent deadly crash of a Boeing 737 MAX 8 jetliner, American pilots complained to authorities about perceived safety problems with the same aircraft.
Two pilots reported their aircraft unexpectedly pitched nose down after they engaged autopilot following departure. Another pilot reported a “temporary level off” triggered by the aircraft automation. The captain of a flight in November 2018 called part of the aircraft’s flight manual “inadequate and almost criminally insufficient.”
“The fact that this airplane requires such jury rigging to fly is a red flag,” that captain – who was not identified by name – wrote in a report to the federal Aviation Safety Reporting System. The captain said part of the plane’s flight system was “not described in our Flight Manual.”
Records show that federal aviation authorities received at least 11 reports concerning the Boeing 737 MAX 8 from professional aviators logged from April 2018 to December 2018.
Sunday's crash in Ethiopia followed the crash Oct. 29, 2018, of Lion Air Flight 610, in which 189 passengers and crew died when it plunged into the Java Sea outside Indonesia. Both flights crashed after experiencing drastic speed fluctuations during ascent, and their pilots tried to return to the ground after takeoff.
More:Boeing 737 Max: What you should know if you're booked on a flight
Opinion:FAA is a conspicuous outlier on Boeing's 737 Max 8
Regulators and industry experts suspect that MAX 8’s Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS, may have caused the jets to make unwanted dives.
Flight data recovered from the Indonesia crash indicated pilots repeatedly tried to get the plane’s nose up before impact. After the crash, Boeing issued a service bulletin warning pilots that erroneous flight data fed into the MCAS could force the aircraft into a dive for up to 10 seconds.
After the crash in Ethiopia, the company said it had no new guidance.
The pilot complaints, first reported Tuesday by The Dallas Morning News, emerged as aviation regulators around the world were hustling to respond to the two crashes in five months.
In one documented complaint, a pilot said the plane's downturn triggered the ground proximity warning system, which is designed to alert pilots when their planes are in immediate danger. The complaint states an alarm sounded “don’t sink, don’t sink” before the captain disconnected the autopilot and manually adjusted the plane to climb.
This week, the European Union, United Kingdom, China, Australia, Ethiopia, Indonesia and Malaysia grounded the MAX 8 over safety concerns.
More:Ground the Boeing 737 Max 8, members of Congress implore the FAA after deadly crash
Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Lynn Lunsford declined to comment on the specific pilot complaint reports, which are logged by the Aviation Safety Reporting System. Lunsford noted the reports do not discuss MCAS, the feature suspected to have played a role in both crashes.
Kristy Kiernan, an assistant professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s college of aeronautics in Daytona Beach, Florida, cautioned against drawing conclusions from the MAX 8 aircraft complaint reports, which she reviewed for USA TODAY.
“There’s nothing that really struck me as a pattern,” Kiernan said. “I just don’t think there’s anything you can draw from it at all.”
Although the reports involve the MAX 8, the issues are different from those flagged about the MCAS system in the Lion Air crash, Kiernan said. For example, two pilots raised concerns about issues after engaging the plane’s autopilot, but Kiernan noted that the MCAS system is disengaged when the autopilot is turned on. Another of the reports focused on a different system, the aircraft’s auto throttles.
The anonymous reports are submitted by pilots on a voluntary basis to capture safety concerns and are used by regulators to support policies aimed at decreasing the likelihood of accidents.
More:How the Boeing 737 Max safety system differs from others
Opinion:Why FAA and NTSB are not caving to political and public pressure
As aviation regulators around the world this week suspended the MAX 8, the FAA stated that its "investigation has just begun and to date we have not been provided data to draw any conclusions or take any actions."
Boeing has sold nearly 400 of the airliners, including 74 to domestic carriers, and has taken orders for thousands more. A company spokesperson stressed “full confidence in the safety" of the planes Tuesday.
“The Federal Aviation Administration is not mandating any further action at this time, and based on the information currently available, we do not have any basis to issue new guidance to operators,” Boeing said in a statement.
Contributing: John Bacon, Bart Jansen and Chris Woodyard
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0eaf0557dbd7f8a911c57a1b07e99b45
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/03/13/fda-restricts-e-cigarette-sales-curb-teen-vaping/3157826002/
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FDA proposes e-cigarette sale restrictions to curb teen vaping
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FDA proposes e-cigarette sale restrictions to curb teen vaping
Looking to reduce underage vaping, the Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday released new guidelines regulating the sale of flavored e-cigarettes.
The proposal seeks to prevent minors from buying products flavored as bubble gum and cotton candy in convenience stores and online as the agency described youth e-cigarette use as an epidemic.
Nationally, more than 3.6 million middle and high school students used e-cigarettes in the past month in 2018, the FDA said, despite the federal government banning sales to those under 18. If companies don't follow the rules, regulators could pull their products from the market.
Guidelines proposed Wednesday would require e-cigarette makers to only sell most flavored products to stores that verify customers' ages when they enter or include an age-restricted area for vaping products. For online sales, the agency seeks to mandate third-party identity-verification and prevent bulk sales. The FDA added it will also remove vaping products that target minors, such as ones with packaging mimicking candy or cookies.
More:Juuling is popular with teens, but doctor sees a 'good chance' that it leads to smoking
More:Feds' new campaign against youth vaping 'epidemic' targets middle and high schoolers
“The onus is now on the companies and the vaping industry to work with us to try and bring down these levels of youth use, which are simply intolerable,” said FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb.
Manufacturers have until 2021 to submit e-cigarettes for safety and health review for FDA approval. Gottlieb previously pushed the Obama administration's 2018 deadline to 2022.
E-cigarettes such as Juul typically heat a flavored nicotine solution into an inhalable vapor. School staff have reported students vaping odorless devices in bathrooms and hallways. Juul said in a statement it has moved to reduce underage vaping, including closing its Instagram account in November.
Gas stations and convenience stores have pushed back against the outlined changes since the agency discussed them in November. New guidelines aren't expected to hurt sales at vape stores because many require ID to enter.
“They are picking winners and losers in the marketplace while handing a government monopoly to other channels of trade,” the National Association of Convenience Stores said in a message to members.
Anti-smoking activists have expressed skepticism about whether the proposed guidelines can cut back teen vaping, especially as the FDA has little authority on how stores display and sell e-cigarettes. Doctors have warned that vaping can lead to smoking cigarettes and cite health risks to developing brains.
Exempting menthol and mint flavors from the ban is also a mistake, said Erika Sward of the American Lung Association, as data shows about half of teens who vape smoke them.
“FDA continues to nibble around the edges and that will not end the epidemic,” Sward said.
The FDA is accepting comments on the guidelines for 30 days and will finalize them this year.
Contributing: The Associated Press
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560a1826d75c98ac12d3a783c3104ce7
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/03/13/maryland-first-state-ban-foam-food-containers/3159261002/
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Foam cups and food containers could be banned in Maryland, making it the first state to do so
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Foam cups and food containers could be banned in Maryland, making it the first state to do so
Maryland lawmakers have positioned the state to become the first in the nation to ban foam food containers and cups.
Both chambers of the state legislature this month passed bills banning food containers made of polystyrene, known as plastic foam, the Baltimore Sun reported.
A conference committee will work out the differences between the two bills, Del. Brooke Lierman, the sponsor of the House of Delegates version, told the Sun. Environmentalists say plastic foam breaks into tiny pieces, polluting waterways and streets.
More:World's largest collection of ocean garbage is twice the size of Texas
“I’m thrilled to be a part of the effort to stand up for our waterways, stand up for our neighborhoods, stand up for the world our kids will inherit,” Lierman said on the House floor, the Sun reported.
The proposal would then require the approval of Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, who has yet to take a position. Spokesperson Shareese DeLeaver-Churchill told the Sun that Hogan is "always willing to consider any piece of legislation that reaches his desk.”
If Hogan signs off, the ban would take effect on July 1, 2020. County officials could charge $250 fines for violations.
Cailey Locklair Tolle, president of the Maryland Retailers Association, told CNN a plastic foam ban burdens businesses.
"Not only will costs go up for restaurants and be passed onto consumers, but because comparable products weigh more and many cannot be recycled, costs will increase due to higher tipping fees (based on weight) at landfills," Locklair Tolle said.
Some foam products would be allowed, the Sun reported, including those packaging raw meat. Lierman's version also permits foam products packaged outside the state and polystyrene outside of food service.
Still, the sponsor of the senate bill told the Sun plastic foam is not recyclable nor biodegradable. Marine life also eat foam thinking it's food, Ashley Van Stone, executive director of Trash Free Maryland, told CNN. The toxins are then passed on to people through the food chain.
Numerous cities across the nation have already banned single-use foam food containers, including New York City, Minneapolis, Minnesota and Santa Monica, California. Within the state, Prince George's, Montgomery and Anne Arundel counties have prohibited foam products, the Sun reported.
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aa791dac8ef385443bbcbde89811315b
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/03/13/nxivm-cult-like-organization-nancy-salzman/3150390002/
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NXIVM co-founder Nancy Salzman pleads guilty in sex-cult case
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NXIVM co-founder Nancy Salzman pleads guilty in sex-cult case
ALBANY, N.Y. – The president and co-founder of NXIVM pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court, admitting to participating in a widespread criminal enterprise on behalf of the cult-like organization.
Nancy Salzman, who was known to NXIVM followers as "Prefect," admitted to one count of racketeering conspiracy in Brooklyn federal court, according to multiple reports.
She confessed to stealing email addresses and passwords of others and altering a tape used in a lawsuit against a critic.
NXIVM, led by mastermind Keith Raniere, was a self-help organization based in the Albany area that was the subject of international headlines last year when Raniere and his inner circle were arrested, accused of overseeing a criminal operation in which some women followers were branded with Raniere's initials and groomed for his sexual pleasure.
Salzman co-founded NXIVM with Raniere in the 1990s, acting as his second-in-command until the organization suspended operations last year.
Salzman was accused of two illegal acts: Stealing the email passwords of people perceived to be NXIVM foes, and altering tapes of herself teaching courses before turning them over for use in a lawsuit against Rick Ross, a cult "deprogrammer" who has long been a NXIVM critic and helped followers escape.
Aug. 6:Ex-'Dynasty' star Catherine Oxenberg on crusade to save daughter from alleged 'sex cult'
July 25:The charges against sex cult NXIVM's Keith Raniere, Allison Mack and Clare Bronfman, explained
Salzman also is accused of altering tapes of herself teaching NXIVM courses before turning them over for use in a lawsuit against Rick Ross, a cult "deprogrammer" who has long been a NXIVM critic and helped followers escape.
She was released on $5 million bond last year and has been under home confinement since. She is due for sentencing in July.
Salzman, 64, who is facing health issues, faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, though sentencing guidelines call for a much lesser sentence of roughly 3 to 4 years.
Her attorney could not immediately be reached for comment.
Her daughter, Lauren Salzman, remains under indictment and is awaiting trial, as are four other co-defendants: Raniere; Kathy Russell; Clare Bronfman, an heiress to the Seagram's liquor fortune; and Allison Mack, an actress best known for her role as Chloe Sullivan on the CW's "Smallville."
Raniere is accused of overseeing a criminal enterprise.
Prosecutors say he secretly created and led a sorority named DOS, whose female members were branded on their pubic regions with a logo containing his initials.
They say some members were groomed for unwanted sex with Raniere and forced to give up blackmail material like naked photos and secrets about family members in order to ensure they wouldn't leave the sorority, according to prosecutors.
Raniere has pleaded not guilty, as have the other defendants.
Follow Jon Campbell on Twitter: @JonCampbellGAN
July 24:Clare Bronfman, Seagram's liquor heiress, arrested in sex trafficking case
April 24:Allison Mack of 'Smallville' gets $5M bail, home confinement in sex-cult case
April 23:Allison Mack, 'Smallville' actress charged in sex cult, looking at plea deal
April 20:'Smallville' actress Allison Mack charged with sex trafficking for role in NXIVM cult
March 2018:Leader of alleged cult, sex-slave network called NXIVM, arraigned in federal court
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a0327d402867b46e4c46dd3ca1334df3
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/03/13/thomas-fire-cause-report-released/3154686002/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=usatodaycomnation-topstories
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What caused the Thomas Fire? Report reveals what sparked one of California's largest wildfires
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What caused the Thomas Fire? Report reveals what sparked one of California's largest wildfires
CAMARILLO, Calif. — Power lines owned by Southern California Edison sparked the Thomas Fire, according to a report released Wednesday by the Ventura County Fire Department.
According to the report, the blaze started in two spots and eventually merged into one fire. One was in a canyon above Steckel Park in the Santa Paula area and where first responders were sent when the blaze broke out at about 6:30 p.m. Dec. 4, 2017. The second spot was on Koenigstein Road near Highway 150.
Rumors swirled that equipment owned and operated by Southern California Edison was to blame for the blaze that spanned both Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. The report those rumors about the wildfire that claimed the lives of Cal Fire engineer Cory Iverson and Santa Paula resident Virginia Pesola.
More:Lawsuits allege Southern California Edison negligently started Thomas fire
More:Thomas fire becomes California's largest wildfire in history
The blaze began Dec. 4, 2017, as Santa Ana winds blew through the area. Over the next several weeks, as the gusts continued, flames scorched 281,893 acres and destroyed 1,063 structures — many of them homes in Ventura.
Pesola, 70, was fleeing the flames when her car crashed in a mandatory evacuation zone on Wheeler Canyon Road about two miles north of Foothill Road. Her burned body was found at the scene of the crash on Dec. 6, 2017. About a week later, Iverson, 32, died when he became trapped by flames while battling flare-ups above Fillmore on Dec. 14, 2017.
Although the official report had not yet been released, hundreds of plaintiffs named Edison and its parent company Edison International in lawsuits alleging the companies’ negligence and liability in causing the blaze. Attorneys representing those homeowners, insurance companies, ranchers, and city and county entities expect the issuance of the report to cause more people to take legal action.
The report also has a bearing on plaintiffs who have filed similar suits against the Los Angeles County-based utility company over the Montecito mudslides on Jan. 9, 2018. The plaintiffs say the fire left the vegetation in the canyons above Montecito barren and the soil unable to hold water, which triggered a deadly debris flow during a brief but powerful storm.
Edison has not previously commented on the allegations, citing the ongoing litigation and the lack of an official report by fire investigators. However, the company said in October that its equipment was associated with the Koenigstein Road ignition point.
California report: Engineer trapped by flames before death in Thomas fire
Camp Fire:PG&E likely started the Camp Fire and expects a $10.5B impact to its bottom line, it tells regulators
Follow Megan Diskin on Twitter: @megandiskin
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cef70e45f376aba0b40f128ffed85c26
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/03/14/climate-change-swedish-teen-greta-thunberg-leads-worldwide-protest/3164579002/
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The kid is all right: Friday's worldwide climate protest sparked by Nobel-nominated teen
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The kid is all right: Friday's worldwide climate protest sparked by Nobel-nominated teen
It's been quite a week for 16-year-old Greta Thunberg, a Swedish climate activist who was nominated on Wednesday for a Nobel Peace Prize.
On Friday, the streets took over, as tens of thousands of students in 112 countries turned out to join her call for action to combat climate change.
In the U.S. alone, some 100,000 young people were participating in at least 400 separate protests in all 50 states, organizers said.
In Washington, around the U.S. Capitol, hundreds of students gathered Friday bearing signs saying “I Want You To Panic,” “Time is Ticking” and “It’s Our Future.”
Worldwide, the turnout for the "School Strike For Climate" protests at some 1,700 locations from Berlin, to Hong Kong and from New Delhi to the edge of the Arctic Circle.
The overall movement Thunberg started is called "Fridays For Future," which began just last August when the teenager sat in front of the Swedish parliament every school day for three weeks, to protest the lack of action on the climate crisis. She then encouraged others students to skip school to join protests demanding faster action on climate change.
"We are facing a disaster of unspoken suffering for enormous amounts of people," Thunberg said at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January. "Solving the climate crisis is the greatest and most complex challenge that homo sapiens has ever faced."
Crowds were especially large in European cities:
—In Paris, several thousand students, some bearing “Now or Never” signs, turned out around the domed Pantheon building that rises above the Left Bank.
—In rainy Warsaw and other Polish cities, thousands of students marched to demand a ban on burning coal, a major source of carbon dioxide. Some wore face masks and carried banners reading. “Today’s Air Smells Like the Planet’s Last Days” and “Make Love, Not CO2.”
—In Vienna, police said about 10,000 students turned out while in neighboring Switzerland a similar number protested in the western city of Lausanne.
—In Helsinki, 3,000 students rallied in front of Finland’s Parliament sporting signs such as: “Dinosaurs thought they had time too!”
—In Madrid, thousands marched through the Spanish capital and more than 50 other cities.
— In Copenhagen, Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen praised the thousands of students who turned out, tweeting, "we must listen to the youth. Especially when they’re right: the climate must be one of our top priorities.”
More:UN report: 'Unprecedented changes' needed to protect Earth from global warming
The warnings about the state of the planet's climate continued to roll in.
NASA said that the past five years have been the warmest five years since records began in the late 1800s. And the level of atmospheric carbon dioxide -- the gas scientists say is most responsible for the warming -- has spiked to levels not seen in thousands or likely millions of years.
In addition, as the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned last October, "rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society" are required to ward off the worst impacts of global warming." The goal is to cap global warming at 1.5 Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels, which may prove nearly impossible unless swift action is taken, the panel said.
More:Carbon dioxide in our atmosphere may soar to levels not seen in 56 million years
As for the Nobel, Thunberg tweeted that she was "honored and very grateful for this nomination," which was made by three Norweigian lawmakers. The prize will be handed out later this year.
Contributing: The Associated Press
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bf2c0f53e951789f871fae916465a44b
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/03/14/ethiopian-airlines-crash-boeing-737-max-sped-up/3169852002/
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Report: Ill-fated Ethiopian Airlines flight had serious trouble right after takeoff
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Report: Ill-fated Ethiopian Airlines flight had serious trouble right after takeoff
The pilot of the Boeing 737 Max 8 jetliner that crashed in Ethiopia and triggered a global grounding of the vaunted planes immediately noticed trouble as the plane accelerated wildly after takeoff, the New York Times reported Thursday.
Citing an unnamed person who reviewed air traffic communication from Sunday's flight, the Times said air traffic controllers knew the plane was in trouble even before the pilot radioed in that he wanted to turn the plane around within three minutes of takeoff.
“Break break, request back to home,” the captain told air traffic controllers as they scrambled to divert two other flights approaching the airport. “Request vector for landing.”
Start the day smarter:Get USA TODAY's Daily Briefing in your inbox
The final moments of the ill-fated flight, in which all 157 people on board died, are considered key to the investigation into Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 to Nairobi. The investigation has even more global significance because it could have bearing on when more than hundreds of Boeing 737 Max 8 jets, now grounded amid safety concerns, are allowed to return to the skies.
Air traffic controllers at Addis Ababa’s Bole International Airport received the call from Flight 302's pilot, Yared Getachew, as the plane's speed accelerated inexplicably. The plane also oscillated up and down by hundreds of feet, the Times reported.
More:Boeing 737 Max 8 black boxes from Ethiopian Airlines crash sent to France for examination
More:From the flight manual to automation, why pilots have complained about Boeing's 737 MAX 8
The sudden speed bursts, which are seen in publicly available radar tracks of the plane before it crashed, and the oscillations in altitude are two of the mysteries that investigators are studying.
Within one minute of Flight 302’s departure, the person who reviewed communications said, Captain Getachew reported a “flight control” problem in a calm voice, the Times reported. At that point, radar showed the aircraft’s altitude as being well below what is known as the minimum safe height from the ground during a climb.
The plane appeared to stabilize and climbed to a higher altitude, but then began to speed up again in a way that is deemed unsafe.
The controllers, the person said, “started wondering out loud what the flight was doing," according to the Times. The plane then sped up even more and crashed within minutes.
Money:Damage to Boeing's reputation hinges on outcome of 737 MAX 8 probe after groundings
More:How the Boeing 737 Max safety system differs from others
Investigators on Thursday cautioned that they are a long way from determining the cause, which could take months. The flight data and cockpit voice recorders arrived Thursday in Paris, where French aviation authorities were tasked with probing the black boxes for clues to the tragedy.
France’s Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety, or BEA, said there was no immediate information on the condition of the recorders. Preliminary information could take several days to extract, the agency said.
Sunday's crash was the second of a Boeing 737 MAX in five months. In October, Lion Air Flight 610 crashed in the Java Sea 12 minutes after takeoff from Jakarta, Indonesia. All 189 people aboard were killed.
The 371 Boeing 737 Max jets flown around the world have been grounded pending further investigation. Also hanging in the balance are orders for more than 4,500 of the hot-selling planes.
Boeing has "paused" deliveries of the 737 Max but that production continues, said spokesman Paul Bergman on Thursday.
"Boeing is facing rough waters, or rough air, in the coming months," Peter Goelz, a former managing director of the National Transportation Safety Board, told USA TODAY. "Look, you may or may not have a glitch in some sophisticated software. Some pilots were confronted with a challenge and were able to overcome it. Some were not. Why not? This is complicated."
The Ethiopian Accident Investigation Authority sought help because of the sophisticated software involved. German aviation authorities said their technology was not designed for the new type of recorder used on the 737 Max jets.
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0843242ea7988cb0721fe598be1ee807
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/03/14/francesco-cali-alleged-new-york-mobster-killed-staten-island/3159964002/
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Alleged Gambino crime boss Francesco 'Franky Boy' Cali shot and killed in front of New York City home
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Alleged Gambino crime boss Francesco 'Franky Boy' Cali shot and killed in front of New York City home
New York City police on Thursday were investigating the bold, fatal shooting of alleged Gambino crime boss Francesco “Franky Boy” Cali outside his Staten Island home.
Officers responding to a 911 call Wednesday night found Cali, 53, who was shot multiple times, police said in a statement. An emergency medical team rushed him to Staten Island University Hospital North, where Cali was pronounced dead.
"There are no arrests and the investigation is ongoing," police said in a statement.
Federal prosecutors have described Cali as a top leader of New York’s notorious Gambino crime family. His murder marked the most notable killing of a Gambino boss since 1985, when Paul Castellano was shot dead in front of the Sparks Steak House in Manhattan. Cali lived less than a half-mile away from Castellano’s Staten Island mansion.
John Alcorn, who teaches a course on the history of the Mafia at Trinity College in Connecticut, said the New York Mafia doesn't make news as it did 20 or 30 years ago, when John "Dapper Don" Gotti and others splashed across the headlines.
Technology, globalization and the rise of drug syndicates from around the world have trimmed the Mafia's impact, he said.
"Generally, they are in decline, but my hunch is that in some industries they can still have an impact by creating cartels that restrict competition among legitimate firms," Alcorn said.
Witnesses told the New York Post and other local media that Cali's killer fled the scene in a blue pickup.
“I’ve seen the (mob) movies," neighbor Prashant Ranyal, 39, told the Post. "But I’ve never seen any activity that we feel at all that there’s something strange about this area."
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Cali was a native of Sicily, and his wife is the niece of Gambino head John Gambino.
The New York Daily News and other media outlets in the city have reported that since 2015, Cali had ascended to the top spot in the gang, although he never faced a criminal charge making the claim.
Cali's only mob-related criminal conviction came a decade ago, when Cali pleaded guilty in an extortion conspiracy involving a failed attempt to build a NASCAR track on Staten Island. He was sentenced to 16 months in federal prison and was released in 2009.
The Gambino family was once among the most powerful criminal organizations in the United States, but federal prosecutions in the 1980s and 1990s sent its top leaders to prison and diminished its reach.
Iconic Gambino leader John Gotti died in federal prison in 2002. Gotti's brother, Gene, 71, was released from prison last year after serving almost 30 years for dealing heroin.
Another former leader of the group, Carmine John "The Snake" Persico Jr., died last week while serving a 139-year prison sentence. He was 85.
The names that were once commonly known are aging or dying, Alcorn said. He acknowledged that he no longer keeps up with the Mafia, having moved on to other research projects.
"Maybe the fact that so many scholars have moved on, that we don't hear about these guys anymore, shows that the Mafia has moved well past its prime," Alcorn said.
Contributing: The Associated Press
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