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<title>New Orleans insists its police department is ready to end federal oversight. Not all are convinced</title>
<description><p>NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The New Orleans Police Department, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1994/12/08/us/9-new-orleans-police-officers-are-indicted-in-us-drug-case.html">plagued for decades by corruption</a>, is pushing to <a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-orleans-police-department-consent-decree-117a19754df2aed2ce7153b6a8945888">finally end more than a decade of federal oversight</a>, amid lingering memories of a <a href="https://apnews.com/db0f33116ead4dec8456962d4a7f688b">1994 murder ordered by a crooked cop</a> and an attempted cover-up in the <a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-05bdbfeaf07f4f24890e3211c4b595cb">2005 killing of unarmed civilians</a>.</p><p>Department critics are expected to voice opposition to lifting court-ordered federal oversight at a hearing Tuesday in federal court, likely raising concerns before a federal judge over racial disparities in police use of force, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-orleans-lawsuit-verdict-rape-victim-police-e772320d2c3f531cc7acbb0c94470bdd">poor handling of sex crimes</a> and lackluster community engagement. </p><p>To what extent federal oversight meaningfully changed the NOPD is particularly relevant as a cadre of high-ranking former NOPD officers and one of the lawyers overseeing the city consent decree are now responsible for managing a state-level reform plan for the Minneapolis police department in the wake of <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-george-floyd">George Floyd’s murder</a>.</p><div class="ad-placeholder" data="autoembed"></div><div class="taboola_readmore" data="autoembed"></div><div id="afs:Card:759981405444" class="hub-peek-embed" content-id="c844ad758a127baf23f721c159735383">Hub peek embed (DeathofGeorgeFloyd) - Compressed layout (automatic embed) </div><p>In 2011, the Department of Justice investigation <a href="https://apnews.com/article/police-new-orleans-mitch-landrieu-92e205f5f2264ffbb71f1bc029c3b5bc">found evidence</a> of racial bias, misconduct and a culture of impunity in the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD). Two years later, the City of New Orleans entered into what it <a href="https://nopdnews.com/transparency/consent-decree/">described</a> as “the nation’s most expansive" federal oversight plan — a reform pact known as a consent decree — to fix the city's police force.</p><p>NOPD Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said in an interview that the department has fulfilled these goals: “We’ve built that system." If the federal judge agrees with the city and the Department of Justice motion to end the consent decree filed in Sept., the NOPD will remain under federal oversight for an additional two year sustainment period.</p><div class="ad-placeholder" data="autoembed"></div><p>Almost everyone is willing to acknowledge the NOPD of today is in many ways a transformed department. But a range of prominent community activists and watchdogs say the NOPD is still not yet ready to relinquish federal oversight.</p><p>Stella Cziment, who heads the Office of the Independent Police Monitor, a civilian-run city agency, said that while the NOPD has made significant strides improving its internal policies and leadership, it has focused more on meeting federal benchmarks and not enough as a whole to work with community members to reshape the department.</p><div class="ad-placeholder" data="autoembed"></div><p>“I think the danger of the consent decree is that we lose sight of who the true audience is supposed to be of these police reforms,” Cziment said. “And ultimately, it is the community that is going to be served by the NOPD, needs to feel included by the NOPD, heard by the NOPD. And I cannot say today that that has been achieved.”</p><p><hl2>Ready to move on?</hl2></p><p>In recent years, the NOPD and the City of New Orleans has weathered <a href="https://apnews.com/article/todd-morrell-new-orleans-federal-charges-guilty-bf09eb0f09e100ab624e01db5d2377b6">payroll fraud allegations</a>, a high-profile corruption charge <a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-orleans-mayor-bodyguard-payroll-charges-5909ceb4806468082f5cffa15ccd5b47">involving the mayor’s bodyguard</a> and a backlog of unsolved rape cases, among other problems raised by watchdogs. </p><p>Despite these ongoing issues, Rafael Goyeneche, president of a local anti-corruption nonprofit, the Metropolitan Crime Commission, said federal oversight of the NOPD and its upwards of 900 members should be seen as a “success story" — especially in light of the department's history.</p><p>“Unfortunately, there will probably never be a day in any department of this size where some officers are violating the rules, some officers haven’t crossed the line,” Goyeneche said. “But that is not going to necessarily mean that the entire department is corrupt or mismanaged.”</p><div class="ad-placeholder" data="autoembed"></div><p>Federal monitors have said the consent decree should be seen as the floor, not the ceiling for policing in New Orleans.</p><p>Jonathan Aronie, the lead federal monitor, has praised the NOPD for improving its policies, training and auditing. The department now produces accurate data allowing auditors — and the public — to better track policing practices and bolster accountability, he has said.</p><p>“When we look at the collection of all these data, we no longer see a pattern of practice of unconstitutional conduct,” Aronie said at an Oct. 28 public meeting.</p><div class="ad-placeholder" data="autoembed"></div><p><hl2>Racial disparities in use of force</hl2></p><p>For many residents in a city that is just over 50% Black, distrust of the NOPD runs deep and the department's data still reveals troubling disparities. Nearly 90% of all instances of police use of force targeted Black people last year, the city's Office of the Independent Police Monitor reported. </p><p>More than a decade ago, the Department of Justice's investigation highlighted similar rates of racial disparities in use of force against Black people as well as disproportionate arrest rates, calling for “a searching review and a meaningful response" from the NOPD.</p><p>“If we haven’t achieved the goal, why would we eliminate a structure that protects New Orleanians civil rights?” Rachel Taber, an organizer with local immigrant rights group Unión Migrante, said.</p><p>Confronted by community activists at a recent public meeting with data indicating these racial disparities, Aronie said federal oversight focused on improving the police department's policies and structures given "the difficulties of solving bias in the same way it exists across almost every institution in the U.S.” </p><p>“I would like to live in a city where those differences in practice reflect in the statistics before NOPD exits oversight,” Zunyana Crier, an activist with the group New Orleans for Community Oversight of Police, responded.</p><p>The NOPD's superintendent said in an interview that the department takes the data on racial disparities “extremely seriously” and continues to probe the reasons for them.</p><p>“When we see disparities, we then ask the question, is there a bias behind the disparity? Not all disparities equal bias,” Kirkpatrick said.</p><p><hl2>Struggling with community engagement</hl2></p><p>Federal oversight mandated biennial surveys of New Orleanians experiences with and perceptions of the NOPD, but an updated survey has not been released since 2019 due to COVID-19 related public health concerns according to federal monitors, leaving it difficult to fully gauge how residents view their police department.</p><p>The City of New Orleans has also lapsed in fully carrying out plans for community advisory boards, intended to give residents across different neighborhoods an opportunity to provide feedback directly to the NOPD. That program had largely been left to “wither and die” acknowledged NOPD Deputy Superintendent Nicholas Gernon at a recent public meeting, though he said the city intended to fix it.</p><p>W.C. Johnson, a longtime community activist opposed to ending the consent decree, said he and others had grown cynical over the years with the NOPD's willingness to work with residents: “When you’re not being taken seriously, when you’re not being included, why waste time?”</p><p>Police accountability groups have also expressed concerns over the lack of Spanish and Vietnamese language accessibility in the monthslong period of public comment — given the two group's large presence in the city — after the city filed the motion to wind down federal oversight. </p><p>And they have said at public meetings that they perceive some on the federal monitoring team and the NOPD to have significant incentives to cast their decade-long work in New Orleans in a positive light.</p><p>During a sparsely attended public meeting on Oct. 29, one member of the federal monitoring team, Ashley Burns, openly criticized her colleague, deputy monitor David Douglass along the same lines. Douglass, a lawyer whose nonprofit Effective Law Enforcement for All won a contract this year to oversee the Minneapolis police department's state-imposed reform plan, has hired a range of former NOPD personnel in his organization.</p><p>“I agree with the community, I think it’s a great, great, great conflict of interest among a lot of other ethical and integrity issues," Burns told Douglass in the meeting. “You don’t give a damn about Minneapolis or the people of New Orleans.”</p><p>Douglass has denied any conflict of interest and in a brief interview championed the NOPD's evolution: “Many of the practices here are serving as a model for the nation and for other departments."</p><p>___</p><p>Associated Press reporter Kevin McGill in New Orleans contributed to this report.</p><p>___</p><p>Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. <a href="https://www.reportforamerica.org/">Report for America</a> is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Brook on the social platform X: @jack_brook96</p></description>
<link>https://apnews.com/article/new-orleans-police-consent-decree-c844ad758a127baf23f721c159735383</link>
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<pubDate>Tue, 17 Dec 2024 06:09:04 GMT</pubDate>
<author>Jack Brook</author>
<category>Death of George Floyd</category>
<category>Racial injustice</category>
<category>Race and ethnicity</category>
<category>New Orleans</category>
<category>Minneapolis</category>
<category>U.S. News</category>
<category>Police brutality</category>
<category>MN State Wire</category>
<category>LA State Wire</category>
<category>General News</category>
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<title>Political strife erupts over South Korean court as it is set to determine the fate of impeached Yoon</title>
<description><p>SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s acting leader vowed Tuesday to convey to the world that things are back to normal following <a href="https://apnews.com/article/south-korea-martial-law-yoon-impeach-6432768aafc8b55be26215667e3c19d0">parliament’s impeachment</a> of conservative President <a href="https://apnews.com/article/south-korea-martial-law-president-impeachment-53d787e9f04d32615e83aade47412174">Yoon Suk Yeol,</a> but rival parties began squabbling over the mechanics of a court ruling to determine whether to formally unseat or reinstate him.</p><p>The country’s liberal opposition-controlled parliament voted to <a href="https://apnews.com/article/south-korea-yoon-martial-law-impeachment-turmoil-timeline-336b2e3defa5c4e36221ca08ae75cbc7">impeach</a> Yoon last Saturday over his short-lived Dec. 3 martial law imposition, suspending his presidential powers until the Constitutional Court determines whether to uphold or overturn the decision. If Yoon is dismissed, a national election must be held to pick his successor within two months. </p><p>Prime Minister <a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-roh-moo-hyun-kim-dae-lee-myung-bak-han-duck-soo-68b7eac2a3dd7423d2cd3d7f51aed89a">Han Duck-soo,</a> who became acting leader, has taken steps to <a href="https://apnews.com/article/south-korea-martial-law-yoon-lee-impeachment-ca583315453be30766372702120f94e7">reassure</a> the U.S. and other countries and stabilize markets. Presiding over a Cabinet Council meeting on Tuesday, Han said he will “continuously do my utmost to inform the international society that Republic of Korea is fast regaining stability and maintain confidence with partners."</p><div class="ad-placeholder" data="autoembed"></div><div class="taboola_readmore" data="autoembed"></div><div id="afs:Card:197304610647" class="hub-peek-embed" content-id="2917db5da7c461ef3eb732e17f938114">Hub peek embed (apf-politics) - Compressed layout (automatic embed) </div><p>But the country’s intense political strife appears to be far from over, as the rival parties began bickering over whether to fill three vacant justices’ seats at the Constitutional Court.</p><p>To formally end Yoon’s presidency, the nine-member court panel needs support from at least six justices. But since three seats remain vacant following retirements, a unanimous decision in favor of Yoon's impeachment is required to throw him out of office for good.</p><div class="ad-placeholder" data="autoembed"></div><p>Three of the court’s nine justices are directly appointed by the president. Three others are nominated by the Supreme Court head and another three by the National Assembly, and their formal appointments by the president has widely been a formality. The three seats that are currently open are to be nominated by the National Assembly — two by the Democratic Party and the other by Yoon’s ruling People Power Party.</p><div class="ad-placeholder" data="autoembed"></div><p>The court can rule on Yoon’s case only with the current six justices. But the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, which led the impeachment efforts against Yoon, has said it would speed up the process of restoring the court’s nine-justice system to promote fairness and public confidence in its ruling.</p><p>But PPP floor leader Kweon Seong-dong, a Yoon loyalist, created a stir Tuesday as he voiced his objection to a Democratic Party push to fill the three vacancies. He said it would be inappropriate for Han, the acting leader, to appoint justices nominated by parliament, saying such authorities solely rest with the president.</p><p>“An acting president can appoint Constitutional Court justices when there is a presidential vacancy, but not when the president’s duties are just suspended,” Kweon said.</p><p>Many observers say the court’s current six-member configuration is advantageous for Yoon’s chances to return to office, as it would only require a single justice rejecting the parliament impeachment. They note Cheong Hyungsik, one of the six justices, is a clear conservative who was directly appointed by Yoon.</p><div class="ad-placeholder" data="autoembed"></div><p>The Democratic Party quickly dismissed Kweon’s argument as “absurd and utterly nonsensical” and urged PPP to abide by a November agreement between the rival parties to nominate the three Constitutional Court justices.</p><p>Party lawmaker and spokesperson Jo Seoung-lae said PPP has “blatantly revealed their true intention to obstruct the constitutional trial.”</p><div class="ad-placeholder" data="autoembed"></div><p>There was no immediate response from Han, who during the Cabinet meeting stressed that the government will cooperate with the ruling and opposition parties to stabilize the economy. </p><p>There is no clear definition about what an acting president can and cannot do over the appointments of court justices. The Democratic party accuses PPP of trying to drag out the impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court, which has up to 180 days to determine Yoon's fate.</p><p>Time is a crucial issue for Democratic Party leader <a href="https://apnews.com/article/south-korea-martial-law-yoon-lee-df02d793de7813cfc01066e6c8ef507d">Lee Jae-myung,</a> who is favored by polls to win a presidential by-election in the event of Yoon’s ouster but grapples with his own legal troubles. Lee could possibly be prohibited from running for president if the appellate and Supreme courts uphold his lower court conviction for election law violation in November.</p><p>Yoon faces allegations of rebellion and abuse of power over his martial law introduction. Investigative authorities want him to appear for questioning later this week, but officials at Yoon's office and residence on Monday <a href="https://apnews.com/article/south-korea-yoon-martial-law-investigation-constitutional-court-8ec38d61f0ea5c48b3bd1f683b5e9c8d">refused to receive</a> requests for his appearance. </p><p>The <a href="https://apnews.com/article/south-korea-martial-law-north-korea-emergency-b310df4fece42c27051f58b8951f346f">martial law</a> declaration, the first of its kind in more than 40 years, drew hundreds of troops who tried to encircle parliament and prevent lawmakers from voting on the decree. Many lawmakers still managed to get inside a National Assembly chamber and voted to overturn Yoon's decree unanimously, forcing Yoon's Cabinet to lift it.</p><p>Yoon's decree, which harkened back to an era of past <a href="https://apnews.com/article/korea-martial-law-yoon-president-9adbff7c7df6a2fa22b1fbf955a495fa">military-backed dictatorships,</a> has sparked massive street protests calling for his ouster and resulted in his approval rating plummeting. Yoon's defense minister, police chief and several other senior military commanders have been arrested over their roles in the martial law enforcement. </p><p>Supporters of Yoon worry that his early exit would severely hamper the country's conservatives and cause them to likely lose a presidential by-election to the liberals, like they did in 2017, when then-impeached conservative President <a href="https://apnews.com/article/seoul-south-korea-park-geun-hye-a20583a6777d829cfe1d289568d5631d">Park Geun-hye</a> was ousted and arrested over a corruption scandal.</p></description>
<link>https://apnews.com/article/south-korea-martial-law-yoon-constitutional-court-2917db5da7c461ef3eb732e17f938114</link>
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<pubDate>Tue, 17 Dec 2024 06:03:00 GMT</pubDate>
<author>Kim Tong-Hyung, Hyung-Jin Kim</author>
<category>Politics</category>
<category>World News</category>
<category>Asia Pacific</category>
<category>South Korea government</category>
<category>South Korea</category>
<category>Yoon Suk-yeol</category>
<category>Han Duck-soo</category>
<category>Impeachment</category>
<category>General News</category>
<category>Courts</category>
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<title>Militants attack police post in northwest Pakistan, killing 2 officers and wounding 3</title>
<description><p>PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Militants on a motorcycle opened fire Tuesday at a police post in restive northwest Pakistan, killing at least two officers and wounding three others before fleeing the scene, officials said.</p><p>No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in Shangla, a city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, bordering Afghanistan. Local police officer Nasir Khan said the wounded officers were transported to a nearby hospital.</p><p>In a statement, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the attack and offered his condolences to the families of the slain officers. He said “khwarij” — a term used for Pakistani Taliban — were behind the attack.</p><p>Naqvi gave no further details.</p><p>Pakistan in recent months has witnessed a surge in militant attacks, most blamed on separatists in the southwest Balochistan province and Pakistani Taliban, known as <a href="https://pronto.associatedpress.com/he%20Pakistani%20Taliban%20on%20Monday%20ended%20a%20monthslong%20cease-fire%20with%20the%20government%20in%20Islamabad,%20ordering%20its%20fighters%20to%20resume%20attacks%20across%20the%20country,%20where%20scores%20of%20deadly%20attacks%20have%20been%20blamed%20on%20the%20insurgent%20group.%20%20In%20a%20statement,%20the%20outlawed%20Tehrik-e-Taliban%20Pakistan%20said%20it%20decided%20to%20end%20the%205-month-old%20cease-fire%20after%20Pakistan%E2%80%99s%20army%20stepped%20up%20operations%20against%20them%20in%20former%20northwestern%20tribal%20areas%20and%20elsewhere%20in%20Khyber%20Pakhtunkhwa%20province,%20which%20borders%20Afghanistan.">Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan </a> or TTP. While the TTP is an ally of the Afghan Taliban who seized power in Afghanistan in 2021, it's a separate group.</p><p>In November, a suicide bomber killed 12 security personnel and wounded several others after detonating an explosive-laden vehicle at a security post in Bannu, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.</p></description>
<link>https://apnews.com/article/pakistan-militant-attack-police-post-restive-northwest-bf94bbd80b1b69238cf9d16709afb61c</link>
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<pubDate>Tue, 17 Dec 2024 05:32:08 GMT</pubDate>
<category>Asia Pacific</category>
<category>Pakistan government</category>
<category>Taliban</category>
<category>World News</category>
<category>Crime</category>
<category>Law enforcement</category>
<category>Afghanistan</category>
<category>General News</category>
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<title>Florida county poised to vote on financing for new $1.3B ballpark for the Rays</title>
<description><p>TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — After two costly delays, the Pinellas County Commission is set to vote Tuesday on its share of financing for a new $1.3 billion Tampa Bay Rays ballpark. Rays officials say they’re confident of approval this time.</p><p>The <a href="https://apnews.com/article/florida-tampa-bay-rays-stadium-a3c268da75ce8324e4f0e9dc9df12809">overall plan</a> was approved by the county commission and city of St. Petersburg officials this summer, but votes on the funding for the deal had been postponed.</p><p>Earlier this month, the St. Petersburg City Council <a href="https://apnews.com/article/tropicana-roof-rays-yankees-hurricane-milton-b3c571e21e1ef9172173b636d68d9a24">voted to approve</a> its share of the bonds necessary to build the new 30,000-seat ballpark. Now it's up to the county to decide whether to issue the bonds, which would be paid for by tourist taxes that can’t be spent on things such as hurricane recovery.</p><p>Under the agreement, the city and county would put up about half the cost, with the Rays covering the rest, including any cost overruns.</p><p>“We're upholding our part of the bargain,” City Council Chair Deborah Figgs-Sanders said at a meeting earlier this month. “We said we were going to do this. We're doing it. Now what you got?”</p><div class="ad-placeholder" data="autoembed"></div><div class="taboola_readmore" data="autoembed"></div><div id="afs:Card:154016424308" class="hub-peek-embed" content-id="979753ff3fc97cd653a854997001895b">Hub peek embed (MLB) - Compressed layout (automatic embed) </div><p>The proposal caps years of uncertainty about the Rays’ future, including possible moves across the bay to Tampa, or to Nashville, Tennessee, or even to split home games between St. Petersburg and Montreal, an idea Major League Baseball rejected.</p><p>Under the stadium deal, the Rays commit to remain in St. Petersburg for another 30 years. But the Rays will play this season in Tampa at the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/tropicana-roof-rays-yankees-hurricane-milton-112a238a23b1223b9222effcb26b8911">New York Yankees’ spring training site</a>, Steinbrenner Field, because of <a href="https://apnews.com/article/tampa-bay-rays-hurricane-milton-d0d480aae567ccc71a8be9fbf9e1bd9d">hurricane damage to Tropicana Field.</a></p><p>The proposed stadium is a signature piece of a broader $6.5 billion revitalization project known as the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/tampa-bay-rays-new-stadium-plans-0a041d302d6222f111a4dfce6befdcca">Historic Gas Plant District</a>, which refers to a predominantly Black neighborhood that was forced out by construction of the Trop and an interstate highway spur.</p><p>Supporters say the development would transform an 86-acre (34-hectare) tract in the city’s downtown, with plans for a Black history museum, affordable housing, entertainment venues, plus office and retail space — and the promise of thousands of jobs.</p><p>“This is much, much bigger than a stadium,” Pinellas County Commission Chair Kathleen Peters said at a November meeting. “It’s about the investment we can make and the return on that investment that can guarantee we can keep our taxes low.”</p><p>___ Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. <a href="https://www.reportforamerica.org/">Report for America</a> is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.</p></description>
<link>https://apnews.com/article/rays-tropicana-field-hurricane-stadium-pinellas-979753ff3fc97cd653a854997001895b</link>
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<pubDate>Tue, 17 Dec 2024 05:31:48 GMT</pubDate>
<author>Curt Anderson, Kate Payne</author>
<category>MLB</category>
<category>Sports</category>
<category>Baseball</category>
<category>U.S. News</category>
<category>Tampa Bay Rays</category>
<category>FL State Wire</category>
<category>General News</category>
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<title>Minnesota man faces sentencing for killing girlfriend who vanished after leaving kids at daycare</title>
<description><p>WINONA. Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota man <a href="https://apnews.com/article/adam-fravel-murder-trial-missing-minnesota-woman-e33595a3ac5d30546864f6df4377ecd6">convicted of first-degree murder</a> faces sentencing Tuesday for killing his girlfriend, whose 2023 disappearance after she dropped off their kids at daycare drew national attention and prompted thousands of volunteers to join the search for her. </p><p>A jury found Adam Fravel, 30, of Mabel, guilty in November. He was <a href="https://apnews.com/article/madeline-kingsbury-murder-charge-missing-woman-eb37d5965f8ab703ddfee64c9aa40a13">arrested</a> in June 2023, days after deputies <a href="https://apnews.com/article/missing-woman-madeline-kingsbury-man-arrested-8347ed4d3572067658b3a63531a32612">found the body of Madeline Kingsbury</a> in a wooded area a few miles away from a property owned by Fravel’s parents. </p><p>The 26-year-old Kingsbury vanished in March 2023 after dropping off her and Fravel’s two young children at daycare in Winona, a southeastern Minnesota city of about 26,000 residents.</p><p>The trial was moved to Mankato, about 136 miles (219 kilometers) west of Winona, because of extensive pretrial publicity. Fravel will be sentenced back in Winona by District Judge Nancy Buytendorp. Premeditated first-degree murder, the most serious of the four counts on which he was convicted, carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison.</p><div class="ad-placeholder" data="autoembed"></div><div class="taboola_readmore" data="autoembed"></div><p>Police found Kingsbury’s body in a culvert along a gravel road, in a gray fitted bed sheet that had been closed with black Gorilla tape. Prosecutor Phil Prokopowicz said she was strangled with a towel and that a medical examiner concluded she likely died of asphyxiation. The towel, bedsheet and tape matched items found in their Winona home, Prokopowicz said during the trial. </p><p>Prokopowicz and witnesses said Kingsbury had been planning to leave Fravel for another man after becoming frustrated with his alleged abusive behavior and inadequate contributions to their family. He responded to those plans by killing her, the prosecutor said.</p><p>“The relationship was never about them,” Prokopowicz said in his closing statement. “It was always about him.”</p><p>Witnesses testified they had seen bruises on Kingsbury’s neck. In one instance, a friend said she was on a video call with Kingsbury when Fravel allegedly hit her. Another friend testified that Kingsbury told her Fravel had warned Kingsbury that she could end up like Gabby Petito, a woman who was <a href="https://apnews.com/article/travel-lifestyle-denver-florida-parks-55c886582f268e19b6319d491daa6b2c">killed by her boyfriend</a> in a high-profile 2021 case. </p><p>Fravel did not testify in his own defense. His attorney, Zach Bauer, said in his closing argument that the case against Fravel relied on “tunnel vision, revisionist history and secret truths.” He contended that there was no sign of any physical struggle inside the couple’s home. He also pointed to testimony from a neighbor who claimed to have never heard the couple argue.</p></description>
<link>https://apnews.com/article/adam-fravel-murder-trial-missing-minnesota-woman-288b30c541022ccc0d82ba2d32b2d1b3</link>
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<pubDate>Tue, 17 Dec 2024 05:24:07 GMT</pubDate>
<category>Winona</category>
<category>Missing persons</category>
<category>Homicide</category>
<category>Minnesota</category>
<category>U.S. News</category>
<category>Madeline Kingsbury</category>
<category>Adam Fravel</category>
<category>MN State Wire</category>
<category>General News</category>
</item>
<item>
<title>AP Top News at 12:39 a.m. EST</title>
<description><p><hl2>15-year-old girl fatally shoots teacher and teenager at a Christian school in Wisconsin</hl2></p><p><media media-type="text">
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</media></p><p>MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A 15-year-old student opened fire inside a study hall at a small Christian school in Wisconsin, killing a teacher and teenager and prompting a swarm of police officers responding to a second grader's 911 call. The female student wounded six others in Monday's shooting at Abundant Life Christian School, including two students who were in critical condition, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said. A teacher and three students were taken to a hospital with less serious injuries, and two of them were later released. “Every child, every person in that building is a victim and will be a victim forever.</p><p><hl2>Things to know about the shooting at a Christian school in Wisconsin</hl2></p><p><media media-type="text">
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</media></p><p>Two people were killed and others were injured Monday in a shooting at a private Christian school in Madison, Wisconsin. The shooting happened days before the Christmas break. Police said a student who opened fire, identified as a 15-year-old girl, was also dead. Here are some things to know about the shooting in Wisconsin's capital city: The shooting occurred late Monday morning at Abundant Life Christian School. Police said Monday night that a second-grade student called 911 to report the shooting. Police Chief Shon Barnes said Natalie Rupnow, who went by the name Samantha, opened fire during a study hall, killing another student and a teacher, and wounding six others.</p><div class="ad-placeholder" data="autoembed"></div><div class="taboola_readmore" data="autoembed"></div><p><hl2>Judge rejects Trump’s bid to toss hush money conviction because of Supreme Court immunity ruling</hl2></p><p><media media-type="text">
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</media></p><div class="ad-placeholder" data="autoembed"></div><p>NEW YORK (AP) — A judge Monday refused to throw out President-elect Donald Trump’s hush money conviction because of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling on presidential immunity. But the overall future of the historic case remains unclear. Manhattan Judge Juan M. Merchan's decision blocks one potential off-ramp from the case ahead of the former and future president's return to office next month. His lawyers have raised other arguments for dismissal, however. It's unclear when — or whether — a sentencing date might be set. Prosecutors have said there should be some accommodation for his upcoming presidency, but they insist the conviction should stand.</p><div class="ad-placeholder" data="autoembed"></div><p><hl2>Ukraine and US say some North Korean troops have been killed fighting alongside Russian forces</hl2></p><p><media media-type="text">
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</media></p><div class="ad-placeholder" data="autoembed"></div><p>After months of deadlock, Israel and Hamas appear to be moving closer toward a ceasefire to end their 14-month war. Top officials from the U.S., Qatar and Egypt have resumed their mediation efforts in recent weeks and reported greater willingness by the warring sides to wrap up a deal. In a key concession, Hamas officials say they are prepared to show more “flexibility" on the timing of an Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza, and Israel’s defense minister, Israel Katz, said Monday that a deal is closer than ever. Officials on all sides have cautioned that key details must still be worked out.</p><p><hl2>Trump weighs in on NY mayor, vaccines and drones in freewheeling press conference at Mar-a-Lago</hl2></p><div class="ad-placeholder" data="autoembed"></div><p><media media-type="text">
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</media></p><p>PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — In a freewheeling press conference at his Mar-a-Lago club, President-elect Donald Trump said Monday he would consider pardoning embattled New York Mayor Eric Adams, declared the country was “not going to lose" the polio vaccine and weighed in on the flurry of drone sightings over New Jersey. Holding court with reporters for the first time since he won the election and secured a second term, Trump also called on the Biden administration to stop selling off unused portions of southern border wall, threatening legal action. “We’re going to spend hundreds of millions of dollars more on building the same wall we already have,” he railed.</p><p><hl2>Is that a drone or a plane? Experts help explain the differences</hl2></p><p><media media-type="text">
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</media></p><p>TORONTO (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faced the biggest test of his political career after Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, long one of his most powerful and loyal ministers, resigned from the Cabinet on Monday. The stunning move raised questions about how much longer the prime minister of nearly 10 years — whose popularity has plummeted due to concerns about inflation and immigration — can stay on as his administration scrambles to deal with incoming U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. “The Great State of Canada is stunned as the Finance Minister resigns, or was fired, from her position by Governor Justin Trudeau," Trump posted on Truth Social.</p><p><hl2>TikTok asks the Supreme Court for an emergency order to block a US ban unless it's sold</hl2></p><p><media media-type="text">
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</media></p><p>WASHINGTON (AP) — TikTok on Monday asked the Supreme Court to step in on an emergency basis to block the federal law that would ban the popular platform in the United States unless its China-based parent company agreed to sell it. Lawyers for the company and China-based ByteDance urged the justices to step in before the law's Jan. 19 deadline. A similar plea was filed by content creators who rely on the platform for income and some of TikTok's more than 170 million users in the U.S. “A modest delay in enforcing the Act will create breathing room for this Court to conduct an orderly review and the new Administration to evaluate this matter — before this vital channel for Americans to communicate with their fellow citizens and the world is closed,” lawyers for the companies told the Supreme Court.</p></description>
<link>https://apnews.com/general-news-1c4ea58614c8fafc02d56e6276e7efb7</link>
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<pubDate>Tue, 17 Dec 2024 05:21:26 GMT</pubDate>
<category>General News</category>
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<title>15-year-old girl fatally shoots teacher and teenager at a Christian school in Wisconsin</title>
<description><p>MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A 15-year-old student opened fire inside a study hall at a small Christian school in Wisconsin, killing a teacher and teenager and prompting a swarm of police officers responding to a second grader's 911 call.</p><p>The female student wounded six others in Monday's shooting at Abundant Life Christian School, including two students who were in critical condition, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said. A teacher and three students were taken to a hospital with less serious injuries, and two of them were later released.</p><p>“Every child, every person in that building is a victim and will be a victim forever. ... We need to figure out and try to piece together what exactly happened," Barnes said.</p><p>Police said the shooter, identified as Natalie Rupnow, was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound when officers arrived and died en route to a hospital. Barnes declined to offer additional details about the shooter, partly out of respect for the family.</p><div class="ad-placeholder" data="autoembed"></div><div class="taboola_readmore" data="autoembed"></div><div id="afs:Card:530404428163" class="hub-peek-embed" content-id="a8e1ee353d7fdab2b86dfb355938d871">Hub peek embed (JoeBiden) - Compressed layout (automatic embed) </div><p>Abundant Life is a nondenominational Christian school — prekindergarten through high school — with approximately 420 students in Madison, the state capital. </p><p>Barbara Wiers, the school's director of elementary and school relations, said when they practice safety routines, leaders always announce that it's a drill. That didn’t happen Monday, just a week before Christmas break.</p><p>“When they heard, ‘Lockdown, lockdown,’ they knew it was real,” she said.</p><p>Wiers said the school does not have metal detectors but uses other security measures including cameras. </p><p>A motive for the shooting was not immediately known, nor was it clear if the victims were targeted, Barnes said. </p><p>“I don’t know why, and I feel like if we did know why, we could stop these things from happening,” he told reporters.</p><p>Barnes said police were talking with the shooter’s father and other family members, who were cooperating, and searching the shooter's home.</p><div class="ad-placeholder" data="autoembed"></div><p>“He lost someone as well," Barnes said of the shooter's father. "And so we’re not going to rush the information. We’ll take our time and make sure we do our due diligence.”</p><p>The first 911 call to report an active shooter came in shortly before 11 a.m. First responders who were in training just 3 miles (about 5 kilometers) away dashed to the school for an actual emergency, Barnes said. They arrived three minutes after the initial call.</p><div class="ad-placeholder" data="autoembed"></div><p>Investigators believe the shooter used a 9mm pistol, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.</p><p>Police blocked off roads around the school, and federal agents were at the scene to assist local law enforcement. No shots were fired by police.</p><p>Children and families were reunited at a health clinic about a mile (1.6 kilometers) from the school. Parents pressed children against their chests while others squeezed hands and shoulders as they walked side by side.</p><p>Abundant Life asked for prayers in a brief Facebook post. Wiers said they're still deciding whether they will resume classes this week.</p><p>Bethany Highman, the mother of a student, rushed to the school and learned over FaceTime that her daughter was OK.</p><div class="ad-placeholder" data="autoembed"></div><p>“As soon as it happened, your world stops for a minute. Nothing else matters,” Highman said. “There’s nobody around you. You just bolt for the door and try to do everything you can as a parent to be with your kids.”</p><p>In a statement, President Joe Biden cited the tragedy in calling on Congress to pass universal background checks, a national red flag law and certain gun restrictions.</p><p>“We can never accept senseless violence that traumatizes children, their families, and tears entire communities apart,” Biden said. He spoke with Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers and Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway and offered his support.</p><p>Evers said it's “unthinkable” that a child or teacher would go to school and never return home.</p><p>The school shooting was <a href="https://projects.apnews.com/features/2023/mass-killings/index.html">the latest</a> among dozens across the U.S. in recent years, including especially deadly ones in <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/newtown">Newtown, Connecticut</a>; <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/parkland-florida-school-shooting">Parkland, Florida</a>; and <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/uvalde-school-shooting">Uvalde, Texas</a>.</p><p>The shootings have set off fervent debates about gun control and frayed the nerves of parents whose children are growing up accustomed to doing active shooter drills in their classrooms. But school shootings have done little to move the needle on national gun laws.</p><p>Firearms were the <a href="https://www.kff.org/mental-health/issue-brief/child-and-teen-firearm-mortality-in-the-u-s-and-peer-countries/">leading cause of death</a> among children in 2020 and 2021, according to KFF, a nonprofit that researches health care issues.</p><p>Rhodes-Conway said the country needs to do more to prevent gun violence.</p><p>“I hoped that this day would never come to Madison,” she said.</p><p>___</p><p>Associated Press writers Alanna Durkin Richer, Ed White, Josh Funk and Hallie Golden and photographer Morry Gash contributed to this report.</p></description>
<link>https://apnews.com/article/shooting-christian-school-madison-wisconsin-a8e1ee353d7fdab2b86dfb355938d871</link>
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<pubDate>Tue, 17 Dec 2024 05:17:23 GMT</pubDate>
<author>Scott Bauer</author>
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<title>Indiana man who killed brother, 3 others will be put to death in state's 1st execution in 15 years</title>
<description><p>MICHIGAN CITY, Indiana (AP) — An <a href="https://apnews.com/article/indiana-execution-joseph-corcoran-aaf0dea682859a61bec88080aeb5171a">Indiana man</a> convicted in the 1997 killings of his brother and three other people is set to receive a lethal injection by early Wednesday in the state's first execution in 15 years. </p><p>Joseph Corcoran, 49, has been on death row in Indiana since 1999, the year he was convicted in the shootings of his brother, 30-year-old James Corcoran, his sister's fiancé, 32-year-old Robert Scott Turner, and two other men: Timothy G. Bricker, 30, and Douglas A. Stillwell, 30.</p><p>Barring last-minute court action or intervention by Gov. Eric Holcomb, Corcoran is set to be put to death before sunrise Wednesday at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City, according to state officials. Last summer, the governor announced <a href="https://apnews.com/article/indiana-execution-lethal-injection-drugs-94da18464a7bab734275a412ecd9931f">the resumption of state executions</a> after a yearslong hiatus marked by a scarcity of lethal injection drugs nationwide.</p><p>The state has provided few details about the process, including a specific execution time. No media witnesses will be permitted under state law. Indiana prison officials provided photos of the execution chamber in advance, showing a space that looks like a sparse operating room with a gurney, bright fluorescent lighting, a floor drain and interior windows to an adjacent viewing room. </p><div class="ad-placeholder" data="autoembed"></div><div class="taboola_readmore" data="autoembed"></div><p>Corcoran's attorneys have fought the death penalty sentence for years, arguing that Corcoran is severely mentally ill, which affects his ability to understand and make decisions. Corcoran <a href="https://apnews.com/article/---160676194d0c45cab210736f57b414d3">exhausted his federal appeals</a> in 2016. Earlier this month, his attorneys asked the Indiana Supreme Court to stop his execution but the request <a href="https://apnews.com/article/indiana-execution-joseph-corcoran-stay-8b05e7c7f7b8dee797eef3ed73b1681c">was denied</a>. </p><p>However, attorneys say since the justices were split 3-2 that signals there's a chance. </p><p>“Given that it is a close case, it shouldn’t be rushed through,” said defense attorney Larry Komp. “He’s so extremely mentally ill. We think he’s irrational. We’ve never had a fair process.”</p><p>Attorneys have said one sign of Corcoran's mental illness includes a handwritten affidavit that Corcoran wrote to the justices this month saying he was done litigating his case. </p><div class="ad-placeholder" data="autoembed"></div><p>“I am guilty of the crime I was convicted of, and accept the findings of all the appellate courts,” he wrote.</p><p>According to court records, before Corcoran fatally shot the four victims in July 1997, he was under stress because the forthcoming marriage of his sister to Turner would necessitate moving out of the Fort Wayne, Indiana, home he shared with his brother and sister.</p><div class="ad-placeholder" data="autoembed"></div><p>He awoke to hear his brother and others downstairs talking about him, loaded his rifle and then shot all four men, records show. While jailed, Corcoran reportedly bragged about fatally shooting his parents in 1992 in northern Indiana’s Steuben County. He was charged in their killings but acquitted.</p><p>If Corcoran is put to death as scheduled by early Wednesday, it will be the state’s first execution since 2009. In that time, <a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-28e44cc5c026dc16472751bbde0ead50">13 executions</a> were carried out in Indiana but those were initiated and performed by federal officials in 2020 and 2021 at a federal prison in Terre Haute. </p><div class="ad-placeholder" data="autoembed"></div><p>Indiana’s last state execution was in 2009 when Matthew Wrinkles was put to death for killing his wife, her brother and sister-in-law in 1994. </p><p>State officials have said they couldn’t continue executions because a combination of drugs used in lethal injections had become unavailable. </p><p>For years, there has been a shortage across the country because pharmaceutical companies <a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-domestic-news-domestic-news-0c4181f79cc04b039724bcec3ca16f6a">have refused to sell their products</a> for that purpose. That’s pushed states, including Indiana, to turn to compounding pharmacies, which manufacture drugs specifically for a client. Some use more accessible drugs such as the sedatives pentobarbital or midazolam, both of which, critics say, can cause intense pain.</p><p>Last week, Corcoran's attorneys filed a petition in U.S. District Court of Northern Indiana asking the court to stop the execution and hold a hearing to decide if it would be unconstitutional because Corcoran has a serious mental illness. They cited “severe and longstanding paranoid schizophrenia.” But the court rejected the bid to intervene on Friday, prompting attorneys to file an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit. </p><p>Multiple groups, including religious groups and disability rights advocates, have opposed the execution. Several activists were planning a vigil starting late Tuesday outside the prison, about 60 miles (90 kilometers) east of Chicago.</p><p>In early December, Indiana Disability Rights asked the governor to commute Corcoran’s sentence to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.</p><p>Holcomb recently said he would let the legal process “play out” in Corcoran's case before deciding whether to intervene. </p><p>One of Corcoran’s sisters, Kelly Ernst, who lost both a brother and her fiancé in the 1997 shootings, said she believes the death penalty should be abolished and her brother’s execution won’t solve or change anything. She is not planning to be present for the execution. </p><p>Ernst said she had been out of contact with her brother for 10 years until recently. </p><p>“I’m at a loss for words. I’m just really upset that they’re doing it close to Christmas,” she said. “My sister and I, our birthdays are in December. I mean, it just feels like it’s going to ruin Christmas for the rest of our lives. That’s just what it feels like.”</p><p>___</p><p>Callahan reported from Indianapolis. </p></description>
<link>https://apnews.com/article/indiana-execution-homicide-prison-death-penalty-de652ee2b3ecf6f4e1f9f83e3b68a047</link>
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<pubDate>Tue, 17 Dec 2024 05:15:20 GMT</pubDate>
<author>Rick Callahan, Sophia Tareen</author>
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<title>The head of Russia’s nuclear defense forces has been killed in an explosion in Moscow</title>
<description><p>MOSCOW (AP) — Lt. General Igor Kirillov, the head of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defence Forces, was killed early Tuesday by an explosive device planted close to a residential apartment block in Moscow, Russia’s Investigative Committee said.</p><p>Kirillov’s assistant also died in the blast.</p><p>Kirillov had been sentenced in absentia by a Ukrainian court Monday for the use of banned chemical weapons during Russia’s invasion of the country.</p></description>
<link>https://apnews.com/article/russia-explosion-head-of-nuclear-defense-forces-killed-9656bce946a9f552454df9debe5fbd18</link>
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<pubDate>Tue, 17 Dec 2024 06:35:50 GMT</pubDate>
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<category>Igor Kirillov</category>
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<title>New Orleans insists its police department is ready to end federal oversight. Not all are convinced</title>
<description><p>NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The New Orleans Police Department, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1994/12/08/us/9-new-orleans-police-officers-are-indicted-in-us-drug-case.html">plagued for decades by corruption</a>, is pushing to <a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-orleans-police-department-consent-decree-117a19754df2aed2ce7153b6a8945888">finally end more than a decade of federal oversight</a>, amid lingering memories of a <a href="https://apnews.com/db0f33116ead4dec8456962d4a7f688b">1994 murder ordered by a crooked cop</a> and an attempted cover-up in the <a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-05bdbfeaf07f4f24890e3211c4b595cb">2005 killing of unarmed civilians</a>.</p><p>Department critics are expected to voice opposition to lifting court-ordered federal oversight at a hearing Tuesday in federal court, likely raising concerns before a federal judge over racial disparities in police use of force, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-orleans-lawsuit-verdict-rape-victim-police-e772320d2c3f531cc7acbb0c94470bdd">poor handling of sex crimes</a> and lackluster community engagement. </p><p>To what extent federal oversight meaningfully changed the NOPD is particularly relevant as a cadre of high-ranking former NOPD officers and one of the lawyers overseeing the city consent decree are now responsible for managing a state-level reform plan for the Minneapolis police department in the wake of <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-george-floyd">George Floyd’s murder</a>.</p><div class="ad-placeholder" data="autoembed"></div><div class="taboola_readmore" data="autoembed"></div><div id="afs:Card:759981405444" class="hub-peek-embed" content-id="c844ad758a127baf23f721c159735383">Hub peek embed (DeathofGeorgeFloyd) - Compressed layout (automatic embed) </div><p>In 2011, the Department of Justice investigation <a href="https://apnews.com/article/police-new-orleans-mitch-landrieu-92e205f5f2264ffbb71f1bc029c3b5bc">found evidence</a> of racial bias, misconduct and a culture of impunity in the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD). Two years later, the City of New Orleans entered into what it <a href="https://nopdnews.com/transparency/consent-decree/">described</a> as “the nation’s most expansive" federal oversight plan — a reform pact known as a consent decree — to fix the city's police force.</p><p>NOPD Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said in an interview that the department has fulfilled these goals: “We’ve built that system." If the federal judge agrees with the city and the Department of Justice motion to end the consent decree filed in Sept., the NOPD will remain under federal oversight for an additional two year sustainment period.</p><div class="ad-placeholder" data="autoembed"></div><p>Almost everyone is willing to acknowledge the NOPD of today is in many ways a transformed department. But a range of prominent community activists and watchdogs say the NOPD is still not yet ready to relinquish federal oversight.</p><p>Stella Cziment, who heads the Office of the Independent Police Monitor, a civilian-run city agency, said that while the NOPD has made significant strides improving its internal policies and leadership, it has focused more on meeting federal benchmarks and not enough as a whole to work with community members to reshape the department.</p><div class="ad-placeholder" data="autoembed"></div><p>“I think the danger of the consent decree is that we lose sight of who the true audience is supposed to be of these police reforms,” Cziment said. “And ultimately, it is the community that is going to be served by the NOPD, needs to feel included by the NOPD, heard by the NOPD. And I cannot say today that that has been achieved.”</p><p><hl2>Ready to move on?</hl2></p><p>In recent years, the NOPD and the City of New Orleans has weathered <a href="https://apnews.com/article/todd-morrell-new-orleans-federal-charges-guilty-bf09eb0f09e100ab624e01db5d2377b6">payroll fraud allegations</a>, a high-profile corruption charge <a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-orleans-mayor-bodyguard-payroll-charges-5909ceb4806468082f5cffa15ccd5b47">involving the mayor’s bodyguard</a> and a backlog of unsolved rape cases, among other problems raised by watchdogs. </p><p>Despite these ongoing issues, Rafael Goyeneche, president of a local anti-corruption nonprofit, the Metropolitan Crime Commission, said federal oversight of the NOPD and its upwards of 900 members should be seen as a “success story" — especially in light of the department's history.</p><p>“Unfortunately, there will probably never be a day in any department of this size where some officers are violating the rules, some officers haven’t crossed the line,” Goyeneche said. “But that is not going to necessarily mean that the entire department is corrupt or mismanaged.”</p><div class="ad-placeholder" data="autoembed"></div><p>Federal monitors have said the consent decree should be seen as the floor, not the ceiling for policing in New Orleans.</p><p>Jonathan Aronie, the lead federal monitor, has praised the NOPD for improving its policies, training and auditing. The department now produces accurate data allowing auditors — and the public — to better track policing practices and bolster accountability, he has said.</p><p>“When we look at the collection of all these data, we no longer see a pattern of practice of unconstitutional conduct,” Aronie said at an Oct. 28 public meeting.</p><div class="ad-placeholder" data="autoembed"></div><p><hl2>Racial disparities in use of force</hl2></p><p>For many residents in a city that is just over 50% Black, distrust of the NOPD runs deep and the department's data still reveals troubling disparities. Nearly 90% of all instances of police use of force targeted Black people last year, the city's Office of the Independent Police Monitor reported. </p><p>More than a decade ago, the Department of Justice's investigation highlighted similar rates of racial disparities in use of force against Black people as well as disproportionate arrest rates, calling for “a searching review and a meaningful response" from the NOPD.</p><p>“If we haven’t achieved the goal, why would we eliminate a structure that protects New Orleanians civil rights?” Rachel Taber, an organizer with local immigrant rights group Unión Migrante, said.</p><p>Confronted by community activists at a recent public meeting with data indicating these racial disparities, Aronie said federal oversight focused on improving the police department's policies and structures given "the difficulties of solving bias in the same way it exists across almost every institution in the U.S.” </p><p>“I would like to live in a city where those differences in practice reflect in the statistics before NOPD exits oversight,” Zunyana Crier, an activist with the group New Orleans for Community Oversight of Police, responded.</p><p>The NOPD's superintendent said in an interview that the department takes the data on racial disparities “extremely seriously” and continues to probe the reasons for them.</p><p>“When we see disparities, we then ask the question, is there a bias behind the disparity? Not all disparities equal bias,” Kirkpatrick said.</p><p><hl2>Struggling with community engagement</hl2></p><p>Federal oversight mandated biennial surveys of New Orleanians experiences with and perceptions of the NOPD, but an updated survey has not been released since 2019 due to COVID-19 related public health concerns according to federal monitors, leaving it difficult to fully gauge how residents view their police department.</p><p>The City of New Orleans has also lapsed in fully carrying out plans for community advisory boards, intended to give residents across different neighborhoods an opportunity to provide feedback directly to the NOPD. That program had largely been left to “wither and die” acknowledged NOPD Deputy Superintendent Nicholas Gernon at a recent public meeting, though he said the city intended to fix it.</p><p>W.C. Johnson, a longtime community activist opposed to ending the consent decree, said he and others had grown cynical over the years with the NOPD's willingness to work with residents: “When you’re not being taken seriously, when you’re not being included, why waste time?”</p><p>Police accountability groups have also expressed concerns over the lack of Spanish and Vietnamese language accessibility in the monthslong period of public comment — given the two group's large presence in the city — after the city filed the motion to wind down federal oversight. </p><p>And they have said at public meetings that they perceive some on the federal monitoring team and the NOPD to have significant incentives to cast their decade-long work in New Orleans in a positive light.</p><p>During a sparsely attended public meeting on Oct. 29, one member of the federal monitoring team, Ashley Burns, openly criticized her colleague, deputy monitor David Douglass along the same lines. Douglass, a lawyer whose nonprofit Effective Law Enforcement for All won a contract this year to oversee the Minneapolis police department's state-imposed reform plan, has hired a range of former NOPD personnel in his organization.</p><p>“I agree with the community, I think it’s a great, great, great conflict of interest among a lot of other ethical and integrity issues," Burns told Douglass in the meeting. “You don’t give a damn about Minneapolis or the people of New Orleans.”</p><p>Douglass has denied any conflict of interest and in a brief interview championed the NOPD's evolution: “Many of the practices here are serving as a model for the nation and for other departments."</p><p>___</p><p>Associated Press reporter Kevin McGill in New Orleans contributed to this report.</p><p>___</p><p>Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. <a href="https://www.reportforamerica.org/">Report for America</a> is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Brook on the social platform X: @jack_brook96</p></description>
<link>https://apnews.com/article/new-orleans-police-consent-decree-c844ad758a127baf23f721c159735383</link>
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<pubDate>Tue, 17 Dec 2024 06:09:04 GMT</pubDate>
<author>Jack Brook</author>
<category>Death of George Floyd</category>
<category>Racial injustice</category>
<category>Race and ethnicity</category>
<category>New Orleans</category>
<category>Minneapolis</category>
<category>U.S. News</category>
<category>Police brutality</category>
<category>MN State Wire</category>
<category>LA State Wire</category>
<category>General News</category>
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<title>Political strife erupts over South Korean court as it is set to determine the fate of impeached Yoon</title>
<description><p>SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s acting leader vowed Tuesday to convey to the world that things are back to normal following <a href="https://apnews.com/article/south-korea-martial-law-yoon-impeach-6432768aafc8b55be26215667e3c19d0">parliament’s impeachment</a> of conservative President <a href="https://apnews.com/article/south-korea-martial-law-president-impeachment-53d787e9f04d32615e83aade47412174">Yoon Suk Yeol,</a> but rival parties began squabbling over the mechanics of a court ruling to determine whether to formally unseat or reinstate him.</p><p>The country’s liberal opposition-controlled parliament voted to <a href="https://apnews.com/article/south-korea-yoon-martial-law-impeachment-turmoil-timeline-336b2e3defa5c4e36221ca08ae75cbc7">impeach</a> Yoon last Saturday over his short-lived Dec. 3 martial law imposition, suspending his presidential powers until the Constitutional Court determines whether to uphold or overturn the decision. If Yoon is dismissed, a national election must be held to pick his successor within two months. </p><p>Prime Minister <a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-roh-moo-hyun-kim-dae-lee-myung-bak-han-duck-soo-68b7eac2a3dd7423d2cd3d7f51aed89a">Han Duck-soo,</a> who became acting leader, has taken steps to <a href="https://apnews.com/article/south-korea-martial-law-yoon-lee-impeachment-ca583315453be30766372702120f94e7">reassure</a> the U.S. and other countries and stabilize markets. Presiding over a Cabinet Council meeting on Tuesday, Han said he will “continuously do my utmost to inform the international society that Republic of Korea is fast regaining stability and maintain confidence with partners."</p><div class="ad-placeholder" data="autoembed"></div><div class="taboola_readmore" data="autoembed"></div><div id="afs:Card:197304610647" class="hub-peek-embed" content-id="2917db5da7c461ef3eb732e17f938114">Hub peek embed (apf-politics) - Compressed layout (automatic embed) </div><p>But the country’s intense political strife appears to be far from over, as the rival parties began bickering over whether to fill three vacant justices’ seats at the Constitutional Court.</p><p>To formally end Yoon’s presidency, the nine-member court panel needs support from at least six justices. But since three seats remain vacant following retirements, a unanimous decision in favor of Yoon's impeachment is required to throw him out of office for good.</p><div class="ad-placeholder" data="autoembed"></div><p>Three of the court’s nine justices are directly appointed by the president. Three others are nominated by the Supreme Court head and another three by the National Assembly, and their formal appointments by the president has widely been a formality. The three seats that are currently open are to be nominated by the National Assembly — two by the Democratic Party and the other by Yoon’s ruling People Power Party.</p><div class="ad-placeholder" data="autoembed"></div><p>The court can rule on Yoon’s case only with the current six justices. But the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, which led the impeachment efforts against Yoon, has said it would speed up the process of restoring the court’s nine-justice system to promote fairness and public confidence in its ruling.</p><p>But PPP floor leader Kweon Seong-dong, a Yoon loyalist, created a stir Tuesday as he voiced his objection to a Democratic Party push to fill the three vacancies. He said it would be inappropriate for Han, the acting leader, to appoint justices nominated by parliament, saying such authorities solely rest with the president.</p><p>“An acting president can appoint Constitutional Court justices when there is a presidential vacancy, but not when the president’s duties are just suspended,” Kweon said.</p><p>Many observers say the court’s current six-member configuration is advantageous for Yoon’s chances to return to office, as it would only require a single justice rejecting the parliament impeachment. They note Cheong Hyungsik, one of the six justices, is a clear conservative who was directly appointed by Yoon.</p><div class="ad-placeholder" data="autoembed"></div><p>The Democratic Party quickly dismissed Kweon’s argument as “absurd and utterly nonsensical” and urged PPP to abide by a November agreement between the rival parties to nominate the three Constitutional Court justices.</p><p>Party lawmaker and spokesperson Jo Seoung-lae said PPP has “blatantly revealed their true intention to obstruct the constitutional trial.”</p><div class="ad-placeholder" data="autoembed"></div><p>There was no immediate response from Han, who during the Cabinet meeting stressed that the government will cooperate with the ruling and opposition parties to stabilize the economy. </p><p>There is no clear definition about what an acting president can and cannot do over the appointments of court justices. The Democratic party accuses PPP of trying to drag out the impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court, which has up to 180 days to determine Yoon's fate.</p><p>Time is a crucial issue for Democratic Party leader <a href="https://apnews.com/article/south-korea-martial-law-yoon-lee-df02d793de7813cfc01066e6c8ef507d">Lee Jae-myung,</a> who is favored by polls to win a presidential by-election in the event of Yoon’s ouster but grapples with his own legal troubles. Lee could possibly be prohibited from running for president if the appellate and Supreme courts uphold his lower court conviction for election law violation in November.</p><p>Yoon faces allegations of rebellion and abuse of power over his martial law introduction. Investigative authorities want him to appear for questioning later this week, but officials at Yoon's office and residence on Monday <a href="https://apnews.com/article/south-korea-yoon-martial-law-investigation-constitutional-court-8ec38d61f0ea5c48b3bd1f683b5e9c8d">refused to receive</a> requests for his appearance. </p><p>The <a href="https://apnews.com/article/south-korea-martial-law-north-korea-emergency-b310df4fece42c27051f58b8951f346f">martial law</a> declaration, the first of its kind in more than 40 years, drew hundreds of troops who tried to encircle parliament and prevent lawmakers from voting on the decree. Many lawmakers still managed to get inside a National Assembly chamber and voted to overturn Yoon's decree unanimously, forcing Yoon's Cabinet to lift it.</p><p>Yoon's decree, which harkened back to an era of past <a href="https://apnews.com/article/korea-martial-law-yoon-president-9adbff7c7df6a2fa22b1fbf955a495fa">military-backed dictatorships,</a> has sparked massive street protests calling for his ouster and resulted in his approval rating plummeting. Yoon's defense minister, police chief and several other senior military commanders have been arrested over their roles in the martial law enforcement. </p><p>Supporters of Yoon worry that his early exit would severely hamper the country's conservatives and cause them to likely lose a presidential by-election to the liberals, like they did in 2017, when then-impeached conservative President <a href="https://apnews.com/article/seoul-south-korea-park-geun-hye-a20583a6777d829cfe1d289568d5631d">Park Geun-hye</a> was ousted and arrested over a corruption scandal.</p></description>
<link>https://apnews.com/article/south-korea-martial-law-yoon-constitutional-court-2917db5da7c461ef3eb732e17f938114</link>
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<pubDate>Tue, 17 Dec 2024 06:03:00 GMT</pubDate>
<author>Kim Tong-Hyung, Hyung-Jin Kim</author>
<category>Politics</category>
<category>World News</category>
<category>Asia Pacific</category>
<category>South Korea government</category>
<category>South Korea</category>
<category>Yoon Suk-yeol</category>
<category>Han Duck-soo</category>
<category>Impeachment</category>
<category>General News</category>
<category>Courts</category>
</item>
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<title>Militants attack police post in northwest Pakistan, killing 2 officers and wounding 3</title>
<description><p>PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Militants on a motorcycle opened fire Tuesday at a police post in restive northwest Pakistan, killing at least two officers and wounding three others before fleeing the scene, officials said.</p><p>No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in Shangla, a city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, bordering Afghanistan. Local police officer Nasir Khan said the wounded officers were transported to a nearby hospital.</p><p>In a statement, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the attack and offered his condolences to the families of the slain officers. He said “khwarij” — a term used for Pakistani Taliban — were behind the attack.</p><p>Naqvi gave no further details.</p><p>Pakistan in recent months has witnessed a surge in militant attacks, most blamed on separatists in the southwest Balochistan province and Pakistani Taliban, known as <a href="https://pronto.associatedpress.com/he%20Pakistani%20Taliban%20on%20Monday%20ended%20a%20monthslong%20cease-fire%20with%20the%20government%20in%20Islamabad,%20ordering%20its%20fighters%20to%20resume%20attacks%20across%20the%20country,%20where%20scores%20of%20deadly%20attacks%20have%20been%20blamed%20on%20the%20insurgent%20group.%20%20In%20a%20statement,%20the%20outlawed%20Tehrik-e-Taliban%20Pakistan%20said%20it%20decided%20to%20end%20the%205-month-old%20cease-fire%20after%20Pakistan%E2%80%99s%20army%20stepped%20up%20operations%20against%20them%20in%20former%20northwestern%20tribal%20areas%20and%20elsewhere%20in%20Khyber%20Pakhtunkhwa%20province,%20which%20borders%20Afghanistan.">Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan </a> or TTP. While the TTP is an ally of the Afghan Taliban who seized power in Afghanistan in 2021, it's a separate group.</p><p>In November, a suicide bomber killed 12 security personnel and wounded several others after detonating an explosive-laden vehicle at a security post in Bannu, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.</p></description>
<link>https://apnews.com/article/pakistan-militant-attack-police-post-restive-northwest-bf94bbd80b1b69238cf9d16709afb61c</link>
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<pubDate>Tue, 17 Dec 2024 05:32:08 GMT</pubDate>
<category>Asia Pacific</category>
<category>Pakistan government</category>
<category>Taliban</category>
<category>World News</category>
<category>Crime</category>
<category>Law enforcement</category>
<category>Afghanistan</category>
<category>General News</category>
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<title>Florida county poised to vote on financing for new $1.3B ballpark for the Rays</title>
<description><p>TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — After two costly delays, the Pinellas County Commission is set to vote Tuesday on its share of financing for a new $1.3 billion Tampa Bay Rays ballpark. Rays officials say they’re confident of approval this time.</p><p>The <a href="https://apnews.com/article/florida-tampa-bay-rays-stadium-a3c268da75ce8324e4f0e9dc9df12809">overall plan</a> was approved by the county commission and city of St. Petersburg officials this summer, but votes on the funding for the deal had been postponed.</p><p>Earlier this month, the St. Petersburg City Council <a href="https://apnews.com/article/tropicana-roof-rays-yankees-hurricane-milton-b3c571e21e1ef9172173b636d68d9a24">voted to approve</a> its share of the bonds necessary to build the new 30,000-seat ballpark. Now it's up to the county to decide whether to issue the bonds, which would be paid for by tourist taxes that can’t be spent on things such as hurricane recovery.</p><p>Under the agreement, the city and county would put up about half the cost, with the Rays covering the rest, including any cost overruns.</p><p>“We're upholding our part of the bargain,” City Council Chair Deborah Figgs-Sanders said at a meeting earlier this month. “We said we were going to do this. We're doing it. Now what you got?”</p><div class="ad-placeholder" data="autoembed"></div><div class="taboola_readmore" data="autoembed"></div><div id="afs:Card:154016424308" class="hub-peek-embed" content-id="979753ff3fc97cd653a854997001895b">Hub peek embed (MLB) - Compressed layout (automatic embed) </div><p>The proposal caps years of uncertainty about the Rays’ future, including possible moves across the bay to Tampa, or to Nashville, Tennessee, or even to split home games between St. Petersburg and Montreal, an idea Major League Baseball rejected.</p><p>Under the stadium deal, the Rays commit to remain in St. Petersburg for another 30 years. But the Rays will play this season in Tampa at the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/tropicana-roof-rays-yankees-hurricane-milton-112a238a23b1223b9222effcb26b8911">New York Yankees’ spring training site</a>, Steinbrenner Field, because of <a href="https://apnews.com/article/tampa-bay-rays-hurricane-milton-d0d480aae567ccc71a8be9fbf9e1bd9d">hurricane damage to Tropicana Field.</a></p><p>The proposed stadium is a signature piece of a broader $6.5 billion revitalization project known as the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/tampa-bay-rays-new-stadium-plans-0a041d302d6222f111a4dfce6befdcca">Historic Gas Plant District</a>, which refers to a predominantly Black neighborhood that was forced out by construction of the Trop and an interstate highway spur.</p><p>Supporters say the development would transform an 86-acre (34-hectare) tract in the city’s downtown, with plans for a Black history museum, affordable housing, entertainment venues, plus office and retail space — and the promise of thousands of jobs.</p><p>“This is much, much bigger than a stadium,” Pinellas County Commission Chair Kathleen Peters said at a November meeting. “It’s about the investment we can make and the return on that investment that can guarantee we can keep our taxes low.”</p><p>___ Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. <a href="https://www.reportforamerica.org/">Report for America</a> is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.</p></description>
<link>https://apnews.com/article/rays-tropicana-field-hurricane-stadium-pinellas-979753ff3fc97cd653a854997001895b</link>
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<pubDate>Tue, 17 Dec 2024 05:31:48 GMT</pubDate>
<author>Curt Anderson, Kate Payne</author>
<category>MLB</category>
<category>Sports</category>
<category>Baseball</category>
<category>U.S. News</category>
<category>Tampa Bay Rays</category>
<category>FL State Wire</category>
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<title>Minnesota man faces sentencing for killing girlfriend who vanished after leaving kids at daycare</title>
<description><p>WINONA. Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota man <a href="https://apnews.com/article/adam-fravel-murder-trial-missing-minnesota-woman-e33595a3ac5d30546864f6df4377ecd6">convicted of first-degree murder</a> faces sentencing Tuesday for killing his girlfriend, whose 2023 disappearance after she dropped off their kids at daycare drew national attention and prompted thousands of volunteers to join the search for her. </p><p>A jury found Adam Fravel, 30, of Mabel, guilty in November. He was <a href="https://apnews.com/article/madeline-kingsbury-murder-charge-missing-woman-eb37d5965f8ab703ddfee64c9aa40a13">arrested</a> in June 2023, days after deputies <a href="https://apnews.com/article/missing-woman-madeline-kingsbury-man-arrested-8347ed4d3572067658b3a63531a32612">found the body of Madeline Kingsbury</a> in a wooded area a few miles away from a property owned by Fravel’s parents. </p><p>The 26-year-old Kingsbury vanished in March 2023 after dropping off her and Fravel’s two young children at daycare in Winona, a southeastern Minnesota city of about 26,000 residents.</p><p>The trial was moved to Mankato, about 136 miles (219 kilometers) west of Winona, because of extensive pretrial publicity. Fravel will be sentenced back in Winona by District Judge Nancy Buytendorp. Premeditated first-degree murder, the most serious of the four counts on which he was convicted, carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison.</p><div class="ad-placeholder" data="autoembed"></div><div class="taboola_readmore" data="autoembed"></div><p>Police found Kingsbury’s body in a culvert along a gravel road, in a gray fitted bed sheet that had been closed with black Gorilla tape. Prosecutor Phil Prokopowicz said she was strangled with a towel and that a medical examiner concluded she likely died of asphyxiation. The towel, bedsheet and tape matched items found in their Winona home, Prokopowicz said during the trial. </p><p>Prokopowicz and witnesses said Kingsbury had been planning to leave Fravel for another man after becoming frustrated with his alleged abusive behavior and inadequate contributions to their family. He responded to those plans by killing her, the prosecutor said.</p><p>“The relationship was never about them,” Prokopowicz said in his closing statement. “It was always about him.”</p><p>Witnesses testified they had seen bruises on Kingsbury’s neck. In one instance, a friend said she was on a video call with Kingsbury when Fravel allegedly hit her. Another friend testified that Kingsbury told her Fravel had warned Kingsbury that she could end up like Gabby Petito, a woman who was <a href="https://apnews.com/article/travel-lifestyle-denver-florida-parks-55c886582f268e19b6319d491daa6b2c">killed by her boyfriend</a> in a high-profile 2021 case. </p><p>Fravel did not testify in his own defense. His attorney, Zach Bauer, said in his closing argument that the case against Fravel relied on “tunnel vision, revisionist history and secret truths.” He contended that there was no sign of any physical struggle inside the couple’s home. He also pointed to testimony from a neighbor who claimed to have never heard the couple argue.</p></description>
<link>https://apnews.com/article/adam-fravel-murder-trial-missing-minnesota-woman-288b30c541022ccc0d82ba2d32b2d1b3</link>
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<pubDate>Tue, 17 Dec 2024 05:24:07 GMT</pubDate>
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<category>Missing persons</category>
<category>Homicide</category>
<category>Minnesota</category>
<category>U.S. News</category>
<category>Madeline Kingsbury</category>
<category>Adam Fravel</category>
<category>MN State Wire</category>
<category>General News</category>
</item>
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<title>AP Top News at 12:39 a.m. EST</title>
<description><p><hl2>15-year-old girl fatally shoots teacher and teenager at a Christian school in Wisconsin</hl2></p><p><media media-type="text">
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</media></p><p>MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A 15-year-old student opened fire inside a study hall at a small Christian school in Wisconsin, killing a teacher and teenager and prompting a swarm of police officers responding to a second grader's 911 call. The female student wounded six others in Monday's shooting at Abundant Life Christian School, including two students who were in critical condition, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said. A teacher and three students were taken to a hospital with less serious injuries, and two of them were later released. “Every child, every person in that building is a victim and will be a victim forever.</p><p><hl2>Things to know about the shooting at a Christian school in Wisconsin</hl2></p><p><media media-type="text">
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</media></p><p>Two people were killed and others were injured Monday in a shooting at a private Christian school in Madison, Wisconsin. The shooting happened days before the Christmas break. Police said a student who opened fire, identified as a 15-year-old girl, was also dead. Here are some things to know about the shooting in Wisconsin's capital city: The shooting occurred late Monday morning at Abundant Life Christian School. Police said Monday night that a second-grade student called 911 to report the shooting. Police Chief Shon Barnes said Natalie Rupnow, who went by the name Samantha, opened fire during a study hall, killing another student and a teacher, and wounding six others.</p><div class="ad-placeholder" data="autoembed"></div><div class="taboola_readmore" data="autoembed"></div><p><hl2>Judge rejects Trump’s bid to toss hush money conviction because of Supreme Court immunity ruling</hl2></p><p><media media-type="text">
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</media></p><div class="ad-placeholder" data="autoembed"></div><p>After months of deadlock, Israel and Hamas appear to be moving closer toward a ceasefire to end their 14-month war. Top officials from the U.S., Qatar and Egypt have resumed their mediation efforts in recent weeks and reported greater willingness by the warring sides to wrap up a deal. In a key concession, Hamas officials say they are prepared to show more “flexibility" on the timing of an Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza, and Israel’s defense minister, Israel Katz, said Monday that a deal is closer than ever. Officials on all sides have cautioned that key details must still be worked out.</p><p><hl2>Trump weighs in on NY mayor, vaccines and drones in freewheeling press conference at Mar-a-Lago</hl2></p><div class="ad-placeholder" data="autoembed"></div><p><media media-type="text">
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</media></p><p>PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — In a freewheeling press conference at his Mar-a-Lago club, President-elect Donald Trump said Monday he would consider pardoning embattled New York Mayor Eric Adams, declared the country was “not going to lose" the polio vaccine and weighed in on the flurry of drone sightings over New Jersey. Holding court with reporters for the first time since he won the election and secured a second term, Trump also called on the Biden administration to stop selling off unused portions of southern border wall, threatening legal action. “We’re going to spend hundreds of millions of dollars more on building the same wall we already have,” he railed.</p><p><hl2>Is that a drone or a plane? Experts help explain the differences</hl2></p><p><media media-type="text">
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</media></p><p>WASHINGTON (AP) — TikTok on Monday asked the Supreme Court to step in on an emergency basis to block the federal law that would ban the popular platform in the United States unless its China-based parent company agreed to sell it. Lawyers for the company and China-based ByteDance urged the justices to step in before the law's Jan. 19 deadline. A similar plea was filed by content creators who rely on the platform for income and some of TikTok's more than 170 million users in the U.S. “A modest delay in enforcing the Act will create breathing room for this Court to conduct an orderly review and the new Administration to evaluate this matter — before this vital channel for Americans to communicate with their fellow citizens and the world is closed,” lawyers for the companies told the Supreme Court.</p></description>
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<pubDate>Tue, 17 Dec 2024 05:21:26 GMT</pubDate>
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<title>15-year-old girl fatally shoots teacher and teenager at a Christian school in Wisconsin</title>
<description><p>MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A 15-year-old student opened fire inside a study hall at a small Christian school in Wisconsin, killing a teacher and teenager and prompting a swarm of police officers responding to a second grader's 911 call.</p><p>The female student wounded six others in Monday's shooting at Abundant Life Christian School, including two students who were in critical condition, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said. A teacher and three students were taken to a hospital with less serious injuries, and two of them were later released.</p><p>“Every child, every person in that building is a victim and will be a victim forever. ... We need to figure out and try to piece together what exactly happened," Barnes said.</p><p>Police said the shooter, identified as Natalie Rupnow, was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound when officers arrived and died en route to a hospital. Barnes declined to offer additional details about the shooter, partly out of respect for the family.</p><div class="ad-placeholder" data="autoembed"></div><div class="taboola_readmore" data="autoembed"></div><div id="afs:Card:530404428163" class="hub-peek-embed" content-id="a8e1ee353d7fdab2b86dfb355938d871">Hub peek embed (JoeBiden) - Compressed layout (automatic embed) </div><p>Abundant Life is a nondenominational Christian school — prekindergarten through high school — with approximately 420 students in Madison, the state capital. </p><p>Barbara Wiers, the school's director of elementary and school relations, said when they practice safety routines, leaders always announce that it's a drill. That didn’t happen Monday, just a week before Christmas break.</p><p>“When they heard, ‘Lockdown, lockdown,’ they knew it was real,” she said.</p><p>Wiers said the school does not have metal detectors but uses other security measures including cameras. </p><p>A motive for the shooting was not immediately known, nor was it clear if the victims were targeted, Barnes said. </p><p>“I don’t know why, and I feel like if we did know why, we could stop these things from happening,” he told reporters.</p><p>Barnes said police were talking with the shooter’s father and other family members, who were cooperating, and searching the shooter's home.</p><div class="ad-placeholder" data="autoembed"></div><p>“He lost someone as well," Barnes said of the shooter's father. "And so we’re not going to rush the information. We’ll take our time and make sure we do our due diligence.”</p><p>The first 911 call to report an active shooter came in shortly before 11 a.m. First responders who were in training just 3 miles (about 5 kilometers) away dashed to the school for an actual emergency, Barnes said. They arrived three minutes after the initial call.</p><div class="ad-placeholder" data="autoembed"></div><p>Investigators believe the shooter used a 9mm pistol, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.</p><p>Police blocked off roads around the school, and federal agents were at the scene to assist local law enforcement. No shots were fired by police.</p><p>Children and families were reunited at a health clinic about a mile (1.6 kilometers) from the school. Parents pressed children against their chests while others squeezed hands and shoulders as they walked side by side.</p><p>Abundant Life asked for prayers in a brief Facebook post. Wiers said they're still deciding whether they will resume classes this week.</p><p>Bethany Highman, the mother of a student, rushed to the school and learned over FaceTime that her daughter was OK.</p><div class="ad-placeholder" data="autoembed"></div><p>“As soon as it happened, your world stops for a minute. Nothing else matters,” Highman said. “There’s nobody around you. You just bolt for the door and try to do everything you can as a parent to be with your kids.”</p><p>In a statement, President Joe Biden cited the tragedy in calling on Congress to pass universal background checks, a national red flag law and certain gun restrictions.</p><p>“We can never accept senseless violence that traumatizes children, their families, and tears entire communities apart,” Biden said. He spoke with Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers and Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway and offered his support.</p><p>Evers said it's “unthinkable” that a child or teacher would go to school and never return home.</p><p>The school shooting was <a href="https://projects.apnews.com/features/2023/mass-killings/index.html">the latest</a> among dozens across the U.S. in recent years, including especially deadly ones in <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/newtown">Newtown, Connecticut</a>; <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/parkland-florida-school-shooting">Parkland, Florida</a>; and <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/uvalde-school-shooting">Uvalde, Texas</a>.</p><p>The shootings have set off fervent debates about gun control and frayed the nerves of parents whose children are growing up accustomed to doing active shooter drills in their classrooms. But school shootings have done little to move the needle on national gun laws.</p><p>Firearms were the <a href="https://www.kff.org/mental-health/issue-brief/child-and-teen-firearm-mortality-in-the-u-s-and-peer-countries/">leading cause of death</a> among children in 2020 and 2021, according to KFF, a nonprofit that researches health care issues.</p><p>Rhodes-Conway said the country needs to do more to prevent gun violence.</p><p>“I hoped that this day would never come to Madison,” she said.</p><p>___</p><p>Associated Press writers Alanna Durkin Richer, Ed White, Josh Funk and Hallie Golden and photographer Morry Gash contributed to this report.</p></description>
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<pubDate>Tue, 17 Dec 2024 05:17:23 GMT</pubDate>
<author>Scott Bauer</author>
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<title>Indiana man who killed brother, 3 others will be put to death in state's 1st execution in 15 years</title>
<description><p>MICHIGAN CITY, Indiana (AP) — An <a href="https://apnews.com/article/indiana-execution-joseph-corcoran-aaf0dea682859a61bec88080aeb5171a">Indiana man</a> convicted in the 1997 killings of his brother and three other people is set to receive a lethal injection by early Wednesday in the state's first execution in 15 years. </p><p>Joseph Corcoran, 49, has been on death row in Indiana since 1999, the year he was convicted in the shootings of his brother, 30-year-old James Corcoran, his sister's fiancé, 32-year-old Robert Scott Turner, and two other men: Timothy G. Bricker, 30, and Douglas A. Stillwell, 30.</p><p>Barring last-minute court action or intervention by Gov. Eric Holcomb, Corcoran is set to be put to death before sunrise Wednesday at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City, according to state officials. Last summer, the governor announced <a href="https://apnews.com/article/indiana-execution-lethal-injection-drugs-94da18464a7bab734275a412ecd9931f">the resumption of state executions</a> after a yearslong hiatus marked by a scarcity of lethal injection drugs nationwide.</p><p>The state has provided few details about the process, including a specific execution time. No media witnesses will be permitted under state law. Indiana prison officials provided photos of the execution chamber in advance, showing a space that looks like a sparse operating room with a gurney, bright fluorescent lighting, a floor drain and interior windows to an adjacent viewing room. </p><div class="ad-placeholder" data="autoembed"></div><div class="taboola_readmore" data="autoembed"></div><p>Corcoran's attorneys have fought the death penalty sentence for years, arguing that Corcoran is severely mentally ill, which affects his ability to understand and make decisions. Corcoran <a href="https://apnews.com/article/---160676194d0c45cab210736f57b414d3">exhausted his federal appeals</a> in 2016. Earlier this month, his attorneys asked the Indiana Supreme Court to stop his execution but the request <a href="https://apnews.com/article/indiana-execution-joseph-corcoran-stay-8b05e7c7f7b8dee797eef3ed73b1681c">was denied</a>. </p><p>However, attorneys say since the justices were split 3-2 that signals there's a chance. </p><p>“Given that it is a close case, it shouldn’t be rushed through,” said defense attorney Larry Komp. “He’s so extremely mentally ill. We think he’s irrational. We’ve never had a fair process.”</p><p>Attorneys have said one sign of Corcoran's mental illness includes a handwritten affidavit that Corcoran wrote to the justices this month saying he was done litigating his case. </p><div class="ad-placeholder" data="autoembed"></div><p>“I am guilty of the crime I was convicted of, and accept the findings of all the appellate courts,” he wrote.</p><p>According to court records, before Corcoran fatally shot the four victims in July 1997, he was under stress because the forthcoming marriage of his sister to Turner would necessitate moving out of the Fort Wayne, Indiana, home he shared with his brother and sister.</p><div class="ad-placeholder" data="autoembed"></div><p>He awoke to hear his brother and others downstairs talking about him, loaded his rifle and then shot all four men, records show. While jailed, Corcoran reportedly bragged about fatally shooting his parents in 1992 in northern Indiana’s Steuben County. He was charged in their killings but acquitted.</p><p>If Corcoran is put to death as scheduled by early Wednesday, it will be the state’s first execution since 2009. In that time, <a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-28e44cc5c026dc16472751bbde0ead50">13 executions</a> were carried out in Indiana but those were initiated and performed by federal officials in 2020 and 2021 at a federal prison in Terre Haute. </p><div class="ad-placeholder" data="autoembed"></div><p>Indiana’s last state execution was in 2009 when Matthew Wrinkles was put to death for killing his wife, her brother and sister-in-law in 1994. </p><p>State officials have said they couldn’t continue executions because a combination of drugs used in lethal injections had become unavailable. </p><p>For years, there has been a shortage across the country because pharmaceutical companies <a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-domestic-news-domestic-news-0c4181f79cc04b039724bcec3ca16f6a">have refused to sell their products</a> for that purpose. That’s pushed states, including Indiana, to turn to compounding pharmacies, which manufacture drugs specifically for a client. Some use more accessible drugs such as the sedatives pentobarbital or midazolam, both of which, critics say, can cause intense pain.</p><p>Last week, Corcoran's attorneys filed a petition in U.S. District Court of Northern Indiana asking the court to stop the execution and hold a hearing to decide if it would be unconstitutional because Corcoran has a serious mental illness. They cited “severe and longstanding paranoid schizophrenia.” But the court rejected the bid to intervene on Friday, prompting attorneys to file an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit. </p><p>Multiple groups, including religious groups and disability rights advocates, have opposed the execution. Several activists were planning a vigil starting late Tuesday outside the prison, about 60 miles (90 kilometers) east of Chicago.</p><p>In early December, Indiana Disability Rights asked the governor to commute Corcoran’s sentence to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.</p><p>Holcomb recently said he would let the legal process “play out” in Corcoran's case before deciding whether to intervene. </p><p>One of Corcoran’s sisters, Kelly Ernst, who lost both a brother and her fiancé in the 1997 shootings, said she believes the death penalty should be abolished and her brother’s execution won’t solve or change anything. She is not planning to be present for the execution. </p><p>Ernst said she had been out of cont |
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Example for the Proposed Route(s) / 路由地址示例
New RSS Route Checklist / 新 RSS 路由检查表
PuppeteerNote / 说明