Thursday, July 1, 2021
Monday, September 21, 2020
Trump to make court pick by Saturday, Ginsburg services set
By JONATHAN LEMIRE, LISA MASCARO and ALEXANDRA JAFFE
WASHINGTONP) (AP) — President Donald Trump said Monday he expects to announce his pick for the Supreme Court on Friday or Saturday, after funeral services for Ruth Bader Ginsburg and just days before the first presidential election debate.
Ginsburg’s casket will be on public view Wednesday and Thursday at the iconic steps outside the court building to allow for public mourning during the coronavirus pandemic. On Friday, Ginsburg will lie in state in the Capitol’s Statuary Hall in a ceremony open only to invited guests, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said.
The court said Ginsburg will be buried next week at Arlington National Cemetery in a private service.
Trump told “Fox & Friends” that he had a list of five finalists, “probably four,” and that he is pushing for a confirmation vote before Election Day. Democrats vigorously oppose that, pointing to the hypocrisy of Republicans for rushing through a pick so close to the election after refusing to do so months earlier for President Barack Obama in 2016.
Dismissing that argument, Trump said of a rapid nomination and confirmation, “I think that would be good for the Republican Party, and I think it would be good for everybody to get it over with.”
Friday, September 18, 2020
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dies at 87
By MARK SHERMAN
WASHINGTON (AP) — Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a towering women’s rights champion who became the court’s second female justice, died Friday at her home in Washington. She was 87.
Ginsburg died of complications from metastatic pancreatic cancer, the court said.
Her death just over six weeks before Election Day is likely to set off a heated battle over whether President Donald Trump should nominate, and the Republican-led Senate should confirm, her replacement, or if the seat should remain vacant until the outcome of his race against Democrat Joe Biden is known. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said late Friday that the Senate will vote on Trump’s pick to replace Ginsburg, even though it’s an election year.
Trump called Ginsburg an “amazing woman” and did not mention filling her vacant Supreme Court seat when he spoke to reporters following a rally in Bemidji, Minnesota.
Biden said the winner of the November election should choose Ginsburg’s replacement. “There is no doubt -- let me be clear -- that the voters should pick the president and the president should pick the justice for the Senate to consider,” Biden told reporters after returning to his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, from campaign stops in Minnesota.
Tuesday, February 20, 2018
OKLAHOMA MAN GETS LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE FOR HATE CRIME KILLING
54 MINUTES AGO
Stanley Vernon Majors was convicted earlier this month of gunning down 37-year-old Khalid Jabara outside of his Tulsa home in August 2016. The murder charge carried a life sentence, and the jury recommended that Jabara never get the chance to go free - a recommendation the judge followed Tuesday.
According to prosecutors, Majors killed Jabara after bombarding him with racial insults in a feud with Jabara's family that lasted several years. It escalated to the point where the victim's mother, Haifa Jabara, obtained a protective order in 2013 that required Majors to stay 300 yards (275 meters) away and prohibited him from possessing any firearms until 2018.
But prosecutors said Majors was undeterred, and that he struck Haifa Jabara with his car in 2015 and drove off. She suffered a broken shoulder, among other injuries. Officers who stopped him later reported that he was intoxicated.
While awaiting trial in that case on assault and battery charges, a judge freed Majors from jail on $60,000 bond, overruling strong objections by prosecutors, who called him a substantial risk to the public and pleaded with the court to set a higher bond of $300,000.
Authorities said Majors shot Khalid Jabara on his own front porch while out on bond.
Defense attorneys argued that Majors showed signs of dementia and appeared to have problems with his long-term memory, and that these conditions interfered with their ability to prepare a defense.
In addition to his convictions in Oklahoma, Majors has a 2009 felony conviction in California for threatening a crime with intent to terrorize.
LOUISVILLE MUST VACATE BASKETBALL TITLE, NCAA DENIES APPEAL
By GARY B. GRAVES
The Cardinals will have to vacate 123 victories including the championship, and return millions in conference revenue from the 2012-15 NCAA Tournaments.
The decision announced on Tuesday by the governing body's Infraction Appeals Committee ruled that the NCAA has the authority to take away championships for what it considers major rule violations. It also refuted Louisville's position that the NCAA exceeded its boundaries and didn't follow its own precedent established in other cases and said in an eight-page decision that ended, "the penalties are upheld."
"I cannot say this strongly enough: We believe the NCAA is simply wrong," Louisville interim President Dr. Greg Postel said in a statement. "We disagree with the NCAA ruling for reasons we clearly stated in our appeal. And we made a strong case - based on NCAA precedent - that supported our argument."
Louisville now must forfeit its third NCAA title, victories and income from 2010-14, when the violations occurred. The decision culminates the governing body's investigation that followed allegations in a 2015 book by escort Katina Powell that former Cardinals basketball staffer Andre McGee hired her and other dancers to strip and have sex with recruits.
"From Day One, the university has admitted that the actions of the former operations director and any others involved under previous leadership were offensive and inexcusable," Postel said in the statement. "That is why we apologized immediately, cooperated fully with the NCAA, self-imposed penalties that were appropriate to the offenses and made significant changes to ensure incidents like this never happen again.
"Under the NCAA's own rules, this cooperation should have been a factor in the severity of the punishment. Instead, it was ignored."
The school's own investigation into the allegation revealed that violations occurred and resulted in a self-imposed postseason ban nearly two years ago. Louisville later imposed scholarship and recruiting restrictions in an effort to mitigate further NCAA discipline.
While the NCAA accepted Louisville's actions, it went further with harsher sanctions last June that included:
- A five-game suspension of former Cardinals coach Rick Pitino, who was fired in October following Louisville's acknowledgement that it was being investigated in a federal bribery probe of college basketball. That measure included a show-cause penalty for Pitino, whom the NCAA criticized for failing to monitor McGee and ignoring multiple red flags;
- Four years' probation, along with the vacation of those wins and appearances in the 2012 and 2013 Final Fours;
- Show-cause penalties for McGee, who is no longer coaching;
- The return of up to $XX million in NCAA Tournament revenue.
"This dark cloud has hung over our heads for more than two years, and it has had a negative impact on our athletics program, our fans and the entire university family," Postel said "While we disagree with the NCAA's decision, it is time for the university to close this chapter and move forward with a stronger commitment to excellence on and off the court."
Postel, then-athletic director Tom Jurich and Pitino said last summer they planned to fight the sanctions. Pitino, who repeatedly denied knowing about the activities described in Powell's book, was particularly frustrated with his penalties.
A lot changed at Louisville in the months following the NCAA penalties. Pitino was placed on unpaid administrative leave and Jurich on paid administrative leave on Sept. 27 following the school's involvement in the FBI probe that initially involved the arrests of 10 people.
___
More AP college basketball: http://collegebasketball.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP_Top25
CHARACTER WITNESSES TESTIFY FOR EMBATTLED ALLENTOWN MAYOR
ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) - Religious, community and business leaders in Pennsylvania's third-largest city are taking the witness stand in defense of the embattled mayor in his federal corruption trial.
Two pastors, a teacher and a business owner are among the character witnesses telling a jury Tuesday that Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski is honest, trustworthy and law-abiding.
Federal prosecutors allege that the Democrat sold his office to campaign donors. Pawlowski is battling an indictment that includes dozens of accusations of fraud, bribery, attempted extortion and lying to the FBI.
Prosecutors allege that Pawlowski rigged a series of contracts to go to law firms and businesses that supported his campaigns for governor and U.S. Senate. Pawlowski denies wrongdoing.
The corruption trial entered its fifth week Tuesday.
PREVENTIVE TREATMENT FOR PEANUT ALLERGIES SUCCEEDS IN STUDY
By MARILYNN MARCHIONE
Millions of children have peanut allergies, and some may have life-threatening reactions if accidentally exposed to them. Doctors have been testing daily doses of peanut flour, contained in a capsule and sprinkled over food, as a way to prevent that.
California-based Aimmune (AIM-yoon) Therapeutics said 67 percent of kids who had its treatment were able to tolerate the equivalent of roughly two peanuts at the end of the study, compared to only 4 percent of others given a dummy powder.
The study involved nearly 500 kids ages 4 to 17 with severe peanut allergies. They were given either capsules of peanut flour or a dummy powder in gradually increasing amounts for six months, then continued on that final level for another six months. Neither the participants nor their doctors knew who was getting what until the study ended.
About 20 percent of kids getting the peanut powder dropped out of the study, 12 percent due to reactions or other problems.
The results have not yet been reviewed by independent experts, but will be presented at a medical meeting next month.
The company plans to file for U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for the treatment by the end of this year, and for approval in Europe early next year.
___
Marilynn Marchione can be followed on Twitter: @MMarchioneAP
FEATHERS FLY AS CHICKEN SHORTAGE SHUTS KFCS ACROSS BRITAIN
The company apologized to customers, blaming "teething problems" with its new delivery partner, DHL.
KFC first apologized for the problems on Saturday. In an update Monday, it listed almost 300 stores as open, but did not say when the rest might join them.
It said those branches that remained open were operating a limited menu or shortened hours.
"We know that this might have inconvenienced some of you over the last few days, and disappointed you when you wanted your fried chicken fix - we're really sorry about that," the company said in a statement.
DHL, which recently took over the KFC contract from Bidvest Logistics, said that "due to operational issues a number of deliveries in recent days have been incomplete or delayed."
When DHL announced in October that it had won the KFC contract alongside logistics firm QSL, it promised to "re-write the rule book and set a new benchmark for delivering fresh products to KFC in a sustainable way."
STUDENTS GOING TO STATE CAPITAL TO PUSH FOR GUN LAW CHANGES
By TERRY SPENCER, CURT ANDERSON and BRENDAN FARRINGTON 
PARKLAND, Fla. (AP) - A hundred Stoneman Douglas High School students are busing 400 miles to Florida's capital Tuesday to urge lawmakers to act to prevent a repeat of the massacre that killed 17 students and faculty last week.
The students plan to hold a rally Wednesday in hopes that it will put pressure on the state's Republican-controlled Legislature to consider a sweeping package of gun-control laws, something some GOP lawmakers said Monday they would consider. Shortly after the shooting, several legislative leaders were taken on a tour of the school to see the damage firsthand and they appeared shaken afterward.
"I really think they are going to hear us out," said Chris Grady, a 19-year-old senior who is going on the trip. He said he hopes the trip will lead to some "commonsense laws like rigorous background checks."
The attack last Wednesday seemed to overcome the resistance of some in the state's leadership, which has rebuffed gun restrictions since Republicans took control of both the governor's office and the Legislature in 1999. However, there is still strong resistance by many in the party to any gun-control measures, leaving the fate of new restrictions unclear.
Students also have vowed to exert pressure on Congress as the aftermath of the rampage resonates beyond Florida and from coast to coast. Hundreds of chanting protesters converged Monday on a downtown Los Angeles park, demanding tougher background checks and other gun-safety measures after the shooting. Some signs held up by the California demonstrators read, "Your Children Are Counting On You."
Sen. Bill Galvano, a Republican and the incoming Florida senate president, said the state Senate was preparing a package that would include raising the age to purchase any firearm to 21, creating a waiting period for purchasing any type of firearm, banning bump stocks that can allow semi-automatic guns to spray bullets quickly and creating gun-violence restraining orders.
Authorities said suspect Nikolas Cruz, 19, had a string of run-ins with school authorities that ended with his expulsion. Police also were repeatedly called to his house throughout his childhood. Cruz's lawyers said there were repeated warning signs that he was mentally unstable and potentially violent. Yet he legally purchased a semi-automatic rifle.
"We need to make sure everything is working and to learn from the experience," said Galvano, who was among those who visited the school.
The Senate is also considering boosting spending on mental health programs for schools and giving law-enforcement greater power to involuntarily hold someone considered a danger to themselves. The body will also look at a proposal to deputize a teacher or someone else at school so they are authorized to have a gun.
Galvano said senators want to examine ways to protect schools that do not have resource officers - often armed law enforcement officers - on site.
State House leaders and Gov. Rick Scott also are considering possible changes to firearms rules but have not given any details. Scott planned meetings Tuesday on school safety, and said he would announce proposals on mental health issues later in the week.
Still, some Republicans questioned whether additional gun restrictions are the answer.
"I really don't want to see this politicized into a gun debate," Republican Sen. Dennis Baxley.
Referring to gun-control advocates, he said: "Sometimes I wish they were right, that this would fix it, but it won't ... We have a terrible problem with obesity, but we're not banning forks and spoons."
Democrats believe raising the age limit and creating a waiting period to buy rifles isn't enough.
"That's unacceptable. That's a joke," said Democratic Sen. Gary Farmer of Broward County. "I don't see that as a restriction. It never should have been that an 18-year-old could buy an assault weapon. No Floridians should be able to buy an assault weapon."
Cruz legally purchased at least seven long guns, including an AK-47-style rifle he bought less than a month ago, a law enforcement official said Monday. The official is familiar with the investigation but isn't authorized to discuss it and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Federal law allows those 18 and over to buy rifles, and Cruz passed background checks necessary to obtain the weapons.
Cruz made his first appearance in court Monday. Wearing a prison jumpsuit, he kept his head down and did not appear to make eye contact with the judge or others in the courtroom, though he responded briefly to someone on the defense team. A previous appearance was by a video connection from jail.
His lawyers have said he will plead guilty if prosecutors agree not to pursue the death penalty. No decision has been made on that.
Since the attack, students from the school have become increasingly vocal in their demands for gun-control measures. Many have pointed out politicians who take financial support from the National Rifle Association, and some have lashed out at President Donald Trump, saying he was busy blaming Democrats for failing to pass gun restrictions while taking no action of his own.
After staying largely mum in the last few days about the massacre and the escalating debate about weapons, Trump said Monday that he was supportive of a bipartisan effort to strengthen federal background checks for gun purchases.
Students are also calling for anti-gun violence demonstrations in Washington and other cities March 24.
Organizers behind the anti-Trump Women's March called for a 17-minute nationwide walkout by teachers and students on March 14, and a gun-control group was calling for a rally to ban assault weapons Wednesday at the Florida Capitol.
___
Anderson reported from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Farrington reported from Tallahassee, Florida. Associated Press Writer Gary Fineout in Tallahassee and Sadie Gurman in Washington contributed to this report.
___
Follow the AP's complete coverage of the Florida school shooting here: https://apnews.com/tag/Floridaschoolshooting .
INMATE WHO ESCAPED FROM COURT REMAINS AT LARGE IN KENTUCKY
KY STATE WIRE TODAY
CYNTHIANA, Ky. (AP) - Authorities say an inmate in Kentucky escaped custody during court.
Harrison County Jailer Steve Slade tells WKYT-TV that Gary Courtney became disruptive during court proceedings on Monday, and then escaped from the holding room in which he was isolated. Slade says Courtney was handcuffed and shackled at the time.
The jailer says Courtney may have changed from a dark blue jumpsuit to khaki pants and a shirt.
The station did not report the reason why Courtney was in court.
___
Information from: WKYT-TV, http://www.wkyt.com
Allen County Triple Slaying Suspect Caught
By DEBI HIGHLAND @BGDNCrimebeat
Photo's Courtesy of KSP
Suspect in triple slaying caught in Colorado.
Thursday, February 15, 2018
FLORIDA HIGH SCHOOL SHOOTING PLUNGES CITY INTO MOURNING
By TERRY SPENCER and KELLI KENNEDY
Such an exercise had forced them to leave their classrooms hours earlier. So when the alarm went off Wednesday afternoon shortly before they were to be dismissed, they once again filed out into the hallways.
That's when police say 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, equipped with a gas mask, smoke grenades and multiple magazines of ammunition, opened fire with a semi-automatic weapon, killing 17 people and sending hundreds of students fleeing into the streets. It was the nation's deadliest school shooting since a gunman attacked an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, more than five years ago.
"Our district is in a tremendous state of grief and sorrow," said Robert Runcie, superintendent of the school district in Parkland, about an hour's drive north of Miami. "It is a horrible day for us."
Authorities offered no immediate details about Cruz or his possible motive, except to say that he had been kicked out of the high school, which has about 3,000 students. Students who knew him described a volatile teenager whose strange behavior had caused others to end friendships with him.
Cruz's mother Lynda Cruz died of pneumonia on Nov. 1 neighbors, friends and family members said, according to the Sun Sentinel . Cruz and her husband, who died of a heart attack several years ago, adopted Nikolas and his biological brother, Zachary, after the couple moved from Long Island in New York to Broward County.
The boys were left in the care of a family friend after their mother died, family member Barbara Kumbatovich, of Long Island, said.
Unhappy there, Nikolas Cruz asked to move in with a friend's family in northwest Broward. The family agreed and Cruz moved in around Thanksgiving. According to the family's lawyer, who did not identify them, they knew that Cruz owned the AR-15 but made him keep it locked up in a cabinet. He did have the key, however.
Jim Lewis said the family is devastated and didn't see this coming. They are cooperating with authorities, he said.
Victoria Olvera, a 17-year-old junior at the school, said Cruz was expelled last school year because he got into a fight with his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend. She said he had been abusive to his girlfriend.
"I think everyone had in their minds if anybody was going to do it, it was going to be him," she said.
Cruz was taken into custody without a fight about an hour after the shooting in a residential neighborhood about a mile away. He had multiple magazines of ammunition, authorities said.
"It's catastrophic. There really are no words," said Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel.
Frantic parents rushed to the school to find SWAT team members and ambulances surrounding the huge campus and emergency workers who appeared to be treating the wounded on sidewalks. Students who hadn't run began leaving in a single-file line with their hands over their heads as officers urged them to evacuate quickly.
Hearing loud bangs as the shooter fired, many of the students inside hid under desks or in closets, and barricaded doors.
"We were in the corner, away from the windows," said freshman Max Charles, who said he heard five gunshots. "The teacher locked the door and turned off the light. I thought maybe I could die or something."
As he was leaving the building, he saw four dead students and one dead teacher. He said he was relieved when he finally found his mother.
"I was happy that I was alive," Max said. "She was crying when she saw me."
Noah Parness, a 17-year-old junior, said he and the other students calmly went outside to their fire-drill areas when he suddenly heard popping sounds.
"We saw a bunch of teachers running down the stairway, and then everybody shifted and broke into a sprint," Parness said. "I hopped a fence."
Most of the fatalities were inside the building, though some victims were found fatally shot outside, the sheriff said.
Sen. Bill Nelson told CNN that Cruz had pulled the fire alarm "so the kids would come pouring out of the classrooms into the hall."
"And there the carnage began," said Nelson, who said he was briefed by the FBI.
The scene was reminiscent of the Newtown attack, which shocked even a country numbed by the regularity of school shootings. The Dec. 14, 2012, assault at Sandy Hook Elementary School killed 26 people: 20 first-graders and six staff members. The 20-year-old gunman, who also fatally shot his mother in her bed, then killed himself.
Not long after Wednesday's attack in Florida, Michael Nembhard was sitting in his garage on a cul-de-sac when he saw a young man in a burgundy shirt walking down the street. In an instant, a police cruiser pulled up, and officers jumped out with guns drawn.
"All I heard was 'Get on the ground! Get on the ground!'" Nembhard said. He said Cruz did as he was told.
The school was to be closed for the rest of the week.
___
Associated Press writers Freida Frisaro, Curt Anderson, Joshua Replogle and Jennifer N. Kay in Miami; Mike Balsamo in Los Angeles; and Lisa J. Adams in Atlanta, contributed to this report.
SUPECT'S DISTURBING SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS BEING DISSECTED
By KELLI KENNEDY
PARKLAND, Fla. (AP) - The suspect in a deadly rampage at a Florida high school is a troubled teenager who posted disturbing material on social media before the shooting spree that killed at least 17 people, according to a law enforcement official and former schoolmates.
Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said the 19-year-old suspect, Nikolas Cruz, had been expelled from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School for "disciplinary reasons."
"I don't know the specifics," the sheriff said.
However, Victoria Olvera, a 17-year-old junior, said Cruz was expelled last school year after a fight with his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend. She said Cruz had been abusive to his girlfriend.
School officials said Cruz was attending another school in Broward County after his expulsion.
Cruz's mother Lynda Cruz died of pneumonia on Nov. 1 neighbors, friends and family members said, according to the Sun Sentinel. Cruz and her husband, who died of a heart attack several years ago, adopted Nikolas and his biological brother, Zachary, after the couple moved from Long Island in New York to Broward County.
The boys were left in the care of a family friend after their mother died, family member Barbara Kumbatovich, of Long Island, said.
Unhappy there, Nikolas Cruz asked to move in with a friend's family in northwest Broward. The family agreed and Cruz moved in around Thanksgiving. According to the family's lawyer, who did not identify them, they knew that Cruz owned the AR-15 but made him keep it locked up in a cabinet. He did have the key, however.
Jim Lewis said the family is devastated and didn't see this coming. They are cooperating with authorities, he said.
Broward County Mayor Beam Furr said during an interview with CNN that the shooter was getting treatment at a mental health clinic for a while, but that he hadn't been back to the clinic for more than a year.
"It wasn't like there wasn't concern for him," Furr said.
"We try to keep our eyes out on those kids who aren't connected ... Most teachers try to steer them toward some kind of connections. ... In this case, we didn't find a way to connect with this kid," Furr said.
Israel said investigators were dissecting the suspect's social media posts.
"And some of the things that have come to mind are very, very disturbing," he added without elaborating.
Daniel Huerfano, a student who fled Wednesday's attack, said he recognized Cruz from an Instagram photo in which Cruz posed with a gun in front of his face. Huerfano recalled Cruz as a shy student and remembered seeing him walking around with his lunch bag.
"He was that weird kid that you see ... like a loner," he added.
Dakota Mutchler, a 17-year-old junior, said he used to be close friends with Cruz but hadn't seen him in more than a year following his expulsion from school.
"He started progressively getting a little more weird," Mutchler said.
Mutchler recalled Cruz posting on Instagram about killing animals and said he had talked about doing target practice in his backyard with a pellet gun.
"He started going after one of my friends, threatening her, and I cut him off from there," Mutchler said.
"I think everyone had in their minds if anybody was going to do it, it was going to be him," Mutchler said.
Broward County School District Superintendent Robert Runcie told reporters on Wednesday afternoon that he did not know of any threats posed by Cruz to the school.
"Typically you see in these situations that there potentially could have been signs out there," Runcie said. "I would be speculating at this point if there were, but we didn't have any warnings. There weren't any phone calls or threats that we know of that were made."
However, a teacher told The Miami Herald that Cruz may have been identified as a potential threat to other students. Jim Gard, a math teacher who said Cruz had been in his class last year, said he believes the school had sent out an email warning teachers that Cruz shouldn't be allowed on campus with a backpack.
"There were problems with him last year threatening students, and I guess he was asked to leave campus," Gard said.
BROWN, HARPER LEAD NO. 10 AUBURN PAST KENTUCKY, 76-66
By JOHN ZENOR
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) - No. 10 Auburn remains on the path toward a potential Southeastern Conference title and Kentucky is still mired in a slump.
It has more commonly been the other way around.
Bryce Brown returned from a shoulder injury to score 18 points and make four 3-pointers in leading the Tigers to a 76-66 victory over the struggling Wildcats on Wednesday night.
The Tigers (23-3, 11-2 SEC), undersized if not underdogs, overcame a horrid shooting start to take control defensively down the stretch.
"Our conditioning, our toughness, our resilience, our grit," Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. "That's why we won the game."
Jared Harper also scored 18 and had seven assists while making all nine free throw attempts for the league-leading Tigers.
Brown missed the Georgia game with a right shoulder injury and got off to a cool start against the Wildcats (17-9, 6-7), who dropped their fourth straight.
He missed his first four shots but delivered a couple of big 3s in the second half. Auburn announced he would start shortly before the game.
"I talked to coach (Wednesday) morning and I told him I probably wasn't going to go because it was really stiff," Brown said. "Around (the pre-game) shoot around, it felt pretty good. From there, I just decided I was going to play."
Auburn's certainly glad he did.
"I told him beforehand, I don't think we win the game without him," Pearl said.
Anfernee McLemore had 13 points and 11 rebounds. Mustapha Heron scored 11 despite 4-of-14 shooting. Desean Murray, who at 6-foot-3 was facing much taller players, had nine points, 11 rebounds and four assists.
Auburn also made 24 of 28 foul shots.
Kevin Knox led Kentucky with 19 points and PJ Washington added 13. The Wildcats didn't make a basket in the last five minutes.
"We had our chance to win the game," Kentucky coach John Calipari said. "We make some dumb, inexperienced plays down the stretch."
But, he added, "We made strides."
It was a role reversal of sorts for the two programs. The game marked only the third time a ranked Auburn team faced an unranked Kentucky team, and the first since 1987.
Auburn trailed by four points before starting a 13-2 run on Brown's 3-pointer and subsequent layup off a steal by Anfernee McLemore. Heron hit a layup and Harper made two free throws to punctuate the run with Auburn leading 68-61 in the final four minutes.
Kentucky couldn't close the gap again.
The Tigers started ice cold but still managed to take a 39-33 lead into the locker room. Auburn opened 1-of-16 shooting and missed its first nine 3-point attempts.
"We're all shooters," Brown said. "We don't let it distract us."
BIG PICTURE
Kentucky: Has dropped four in a row for the first time since the end of the 2009 regular season. The Wildcats were unable to capitalize on a big size advantage against the Tigers.
Auburn: Has won seven of its last eight games and won consecutive home games against Kentucky for the first time in 28 years.
NCAA BOUND?
Calipari was asked if he has any concern about making the NCAA Tournament, still certainly in reach despite Auburn fans' late "NIT" chant.
"I got one thought," he said. "Let's just try to win the next game. Just win a game. I really believe if we win a game, we'll get it going."
Added Pearl: "They're a dangerous team."
UP NEXT
Kentucky: Hosts Alabama on Saturday in a CBS-televised game.
Auburn: Visits South Carolina on Saturday in the first of two late-season meetings.
___
For more AP college basketball coverage: http://collegebasketball.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_Top25
Tuesday, February 13, 2018
Israeli police on Tuesday recommended that Benjamin Netanyahu be indicted
JERUSALEM (AP) - Israeli police on Tuesday recommended that Benjamin Netanyahu be indicted in a pair of corruption cases, media reported, in an embarrassing blow to the embattled prime minister that is likely to fuel calls for him to step down.
The recommendations marked a dramatic ending to a months-long investigation into allegations that Netanyahu accepted tens of thousands of dollars in lavish gifts from a Hollywood mogul and offered to give preferential treatment to a newspaper publisher in exchange for favorable coverage. Netanyahu has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.
The recommendations now go to Attorney General Avihai Mendelblit, who will review the material before deciding whether to file charges. Netanyahu can remain in office during that process, which could drag on for months.
But with a cloud hanging over his head, he could soon find himself facing calls to step aside. During similar circumstances a decade ago, Netanyahu, as opposition leader, urged then-Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to resign during a police investigation, saying a leader "sunk up to his neck in interrogations" could not govern properly.
For months, police have been investigating two cases.
In one probe, called File 1000, Netanyahu reportedly received over $100,000 in gifts including champagne and expensive cigars from Hollywood mogul Arnon Milchan, Australian billionaire James Packer and other wealthy supporters.
The other is over secret talks with the publisher of Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot. In recordings obtained by police, Netanyahu allegedly requested positive coverage in exchange for reining in a free pro-Netanyahu daily.
Channels 10 and 2 TV and the Jerusalem Post and Haaretz newspapers reported police recommended indictments in both cases. The attorney general will now review their conclusions and decide whether to file charges.
Police were expected to make a formal announcement later Tuesday, and Netanyahu was expected to issue a response.
REPORTS: RUSSIAN CONTRACTORS KILLED BY US STRIKE IN SYRIA
By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV
Officials in both Moscow and Washington remained coy about the deaths, which would be an embarrassment for both countries if it turns out that Russian fighters were part of a unit that attacked a military force with American troops.
President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, refrained from commenting on reports about the incident last week, saying they need to be verified.
Asked during a conference call with reporters if Putin raised the episode during a phone conversation Monday with U.S. President Donald Trump, Peskov said the situation in Syria wasn't discussed during the call.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Tuesday that Russia has told the U.S. there were no Russians in the area of the strike. Mattis said he saw the news reports about Russian contractors possibly being casualties of the bombing.
"I don't have any reporting that some non-Russian Federation soldiers, but Russian contractors were among the casualties," Mattis told reporters traveling with him in Europe. "I can't give you anything on that. We have not received that word at Central Command or the Pentagon."
Russian media said the Russian private contractors were part of pro-government forces that advanced on oil fields in the eastern Deir el-Zour province and were targeted by the United States. The reports cited activists who confirmed that at least four Russian citizens were killed in Syria on Wednesday.
During the war in Syria, Russia and the United States have maintained a communications channel to avoid collisions between their warplanes and soldiers in the chaotic battlefield. If Russian deaths from the U.S. strike are confirmed, it would mean the two countries were on the verge of a direct military confrontation in Syria.
The episode could further strain ties between the two countries, which have plummeted to the lowest levels since the Cold War over the Ukrainian conflict, the war in Syria and the alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
The U.S. military said last week it unleashed air and artillery barrage on Syrian government-backed troops after some 300 attackers launched what appeared to be a coordinated assault on Syrian opposition forces accompanied by U.S. advisers in the province of Deir el-Zour. It said it was in regular communication with Russian counterparts before, during and after the attack, and Russian officials assured coalition officials they would not strike coalition forces.
It said the U.S. strikes, which reportedly killed about 100 of the attackers, were in self-defense.
The Russian Defense Ministry has insisted that its troops weren't involved in the incident, saying 25 Syrian volunteers were wounded in the U.S. strike.
It also noted pro-government forces that advanced toward the area under control of the U.S.-supported forces had failed to coordinate their action with the Russian military in Syria.
Mattis last week dismissed any suggestion that Russia had any control over the attacking force, whose nationalities, motives and makeup he could not identify.
The U.S. strike came as U.S.-backed Kurdish-led forces were vying with Russian-backed Syrian troops that are reinforced by Iranian-supported militias for control of the oil-rich Deir el-Zour province.
The Russian Defense Ministry charged that the Feb. 7 incident reflected a U.S. push to grab Syria's economic assets under the cover of fighting the Islamic State group.
Without mentioning the U.S. strike, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted Tuesday that "Americans have taken dangerous unilateral steps."
"Those steps look increasingly as part of efforts to create a quasi-state on a large part of Syrian territory - from the eastern bank of the Euphrates River all the way to the border with Iraq," he said.
The state Tass news agency on Tuesday cited Natalya Krylova, a municipal lawmaker in the town of Asbestos in the Urals, as saying local residents Igor Kosoturov and Stanislav Matveyev were killed in Syria Wednesday.
The Interfax news agency said that the Cossack group in the westernmost Kalningrad region said a member named Vladimir Loginov was killed in combat in the province of Deir el-Zour. It also quoted Alexander Averin, leader of extreme leftist group Another Russia, as saying that one of its activists, Kirill Ananyev, was killed by the U.S. strike near Khusham.
Russian media also cited unconfirmed claims that overall casualties could have been as high as 200 and Russians could have accounted for the bulk of them. Those claims couldn't be verified.
Liberal politician Grigory Yavlinsky, who is running for president in Russia's March 18 presidential election, urged Putin to come into the open regarding the deaths of Russians in Syria, saying that official silence on the subject was "unacceptable."
"If many Russian citizens were killed, officials, including the commander-in-chief, must tell the nation about it and determine who is responsible for that," he said.
Russia has waged a military campaign in Syria since September 2015, helping Syrian President Bashar Assad's government seize large chunks of territory and turn the tide of war into its favor.
Russian media have reported that in addition to Russian servicemen deployed to Syria, thousands of Russians also fought there as private contractors, most serving with the so-called Wagner group. The private fighters allowed the Kremlin to keep the official death toll from its campaign in Syria low and avoid the negative public perception of its involvement in Syria as Putin is running for re-election in the March 18 vote.
The Kremlin and the Russian Defense Ministry refused to comment on media reports on Russian private contractors in Syria.
While the U.S. has used private contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan for years, Russian law forbids the hiring of mercenaries or working as one even though Russia has used proxies in eastern Ukraine, where it has backed pro-Moscow separatists since 2014. Some Russian lawmakers have called for legislation that would set rules for private military contractors.
___
Lolita C. Baldor in Rome contributed to this report.
Monday, February 12, 2018
ATTENTION: WRECK ON NASHVILLE ROAD AT RAILROAD OVERPASS NEAR ELROD ROAD.
Click on the above to enlarge.
Forever Youngs - couple celebrates 81 years of marriage
By JUSTIN STORY
Ask Avanelle Young what has allowed her marriage to Mota “M.E.” Young to flourish after 81 years, and she says devotion to your partner is essential to a strong marriage, an answer that also sets her up for a good-natured quip at her husband’s expense.
“I looked at him like he was a winner every time, but he wasn’t,” Avanelle Young said Saturday to laughter during a ceremony recognizing the Bowling Green couple’s lengthy matrimony.
The ceremony at the Holiday Inn University Plaza honored the couple, who won this year’s Longest Married Couple Project, which was organized by faith-based program Worldwide Marriage Encounter.
Relatives escorted the couple down the aisle to a table at the head of the hotel’s Hartland Salon room, and were applauded by multiple generations of Youngs.
Another table held pictures of the couple from their wedding day, their 50th anniversary and 70th anniversary.
“We’re so thankful for the commitment you have shown each other,” Father Tom Ogg of Worldwide Marriage Encounter said during the ceremony. “That kind of commitment brings hope and lays the foundation for peace and love to flourish.”
Avanelle and M.E. met as teenagers at a party in 1936, began dating a few weeks later and were married within three months, tying the knot April 14, 1936, shortly before Avanelle graduated from high school.
At a graduation party for her, fellow seniors gave her and M.E. a rolling pin as a gag gift.
The Youngs still have that pin, and they were presented with a second pin on Saturday, along with a Bible, a lighthouse etched in leaded crystal to symbolize hope and a figurine of two swans facing one another, their heads making the outline of a heart.
The couple had three children, starting a family that has also produced six grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
M.E. Young, 101, served in the U.S. Army during World War II, and returned from the war to drive a bus and later a delivery truck that brought fuel to gas stations.
“I loved her so much, I hated to leave her, but Uncle Sam told me to go, so I did,” M.E. Young said. “When I came home, I was glad to get back. We had some hard times, but we made it through.”
Avanelle Young, 100, worked at a local department store for several years.
Tim Young, a grandson, said Saturday’s ceremony came about when he was searching online last year to learn who has the record for the longest marriage.
Young’s Googling led him to Worldwide Marriage Encounter and its longest married couple project, and he submitted his grandparents’ names to the contest, eventually learning they would be recognized for having the longest marriage of any couple whose names had been submitted in the past year.
Tim Young and his sister, Cindy Young, grew up next door to their grandparents, and he fondly remembers decorating the Christmas tree for their grandparents and going out to the garage, where M.E. could be found working on a car.
The garage held an old soda machine that was usually kept stocked with Nehi grape soda, a treat for Tim.
“Their lives are an example for all of us,” Tim Young said of his grandparents. “Work hard, don’t waste anything and enjoy what you have are what they taught us.”
Guinness World Records officially recognizes a North Carolina couple’s 86-year marriage as the longest, though several British news reports chronicle a couple from India who were wed in an arranged marriage and remained together for 90 years until the husband’s death in 2016.
As M.E. and Avanelle Young ate slices of cake, they accepted well-wishes and took pictures with several people after the ceremony.
“This is more fun than having a birthday,” M.E. Young said. “I never, ever dreamed of anything like this. I’m glad we’re number one.”
– Follow courts reporter Justin Story on Twitter @jstorydailynews or visit bgdailynews.com.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Bill Cosby conviction overturned!!!
Bill Cosby, center, shortly after being released on Wednesday. Credit... Basti...
-
David Sorensen, a White House speechwriter, had been working for the Trump administration since May. ... -
54 MINUTES AGO TULSA, Oklahoma (AP) - A 63-year-old Oklahoma man convicted of murder and a hate crime in the fatal shooting of his Le... -
By JUSTIN STORY Ask Avanelle Young what has allowed her marriage to Mota “M.E.” Young to flourish after 81 years, and she says d...