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5 HOUSTON (AP) — A 15-year-old boy fatally shot his 17-year-old sister and another teenage girl at a home near Houston this week before killing himself, authorities said. Their bodies were found Tuesday in the home in rural area near Crosby, a community about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northeast of Houston. The Harris County sheriff's office said Thursday that Hayden Burns fatally shot his sister, Haley Burns, and 17-year-old Kadience Cadena. It said Friday that investigators were still trying to establish a motive. Hayden Burns' body was found in one bedroom and Cadena's body was found in another. Haley Burns' body was found in a hallway. … [Read more...] about Sheriff: Teen killed sister, 2nd teen and himself in Texas

3 PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey sued the Biden administration on Friday over its demand that the state stop sending millions in federal COVID-19 relief money to schools that don't have mask requirements or that close due to COVID-19 outbreaks. The lawsuit filed in federal court in Phoenix comes a week after the U.S. Treasury Department demanded that Ducey either restructure the $163 million program to eliminate restrictions it says undermine public health recommendations or face a repayment demand. The Treasury Department also wants changes to a $10 million program Ducey created that gives private school tuition money to parents if their children's schools have mask mandates. Ducey's lawsuit said the Treasury Department created restrictions on spending the money Arizona receives under President Joe Biden's American Rescue Plan Act on its own and without legal authority. It asks a court to declare that the Treasury Department's rules are … [Read more...] about Arizona sues Biden to keep school anti-mask rules

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court agreed Friday to consider limiting a recent decision about Native American land in Oklahoma that the state says has produced chaos in its courts. The justices said they would take up a question to clarify whether the state can prosecute non-Native Americans for crimes committed against Natives in a large portion of eastern Oklahoma that the high court ruled in 2020 remains a tribal reservation. The case will be argued in April, the court said. But the justices did not agree to the state's request that the court consider overruling the 2020 decision in McGirt v. Oklahoma altogether. The Supreme Court does not typically reconsider its decisions so soon. But the state argued that crimes are going uninvestigated and unprosecuted because federal authorities — who can bring criminal cases from tribal land when the suspect, victim or both are Native American — are overwhelmed. “No recent decision of this Court has had a more immediate and … [Read more...] about High court could limit 2020 tribal land decision in Oklahoma

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has rejected a prosecutor’s demand for records of his appearance at a pro-Donald Trump rally that preceded the assault on the U.S. Capitol. Last week, the Travis County district attorney’s office had set a four-day deadline for Paxton to turn over the records involving the Jan. 6, 2021, rally or face a lawsuit accusing him of violating the state open records law. But in a letter to the district attorney's office Friday, the attorney general’s office denied any violations and rejected the office’s demands. The Texas Tribune was the first to report about Paxton's refusal. A message to the district attorney's office seeking comment wasn’t immediately returned. Paxton and his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, appeared at the event in Washington, D.C., where the attorney general gave a speech touting his failed legal push to overturn Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election. Several news organizations have … [Read more...] about Texas attorney general Ken Paxton refuses to hand over Jan. 6 records

6 DANVILLE, Pa. (AP) — A truck carrying about 100 monkeys was involved in a crash Friday in Pennsylvania, state police said as authorities searched for at least three of the monkeys that appeared to have escaped the vehicle. The truck carrying the animals crashed with a dump truck in the afternoon in Montour County, Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Andrea Pelachick told the Daily Item. The truck had been on its way to a lab, Pelachick said. Authorities have asked residents who might see the monkeys to call state police at 570-524-2662. It was unclear if any people or animals were injured in the crash. … [Read more...] about Police: Truck with 100 monkeys crashes, some of them missing

LONGVIEW, Texas (AP) — An East Texas county commissioner and his wife have pleaded guilty to misdemeanor election fraud after reaching a plea deal that allows him to remain in office. Gregg County Commissioner Shannon Brown and his wife Marlene Jackson entered their pleas Thursday before a state district judge in Longview. Both were sentenced to one year’s probation and fined $2,000 each. District Attorney Tom Watson said he expected charges against two other co-defendants to be resolved similarly. All four were charged in a September 2020 indictment containing 134 counts accusing them of vote harvesting during Brown’s 2018 Democratic primary campaign against former Longview City Council member Kasha Williams. “Today, I have entered a plea to a misdemeanor for campaigning at a voter’s house and asking her to consider voting for me while she had possession of her mail-in ballot,” Brown said in a statement. “I did not realize at the time that doing so was a misdemeanor." State … [Read more...] about County official pleads guilty to misdemeanor election fraud

11 BEIJING (AP) — The first commercial airline flights in one month took off Saturday from Xi’an in western China as the government eased travel curbs imposed after a coronavirus outbreak ahead of next month’s Winter Olympics in Beijing. Seven planes took off, according to the website of Xi’an Xianyang International Airport. It said four were due to arrive Sunday. Access to Xi’an, a city of 13 million people about 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) southwest of Beijing, was suspended Dec. 22 following an outbreak attributed to the coronavirus’s delta variant. The ruling Communist Party has stepped up enforcement of its “zero tolerance” strategy that aims to keep the virus out of China by finding and isolating every infected person. It suspended access to Xi'an and other cities after outbreaks were found. Nationwide, China reported 63 new confirmed infections in the 24 hours through midnight Friday. That … [Read more...] about First flights leave Chinese city Xi’an as travel curbs ease

6 WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Surveillance video shows a Black 17-year-old struggling with staff at a Wichita juvenile center last fall before he died after he was restrained facedown for more than 30 minutes. Sedgwick County released 18 video clips late Friday afternoon of what happened before Cedric Lofton was rushed to a hospital on Sept. 24. He died two days later. The release of the clips followed Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett's announcement Tuesday that the state’s “stand-your-ground” law prevented him from pressing charges because staff members were protecting themselves. He also said he struggled with whether an involuntary manslaughter charge was justified, but concluded it was not. Sedgwick County’s webpage crashed after the video was posted, making it temporarily inaccessible. But it was back up by late Saturday afternoon. The hours of footage didn't include audio. One video shows several officers carrying … [Read more...] about Video shows struggle that preceded restrained teen’s death

PARIS (AP) — A French soldier has been killed in a mortar shelling attack on a base in Mali, the military said Sunday. The 24-year-old artilleryman, Alexandre Martin, was serving with France’s anti-insurgent force Operation Barkhane, according to a statement from the French army. Several rounds targeted the military camp in Gao on Saturday, the army statement said. Martin was seriously wounded and later died, it said. The army said nine other soldiers were slightly injured. It said helicopters were subsequently deployed to “neutralize the terrorists who fired the shots.” In a statement, French President Emmanuel Macron saluted the soldier's service and reiterated “France's determination to continue the fight against terrorism in the region, alongside its partners.” French troops have been present in Mali since 2013, when they intervened to force Islamic extremist rebels from power in towns across the country’s north. Operation Serval was later replaced by Barkhane and … [Read more...] about French soldier dies in attack on anti-insurgent base in Mali