MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A sixth Memphis Police Department officer has been disciplined for his involvement in the brutal beating and arrest of Tyre Nichols. Officer Preston Hemphill was relieved of duty shortly after the Jan. 7 arrest of Nichols, who died three days later at a hospital, Memphis police spokeswoman Karen Rudolph said. She did not disclose Hemphill’s role in the arrest. Hemphill’s lawyer, Lee Gerald, said in a statement that Hemphill was the third officer at a traffic stop that preceded the violent arrest and that he activated his body camera. But Hemphill was not at the scene where Nichols was beaten, Gerald said.
Trump investigations: Georgia prosecutor ups anticipation
ATLANTA (AP) — Former President Donald Trump and his allies have been put on notice by a prosecutor, but the warning didn’t come from anyone at the Justice Department. It’s from a Georgia prosecutor who indicates she’s likely to seek criminal charges soon in a two-year election subversion probe. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis argued in court last week decisions in the case are “imminent.” Though Willis didn’t mention Trump by name, her comments mark the first time a prosecutor leading any of the current investigations related to him has so bluntly hinted charges could be forthcoming. Trump insists he did nothing wrong.
School where boy shot teacher reopens with added security
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) — The Virginia elementary school where a 6-year-old boy shot his teacher has reopened with stepped-up security and a new administrator. Nervous parents and students expressed optimism Monday as they returned to Richneck Elementary School in Newport News. Jennifer Roe and her fourth-grade son, Jethro, were among the first to arrive. She said they saw a therapist after the shooting. The school reopened after being closed for more than three weeks following the Jan. 6 shooting. Police have said the boy brought a handgun to school and intentionally shot his teacher, Abby Zwerner, as she was teaching her first-grade class. Zwerner was hospitalized for nearly two weeks but is now recovering at home.
Pakistan mosque suicide bomber kills 59, wounds over 150
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Officials say a suicide bomber struck a crowded mosque inside a police compound in Pakistan, killing at least 59 people and wounding over 150 more. The bombing caused the roof to collapse, and most of the casualties were police. It was not clear how the bomber was able to slip into the walled compound, located in a high-security zone with other government buildings. A commander for the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility but hours later, a spokesperson for the group distanced it from the attack. Pakistan, which is mostly Sunni Muslim, has seen a surge in militant violence since November, when the Pakistani Taliban ended their cease-fire with government forces. Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif said: “This is no less than an attack on Pakistan.”
Experts urge better opioid rescue drug access to save lives
ALBANY, Ga. (AP) — Access has improved across the U.S. to a rescue drug that reverses opioid overdoses, but advocates say naloxone — commonly known by its brand name Narcan — still isn’t getting to everyone who needs it. A small group of volunteers run an organization that appears to be the largest distributor of naloxone in Albany, Georgia. But many communities lack similar structures. Public health experts are telling U.S. state and local government officials in charge of using funds from opioid settlements to consider getting more naloxone into the hands of people who use drugs and those who are around them. In some places, it goes mostly to first responders.
Fed, set to impose smaller hike, may hint of fewer increases
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve is poised this week to raise its benchmark interest rate for an eighth time since March. But the Fed will likely announce a smaller hike for a second straight time, and it could change some key wording in its post-meeting statement about future rate increases. A change in its statement, if there is one, could be seen as signaling an eventual pause in the Fed’s aggressive drive to raise borrowing costs. Chair Jerome Powell is still likely to stress, though, that the Fed’s campaign to conquer high inflation is far from over.
2 Cuban sisters’ 4,200-mile journey to the US and a new life
HAVANA (AP) — The Rolo González sisters walked out of Nicaragua’s main airport and peered out onto a sea of young men. The Central American “coyotes” squinted back, trying to find people to smuggle to the United States. They were the first steps that Merlyn and Melanie took outside of Cuba. Their odyssey of more than 4,200 miles would lead the medical students to question their past lives, race unknowingly against a ticking legal clock and leave them teetering on the edge of death as they tumbled down a cliff. It’s a voyage that hundreds of thousands of Cubans have made over the last two years in an historic wave of migration.
Ex-Twitter execs to testify on block of Hunter Biden story
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Oversight Committee is set to hear testimony from former Twitter employees involved in the social media platform’s handling of reporting on President Joe Biden’s son Hunter. The committee confirmed Monday that the former Twitter employees will testify at a hearing next week. It will be the first time the three former executives will speak publicly about the company’s decision to block a New York Post article on Hunter Biden’s laptop in the weeks before the 2020 election. Republicans have said the story was suppressed for political reasons, though no evidence has been released thus far that has supported that claim.
Michael Jackson’s nephew to star in King of Pop biopic
NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Jackson’s 26-year-old nephew, Jaafar Jackson, will play the King of Pop in the planned biopic “Michael” to be directed by Antoine Fuqua. Lionsgate announced Jackson’s casting Monday for the film being produced by Oscar-winning “Bohemian Rhapsody” producer Graham King. Jackson is the second-youngest son of Michael’s brother, Jermaine Jackson. He’s put out music of his own; in 2019, he released his debut single, “Got Me Singing.” “Michael” will be Jackson’s acting debut. King says that he was “blown away by the way he organically personifies the spirit and personality of Michael.”
Purdue a unanimous No. 1 in AP Top 25; Vols up to No. 2
Purdue is this season’s first unanimous No. 1 team in the AP men’s college basketball poll. The Boilermakers have won eight straight games since a one-point loss to Rutgers on Jan. 2. They were followed in the AP Top 25 by Tennessee, Houston, Alabama and Arizona in the top five. No. 11 Baylor and No. 17 Providence made the biggest jumps, each climbing six spots. Auburn had the biggest drop, falling 10 spots to No. 25. No. 21 Indiana and No. 22 San Diego State rejoined the poll at the expense of Charleston and New Mexico.
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