UN votes May 11 on replacing Russia on Human Rights Council

 UN votes May 11 on replacing Russia on Human Rights Council

The U.N. General Assembly will vote on May 11 on a country to replace Russia on the world organization’s leading human rights body

ByThe Associated Press

29 April 2022, 00:40

• 1 min read

UNITED NATIONS -- The U.N. General Assembly will vote on May 11 on a country to replace Russia on the world organization’s leading human rights body following its suspension over allegations of horrific rights violations by Russian soldiers in Ukraine.

Assembly spokeswoman Paulina Kubiak said Thursday that the Czech Republic was the only candidate for the seat on the 47-member Human Rights Council. Seats on the Geneva-based council are divided among regional groups and a replacement for Russia has to come from an East European country.

After the General Assembly suspended Russia, its deputy ambassador Gennady Kuzmin told U.N. members that Russia withdrew from the Human Rights Council before the vote. Council spokesman Rolando Gomez said that by withdrawing, Russia avoided being deprived of observer status at the rights body.

Since its Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, Russia has lost its spot on multiple U.N. bodies, including the executive boards of UN Women and the U.N. children’s agency UNICEF, the Committee on Non-governmental Organizations and the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Russia was also suspended this week from the World Tourism Organization.

Virginia officer who killed driver acquitted of murder

 Virginia officer who killed driver acquitted of murder

A jury has acquitted a Virginia police officer who had been charged with murder for fatally shooting a driver who police said refused to exit his vehicle and drove toward the officer

ByThe Associated Press

29 April 2022, 00:40

• 2 min read

BRISTOL, Va. -- A jury has acquitted a Virginia police officer who was charged with murder for fatally shooting a driver who police said refused to exit his vehicle and drove toward the officer.

After a weeklong trial, jurors deliberated for less than two hours before finding Bristol police Officer Johnathan Brown not guilty Wednesday in the death of 31-year-old Jonathen Kohler, of nearby Bristol, Tennessee, news outlets reported.

Brown faced charges of murder, using a firearm in the commission of a felony and shooting into an occupied vehicle. While prosecutors argued that Brown was too aggressive, the defense claimed he acted in self-defense and in accordance with training.

A Virginia State Police news release at the time said that on March 30, 2021, Bristol police responded to a motel occupant's report of shots fired and officers encountered Kohler in the driver’s seat of a 1994 Ford Mustang.

“As officers were verbally engaged with Kohler, he backed up and then drove forward in an attempt to exit the parking lot, at which point one of the officers fired at Kohler’s vehicle,” the state police statement said. Kohler died at the scene and no officers were injured.

In closing arguments, defense attorney Heather Howard said Brown shot and killed Kohler because he had no choice when Kohler drove toward him.

Brown is white, and so was Kohler, according to officials.

The verdict was hard for Kohler’s mother, Leigh Ann Milliken, to hear.

“It was very, very hard. I have a knot in my stomach,” Milliken said. “It’s unreal that they wouldn’t convict somebody of murder like that.”

8 Midwest states seek permanent waiver to sell E15 gas

 8 Midwest states seek permanent waiver to sell E15 gas

Governors from eight Midwest states asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Thursday for a permanent waiver that will allow each state to continue selling ethanol blended gas year-round without restriction

ByThe Associated Press

29 April 2022, 01:38

• 2 min read

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Governors from eight Midwest states asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Thursday for a permanent waiver that will allow each state to continue selling ethanol-blended gas year-round without restriction.

The EPA’s decision last week to suspend restrictions of summer sales of the lower-carbon, lower-cost E15 gasoline is temporary and only applies to the 2022 summer driving season.

E15 is usually prohibited between June 1 and Sept. 15 because of concerns that it adds to smog in high temperatures.

The bipartisan group of governors from Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin sent a joint letter to EPA Administrator Michael Reagan formally requesting the waiver.

“This letter sends the clear message that renewable fuels are the immediate solution to high gas prices, lower emissions, and restoring our energy independence, and we are proud to stand up and take this historic action,” said Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds.

The Renewable Fuels Association, which promotes use of ethanol, embraced the states' action.

“These governors should be applauded for pursuing a simple regulatory solution that will allow consumers in their states to benefit from E15’s lower cost and lower emissions 365 days a year," said Geoff Cooper, the association's president and CEO. “Once this notification is approved by EPA, it will mean lower pump prices for drivers in these eight states, lower tailpipe pollution, a more secure energy supply, and a more vibrant rural economy.”

Earlier this month, President Joe Biden traveled to corn-rich Iowa to announce that his administration will temporarily allow E15 gas, which is blended with 15% ethanol, to be sold this summer to help ease gas prices.

Biden administration officials said the action will save drivers an average of 10 cents per gallon based on current prices, but at just 2,300 gas stations out of the nation’s more than 100,000. The affected stations are mostly in the Midwest and the South, including Texas, according to industry groups.

North Carolina city files lawsuit over collapsed arches

 North Carolina city files lawsuit over collapsed arches

A North Carolina city is suing three companies over the collapse of decorative, 40-ton wooden arches along a pedestrian walkway in February

ByThe Associated Press

29 April 2022, 01:57

• 2 min read

The Associated Press

FILE - This aerial image taken with a drone, shows collapsed wooden arches Friday morni...

HICKORY, N.C. -- A North Carolina city is suing three companies over the collapse of decorative, 40-ton wooden arches along a pedestrian walkway in February.

The lawsuit was filed by the city of Hickory in Catawba County Superior Court on Wednesday, the Hickory Daily Record reported. It names Neill Grading & Construction Co., Mooresville-based subcontractor Dane Construction and Oregon-based arch manufacturer Western Wood Structures.

The city contends that the arch collapse “could not and would not have occurred in the absence of negligence by one or more of the defendants.” An official of Neill Grading wasn't immediately available for comment Thursday.

Neill Grading hired Dane Construction to design, build and install the arches. Dane brought in Western Wood for design and construction, according to the lawsuit.

The arches were the centerpiece of a pedestrian thoroughfare in downtown Hickory called City Walk. They fell on Feb. 18, more than six months after being installed. The collapse damaged part of a pedestrian bridge under the arches as well as an adjacent bridge.

There had been issues when the second arch was being installed last year after part of the wood had splintered, city officials said. It was repaired using a combination of adhesives, clamps and screws.

Coroner: Wisconsin girl died of strangulation, blunt force

 Coroner: Wisconsin girl died of strangulation, blunt force

Preliminary autopsy results confirm that a 10-year-old girl found dead in northwestern Wisconsin this week died of strangulation and blunt force trauma

ByThe Associated Press

29 April 2022, 02:12

• 1 min read

MADISON, Wis. -- Preliminary autopsy results confirmed that a 10-year-old girl found dead in northwestern Wisconsin this week died of strangulation and blunt force trauma, a corner said Thursday.

Chippewa County Coroner Ronald Patten said the autopsy on Illiana “Lily” Peters showed the manner of death was homicide. He expects results from toxicology tests within four to six weeks. He declined further comment.

Peters disappeared Sunday night while walking home from her aunt's house in Chippewa Falls. Her body was discovered Monday morning on a walking trail.

Prosecutors on Wednesday charged a 14-year-old boy in adult court with first-degree intentional homicide in Peters' death. Chippewa County District Attorney Wade Newell said the boy punched the girl, knocked her to the ground, hit her with a stick and strangled her before sexually assaulting her. Newell said during a bond hearing that the boy intended to rape and kill Peters “from the get-go.”

A judge has set $1 million cash bond for him.

Nebraska city settles with woman injured during 2020 protest

 Nebraska city settles with woman injured during 2020 protest

The city of Lincoln, Nebraska, will pay $497,500 to a woman who was injured when she says police fired rubber bullets during racial justice protests in 2020

ByThe Associated Press

27 April 2022, 02:26

• 1 min read

LINCOLN, Neb. -- The city of Lincoln, Nebraska, will pay $497,500 to a woman who says she was injured when police fired rubber bullets during racial justice protests in May 2020.

Elise Poole, who is now 20, alleged in a lawsuit that she was fleeing from tear gas fired by law enforcement officers at protesters near downtown Lincoln on May 31, 2020, when she was hit by a rubber bullet.

She required emergency surgery to reattach her nose and will require further surgery to regain normal breathing, according to her attorney.

Daniel Gutman, an attorney litigating the case on behalf of the ACLU of Nebraska, said the lawsuit successfully held law enforcement accountable for responding to peaceful protests with dangerous weapons, the Lincoln Journal Star reported.

City Attorney Yohance Christie said officials don't know what caused Poole's injury. He said gasoline, fireworks and other dangerous objects were thrown at officers during the May 29-June 1 protests and more than two dozen officers were injured.

Prosecutor: Teen planned rape, killing of Wisconsin girl

 Prosecutor: Teen planned rape, killing of Wisconsin girl

A prosecutor says a 14-year-old boy accused of killing a 10-year-old Wisconsin girl knew the girl and planned the attack

ByThe Associated Press

28 April 2022, 02:05

• 3 min read

The Associated Press

Stuffed animals are left at the altar during a prayer vigil for 10-year-old Iliana "Lily" Peter...

CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. -- A 14-year-old boy accused of killing a 10-year-old Wisconsin girl knew the girl and planned the attack, knocking her down and choking her before sexually assaulting her, a prosecutor said Wednesday.

The body of Illiana “Lily” Peters was found Monday along a walking trail just a day after she went missing while returning home from an aunt's house a few blocks away, sparking anxiety in her small western Wisconsin community before the teenager's arrest Tuesday.

The boy, identified only by his initials, appeared in adult court in Chippewa County by video from a juvenile detention center. Judge Benjamin Lane agreed to District Attorney Wade Newell's request for $1 million cash bond.

Lane said the high bond was necessary to protect the community given the teen's "statements regarding his intentions and his statements regarding that when he did get off the trail, he punched the victim in the stomach, knocked her to the ground, essentially strangled her, hit her with a stick, before strangling her to the point of death -- before he then sexually assaulted her,” Newell told the judge at the bond hearing.

The teen made statements “that his intention was to rape and kill the victim from the get-go,” Newell said.

The defense had argued for $100,000 cash bond.

The judge sealed the criminal complaint, but Newell said after the hearing that the boy is charged with first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree sexual assault and first-degree sexual assault of a child under age 13 resulting in great bodily harm.

Wisconsin law generally calls for juveniles age 10 and up to be prosecuted as adults when they are charged with first-degree intentional homicide. The judge set a May 5 status hearing in the case.

Chippewa Falls Police Chief Matthew Kelm announced the arrest of the suspect Tuesday evening, after police earlier executed a search warrant at the home of Lily's aunt and the last place the girl was seen before she disappeared. Kelm said police got more than 200 tips, calling them “critical” to the investigation.

"While nothing will bring Lily Peters back or change what happened, we are very grateful to be able to deliver this news for the family and for the community,” Kelm said.

People in the town of about 13,000 left drawings, flowers, candles and stuffed animals at Lily's elementary school and on a downtown bridge to remember the girl, with some residents dressing in purple to honor her. Chelsea Torgerson said she kept her daughter home from school Tuesday, before the arrest was announced, “just for my own peace of mind.”

“I know these things happen in the world every day, but this is just so close," she told the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Chippewa Falls is about 100 miles (161 kilometers) east of the Twin Cities.