AP News in Brief 12-28-19

Man who made 27,000 crosses for shooting victims is retiring

AURORA, Ill. — An Illinois man who made more than 27,000 crosses to commemorate victims of mass shootings across the country is retiring.

Greg Zanis came to realize, after 23 years, his Crosses for Losses ministry was beginning to take a personal and financial toll on him, according to The Beacon-News.

“I had a breaking point in El Paso,” he said, referring to the mass shooting outside of a Walmart in El Paso, Texas. “I hadn’t slept for two days, it was 106 degrees and I collapsed from the pressure when I heard there were two more victims of the mass shooting.”

Zanis has set up crosses after the school shootings at Columbine, Sandy Hook and Parkland. He also placed crosses after the Las Vegas music festival shooting and the Orlando nightclub shooting.

“I leave a piece of my heart behind each time I go,” he said.

New Russian weapon can travel 27 times the speed of sound

MOSCOW — A new intercontinental weapon that can fly 27 times the speed of sound became operational Friday, Russia’s defense minister reported to President Vladimir Putin, bolstering the country’s nuclear strike capability.

Putin has described the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle as a technological breakthrough comparable to the 1957 Soviet launch of the first satellite. The new Russian weapon and a similar system being developed by China have troubled the United States, which has pondered defense strategies.

The Avangard is launched atop an intercontinental ballistic missile, but unlike a regular missile warhead that follows a predictable path after separation it can make sharp maneuvers in the atmosphere en route to target, making it much harder to intercept.

Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu informed Putin that the first missile unit equipped with the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle entered combat duty.

“I congratulate you on this landmark event for the military and the entire nation,” Shoigu said later during a conference call with top military leaders.

Major Southern California highways reopen after snows

LOS ANGELES — Major interstates reopened in Southern California on Friday after lengthy closures caused by a cold storm that drenched the region and blanketed mountains and desert areas with heavy snow.

The notorious Grapevine section of Interstate 5 in towering Tejon Pass north of Los Angeles was finally opened after a 36-hour closure forced by dangerous conditions that set in Christmas night.

Vehicles were being escorted in both directions by California Highway Patrol units.

The storm had largely departed by Thursday evening but cold air remained. The CHP said the closure continued into Friday because overnight temperatures fell into single digits and miles of roadway froze.

In the inland region to the east, the Cajon Pass section of Interstate 15 reopened after being closed for many hours. The major route for travel between greater Los Angeles and Las Vegas also reopened in the Mojave Desert after a lengthy shutdown between Baker, California, and Primm, Nevada.

Navy SEALs call Edward Gallagher ‘evil’ in leaked videos

SAN DIEGO — Navy SEALs described their platoon leader, retired Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher, as “evil,” “toxic” and “perfectly OK with killing anybody that was moving,” in video footage of interviews obtained by The New York Times.

Gallagher’s war crimes case earlier this year gained national attention after President Donald Trump intervened on his behalf despite strong objections from Pentagon leaders who said the president’s move could damage the integrity of the military judicial system. The case also led to the Navy secretary’s firing.

The footage published Friday was part of a trove of confidential Navy investigative materials that the Times obtained about the prosecution of Gallagher, who was accused of battlefield misconduct in Iraq. It shows members of Gallagher’s SEAL Team 7 Alpha Platoon speaking to agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service about his conduct in sometimes emotional interviews.

They described how their chief seemed to love killing, how he targeted women and children and boasted that “burqas were flying.”

The footage provides revealing insights of the men who worked with Gallagher and turned him in. They have never spoken publicly about the case, which has divided the elite fighting force known for its secrecy.

From wire sources

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Lee Mendelson dies; brought “Charlie Brown Christmas” to TV

LOS ANGELES — Lee Mendelson, the producer who changed the face of the holidays when he brought “A Charlie Brown Christmas” to television in 1965 and wrote the lyrics to its signature song, “Christmas Time Is Here,” died on Christmas day, his son said.

Mendelson, who won a dozen Emmys in his long career, died at his home in Hillsborough, California, of congestive heart failure at age 86 after a long struggle with lung cancer, son Jason Mendelson told The Associated Press.

Lee Mendelson headed a team that included “Peanuts” author Charles Schulz, director Bill Melendez, and pianist and composer Vince Guaraldi, whose music for the show, including the opening “Christmas Time Is Here,” has become as much a Christmas staple as the show itself.

Mendelson told The Cincinnati Enquirer in 2000 that he was short on time in finding a lyricist for the song, so he sketched out the six verses himself in “about 15 minutes on the backside of an envelope.”

He found a choir from a church in his native Northern California to sing the song that sets the show’s unforgettable tone, beginning with Mendelson’s words:

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McGrath files to challenge McConnell in Senate race

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Calling her party’s victory in the Kentucky governor’s race a jolt of momentum for her own bid to unseat a Republican incumbent, Democrat Amy McGrath on Friday officially filed to challenge Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in what looms as a bruising, big-spending campaign next year.

McGrath, a retired Marine combat pilot, touted many of the same issues — health care and good-paying jobs — that Andy Beshear highlighted in ousting Republican incumbent Matt Bevin in last month’s election for governor. Beshear ran a “great campaign” that focused on issues that hit home for Kentuckians, McGrath said in a phone interview with The Associated Press.

“It absolutely gives us momentum because it shows that against an unpopular Republican incumbent, a Democrat can win,” McGrath said. “And we win by talking about those bread-and-butter issues that Kentuckians really care about.

“And that’s what I’m going to be talking about over and over again,” she said. “With Mitch McConnell, we’re not going to get any progress on these things.”

McGrath became the latest in a crowded field of candidates from both parties to file for McConnell’s seat. McGrath, who lost a hotly contested congressional race last year, has shown her mettle as a fundraiser, raking in nearly $11 million in her first few months as a Senate candidate, giving her a huge advantage over other Democratic candidates. McConnell has his own bulging campaign fund.

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Controversy hits Romance Writers of America this holiday

NEW YORK — There’s not a lot of love at the Romance Writers of America this holiday season. Lots of passion, but not too much love.

The organization, which bills itself as the voice of romance writers and cites 9,000 members, has been upended over the way it has treated one of its authors, Courtney Milan, a Chinese American writer and a former chair of its Ethics Committee.

The Texas-based trade association initially accepted the vote of its Ethics Committee that Milan had violated the group’s code with negative online comments about other writers and their work. Then, just before Christmas, it reversed course, rescinding its vote “pending a legal opinion.” Now its entire leadership has changed.

The controversy was sparked this summer when Milan in a tweet called Kathryn Lynn Davis’ 1999 book “Somewhere Lies the Moon” an “(expletive) racist mess.” Davis and fellow writer Suzan Tisdale filed complaints. Milan was suspended Monday, sparking an outcry from fellow Romance Writers of America members and making #IStandWithCourtney trend.

Author Felicia Grossman announced on Twitter that she had resigned her position at the association, saying it had “proven itself inconsistent with my values.” Author Alyssa Day called the decision to punish Milan “appallingly and profoundly wrongheaded.” Added writer Racheline Maltese: “Speaking out against racism is not an ethics violation.”

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Shooting inside suburban Denver mall kills 1; suspect sought

AURORA, Colo. — Gunfire broke out inside a mall in a Denver suburb on Friday, killing a 17-year-old boy and causing shoppers to scatter in search of hiding places, police officials and a witness said.

Aurora Police Department spokesman Anthony Camacho said officers were looking for at least one suspect who wielded a handgun in the shooting that occurred at 4 p.m. inside a J.C. Penney store at the Town Center at Aurora mall.

He said there was no ongoing threat inside the mall, which remained open except for the J.C. Penney. Yellow police tape cordoned off one entrance to the store.

“We do not believe there is a threat to the general public,” he told reporters.

Camacho said he could not immediately confirm how many people were involved in the shooting. Further details on the teenager who was killed weren’t immediately released.