Judge tosses most claims over clearing protesters in DC park
WASHINGTON — A federal judge has dismissed a majority of the claims filed by activists and civil liberties groups who accused the Trump administration of violating the civil rights of protesters who were forcefully removed by police using chemical agents from a park near the White House before then-President Donald Trump walked to a nearby church to take a photo.
U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich said Monday the claims in the suit, which alleged that Trump and then-Attorney General William Barr had conspired to violate the rights of protesters last June, were speculative and it was premature for the court to conclude whether the actions of law enforcement officers were justified.
Friedrich dismissed the claims against Barr and other federal officials, including the acting U.S. Park Police chief, Gregory Monahan, finding there wasn’t sufficient evidence to prove there was any agreement or plan to violate the rights of the protesters. The judge also said the law gives them immunity in civil litigation.
In a 51-page decision, the judge did allow the claims against the Metropolitan Police Department and the Arlington Police Department — their officers were involved in clearing the park — to proceed.
The lawsuit stemmed from one of the most high-profile moments of the Trump presidency, when federal and local law enforcement officials aggressively forced a group of largely peaceful protesters back from Lafayette Square outside of the White House, firing smoke bombs and pepper balls into the crowd to disperse the group. Officers were seen shoving protesters and journalists as they pushed the crowd back.
Youth home exec says ‘words cannot explain’ Alabama crash
CAMP HILL, Ala. — Girls have often lived a life of abuse, abandonment or neglect by the time they land at a Christian youth home in rural Alabama, but an annual trip to the beach with the director and her family offered them a bright spot in otherwise tough times.
This year’s trip to the Gulf Coast ended in disaster when four residents of the Tallapoosa County Girl’s Ranch, two of the director’s children and two guests were among 10 people killed in a fiery crash on a rainy highway as Tropical Storm Claudette barreled through Alabama.
In all, the storm took 14 lives before it rolled through the Carolinas and headed out to sea, where it was expected to dissipate. A 24-year-old man and a 3-year-old boy were killed Saturday when a tree fell on their house just outside Tuscaloosa, and a 23-year-old woman from Fort Payne, southeast of Huntsville, died after her car ran off the road into a swollen creek, authorities said.
Search dogs located the body of a man believed to have fallen into the water during flash flooding in Birmingham, according to news outlets.
The van in Saturday’s crash erupted in flames in the wreck along a wet Interstate 65 about 35 miles south of Montgomery. Butler County Coroner Wayne Garlock said multiple vehicles probably hydroplaned in the vacationer-heavy area he said was “notorious” for dangerous conditions where the northbound highway curves down a hill to a small creek.
Wall Street snaps back after worst week since February
NEW YORK — Stocks rebounded on Wall Street Monday, clawing back most of their sharp loss from last week, as the initial jolt passes from the Federal Reserve’s reminder that it will eventually offer less help for markets.
The S&P 500 snapped 58.34 points higher, or 1.4%, to 4,224.79 and recovered nearly three-quarters of its worst weekly loss since February. Oil producers, banks and other companies that were hit particularly hard last week led the way.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 586.89, or 1.8%, to 33,876.97, and the Nasdaq composite rose 111.10, or 0.8%, to 14,141.48.
Investors are still figuring all the ramifications of the Fed’s latest meeting on interest-rate policy, where it indicated it may start raising short-term rates by late 2023. That’s earlier than previously thought. The Fed also began talks about slowing programs meant to keep longer-term rates low, an acknowledgment of the strengthening economy and threat of higher inflation.
The market’s immediate reaction to last week’s Fed news was to send stocks lower and interest rates higher. Any shift by the Fed would be a big deal, after investors have feasted on easy conditions with ultra-low rates for more than a year. Higher rates would make stock prices, which have been climbing faster than corporate profits, look even more expensive than they do already.
Driver who rammed bicyclists in Arizona race has DUI history
PHOENIX — Authorities on Monday identified the man accused of plowing his pickup truck into a group of bicyclists taking part in a weekend race in an Arizona mountain town, critically injuring several riders, and court records show he has a criminal history of driving while intoxicated.
Shawn Michael Chock, 35, fled the crash Saturday in Show Low, which is about a three-hour drive northeast of Phoenix, and was shot by police as they chased him, said Kristine Sleighter, a police spokeswoman. Chock, who lives in nearby White Mountain Lakes, is still hospitalized in stable condition, and authorities were trying to determine a motive for the crash.
Prosecutors have been working with police investigators, but Navajo County Attorney Bradley Carlyon said his office typically does not charge hospitalized suspects until they are discharged.
Online court records in Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, show someone matching Chock’s name and age has a history of arrests for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol and assault. In 2007, he was indicted on aggravated assault. Several months later, he was charged with disorderly conduct with a weapon and pleaded guilty to a reduced charge.
In 2010, three DUI-related charges, including having a third DUI, were dropped as part of an agreement where Chock pleaded guilty to felony aggravated DUI and shoplifting. He also pleaded no contest to aggravated assault.
By wire sources
