NEWS OF THE DAY
From Across the Nation
_1 Church killings: Prosecutors rested their death penalty case Monday against convicted Charleston, S.C., church shooter Dylann Roof, calling more than two dozen people during the trial’s penalty phase. Most of the testimony consisted of heartrending stories about the nine people Roof killed in the 2015 attack at Emanuel AME Church. Roof, 22, was convicted last month on 33 federal charges, including hate crimes. The same jury that found him guilty is tasked with deciding if he gets the death penalty or life in prison. The trial judge said he expects jurors to begin deliberating as early as Tuesday.
2 Officer disciplined: A white police officer in Fort Worth, Texas, has been suspended without pay for 10 days — but will not be fired — after an internal investigation of a cell phone video in which he is seen wrestling a black mother and her daughter to the ground and arresting them. Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald announced the discipline Monday. The incident happened last month after Jacqueline Craig complained that a neighbor choked her 7-year-old son for littering. In the video, the officer forces Craig and her daughter to the ground.
3 Kentucky clash: A man killed his mother and his girlfriend, then barricaded himself inside his rural home near Morehead, Ky., and opened fire on responding deputies. He then set his home on fire before turning his gun on himself, authorities said. Garry Morrison, 51, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the coroner said Monday. His mother, Anna Morrison, 71, and his girlfriend, Latoya Cooper, 32, died of gunshot wounds. Sheriff ’s deputy Baker Hollis was shot in the arm during the confrontation. 4 Sign vandalism: Los Angeles police have made a “HOLLYWeeD” bust. The LAPD said Zachary Cole Fernandez, 30, was arrested Monday, just over a week after a prankster used white tarps to make the “HOLLYWOOD” sign read “HOLLYWeeD.” Police said Fernandez turned himself in with his attorney and was booked on suspicion of misdemeanor trespassing. The prankster was dressed in black and was recorded by security cameras in the area changing the sign early New Year’s Day. Fernandez, an artist, had already claimed credit for the stunt in a Vice magazine interview, but police had not previously confirmed his involvement. He’ll be released on his own recognizance and must return to court Feb. 15.
5 Elderly Samaritan: Authorities credit an 85-year-old man in Burleson, Texas, for helping save the lives of two women whose speeding car flipped over onto his front yard and burst into flames. Lindell Marbut witnessed the wreck Sunday, banged on the windshield with his cane and helped to pull the driver from the car as his caretaker called 911. The caretaker then helped him drag the passenger to safety.