NEWS OF THE DAY
From Across the Nation
1 New Democrats: A group of prominent Democrats is organizing outside of the party with the goal of winning elections in Republican-dominated Middle America. Calling themselves New Democracy, organizers say they’ll push ideas and back candidates in rural areas and suburban enclaves that they say Democrats too often have abandoned. The group includes sitting and former governors, onetime Cabinet members and members of Congress and statehouses. Among them are Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, former Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Mayor Mitch Landrieu of New Orleans, who leads the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
2 Sexual assault: Authorities in Ohio say a woman posted Snapchat video of herself being raped, and a friend who saw it alerted police. Ottawa County Prosecutor James VanEerten says he believes the video clearly shows a sexual assault taking place, but it’s unclear whether the young woman livestreamed the attack or posted the video shortly afterward. Police in Danbury Township near Marblehead say they arrested 77year-old James Allen on a rape charge Tuesday, the day the video was posted. Allen is being held on a $1 million bond. He appeared in court Wednesday and told a judge he didn’t have an attorney but plans on hiring one. VanEerten says it appears the woman was impaired while recording the video. He’s asking people to stop sharing it on social media.
3 Chicago violence: Police say several gunmen opened fire on a group of people standing on a Chicago sidewalk, killing a man and wounding six other people. Police say the shooting happened late Tuesday along a street in the city’s Bronzeville neighborhood, about two blocks from police headquarters. Authorities say the man who was killed was 28-year-old Alfred Mitchell Jr. of Chicago. The six survivors, including five women, were treated for gunshot wounds to the knees, legs or buttocks. They range in age from 21 to 46 years old. No one has been arrested in the attack. 4 No charges: Two eastern Arkansas police officers won’t face charges in the fatal shooting of a black teenager outside an emergency youth shelter, a prosecutor said Wednesday. Aries Clark, 16, was holding a black BB gun that looked like a handgun and raised it at officers before he was shot on July 25 in Marion, prosecutor Scott Ellington said. Ellington said the two officers involved — Brannon Hinkle and Wesley Smith — were justified in using lethal force.
5 Warrants dismissed: More than half a million outstanding warrants for minor charges dating back at least 10 years were dismissed Wednesday by New York prosecutors to ease the effects of years of aggressive enforcement against offenses like public drinking. The district attorneys for Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan and Queens moved to dismiss about 644,000 warrants in what amounts to an amnesty intended to improve the relationship between authorities and residents of the city’s poorer neighborhoods.
6 Marketing opioids: One in 12 doctors has received money from drug companies marketing prescription opioid medications, according to a study released Wednesday. Researchers at Boston Medical Center found that from 2013 to 2015, 68,177 doctors received more than $46 million in payments from drug companies pushing powerful painkillers. Researchers believe it is the first study to look at the practice of pharmaceutical companies marketing opioids to physicians.