NEWS OF THE DAY
From Across the Nation
1 School shooting: A 17-year-old girl was killed in a shooting at dismissal time Wednesday at an Alabama high school and a 17-year-old male student was injured, authorities said, adding they were investigating it as accidental. Birmingham Interim Police Chief Orlando Wilson said his department is seeking to determine the circumstances of the shooting shortly before 3:30 p.m. at Huffman High School, adding investigators had already begun seeking witnesses and would examine surveillance video. He said police have already questioned students but declined to say how many. No arrests have been made.
2 Back to class: Schools across West Virginia reopened Wednesday as families got back into their daily routines following a nine-day teacher strike. The statewide strike was declared over Tuesday after the Legislature passed and the governor signed a 5 percent pay raise to end what’s believed to be the longest strike in state history. The last major strike, in 1990, lasted eight days. The paralyzing walkout shut 277,000 students out of classrooms, forced their parents to scramble for child care and cast a national spotlight on government dysfunction in West Virginia.
3 White nationalist: Lawyers for white nationalist Richard Spencer’s campus tour efforts and for Ohio State University have notified a federal judge a lawsuit supporting Spencer has been withdrawn. Court records show they filed a document Tuesday evening agreeing to a voluntary dismissal. Tour organizer Cameron Padgett didn’t respond immediately to a request Wednesday for explanation of the decision. Ohio State, which had refused last year to book Spencer, had said in the lawsuit that a Spencer event would pose substantial risks to public safety and disrupt the university. 4 “Big Indian” lawsuit: A man who says his jewelry company employers called him a “Big Indian” has won $40,000 in a lawsuit he filed in Maine. Jason Brown says his employers’ comments about “Indians and firewater” made him feel reduced to his Native American heritage as a joke and a stereotype. Brown is a Penobscot Indian Nation member. Day’s Jewelers owners Jeff and Kathy Corey have denied making such statements. Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy found last month in Augusta that Brown was subjected to unwelcome harassment based on his race and awarded the damages.
5 AA papers: The founding document of Alcoholics Anonymous is heading back to the auction block. A court dispute over the ownership of the original 1939 manuscript outlining the group’s 12-step recovery program has been settled. The 161-page manuscript commonly known as the “Big Book” is filled with handwritten notes and scribbles from the founding fathers of AA. The Los Angeles Countybased Profiles in History announced Wednesday that the new auction is scheduled to start May 5, and the document is expected to fetch between $2 million and $3 million. Chronicle News Services