NEWS OF THE DAY
1 Homeless killer: A Colorado man has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for killing three homeless people in a Denver parking lot last year. Maurice Butler, 39, was sentenced Thursday to three consecutive life prison sentences for three convictions of firstdegree murder. Butler maintained his innocence and said he planned to appeal. Prosecutors said Butler killed Nicole Boston, 28, Jerome Coronado, 39, and Christopher Zamudio, 45, over a $200 drug debt last August. All three were shot in the head.
2 Girl attacked: A fourth teenage girl has been charged in Chicago in the beating of a 15yearold special needs girl that was recorded on cell phone video and shared online, police said. The 15yearold was taken into custody and is charged as a juvenile with aggravated battery. Police previously announced that three girls ages 13, 14 and 15 were charged as juveniles, two of them with aggravated battery and one with mob action. In the video, the girl waves her arms as she tries to fend off her attackers. The video was posted by someone who described herself in the caption as a friend of the girl, who she said has a mental disability. The girl was treated at a hospital and released.
3 Solar sail: Photos transmitted from the Planetary Society’s LightSail 2 spacecraft orbiting Earth confirm that it has successfully deployed its solar sail. The spacecraft was launched from Florida last month and images from this week’s deployment sequence were downlinked from the orbiter by flight controllers at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. The sail is formed by four triangular sheets of reflective Mylar that form a square about the size of a boxing ring. The project is an experiment to see if the momentum of photons hitting the sail will accelerate the craft sufficiently to raise its orbit.
4 Nuclear waste: Federal authorities say a nuclear plant in Hopkins, S.C., kept radioactive trash in a leaky 40foot shipping container, raising concerns that uranium has again seeped into the surrounding soil. The State newspaper reported the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and state environmental officials are investigating the Westinghouse Electric Co. nuclear fuel factory. The leak was discovered about two months ago. Last week, a sealed plant drum filled with rags and laboratory waste caught on fire. No injuries were reported. The same 50yearold plant was found to be leaking uranium in 2008, 2011 and last year.
5 School shooting: A security guard has testified that Nikolas Cruz was such a threat when he attended Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., that he was searched for weapons every morning. Cruz is accused of returning to the school on Valentine’s Day 2018 and killing 14 students and three educators. Kevin Greenleaf testified that Cruz was barred from bringing a backpack on campus after talking of suicide and writing “kill” in a notebook. Administrators forced Cruz to withdraw from school in 2017. The guard’s deposition came in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the parents of Meadow Pollack.