NEWS OF THE DAY
From Across the Nation
1 _ Actor killed: Atlanta police announced Friday that they have made an arrest in the shooting death of actor Thomas Jefferson Byrd. Detectives detained Antonio Demetrice Rhynes, 30, on a felony murder charge based on evidence and tips from the public, Officer Steve Avery said. Best known for his roles in Spike Lee films, Byrd was found dead around 1: 45 a. m. on Oct. 3 near his home in southwestern Atlanta. He had been shot multiple times in the back. A $ 10,000 reward had been offered for information leading to an arrest. Byrd acted in films including “Clockers,” “ChiRaq” and “Bamboozled.”
2 _ Club shooting: Three men died and one man was injured in an early Friday shooting sparked by a confrontation at a Florida warehouse used by a motorcycle club, officials said. The Orange County Sheriff’s office said deputies are looking for suspects who may have fled the area in Orlando, but investigators are still not clear whether those who died or were injured fired a weapon themselves. “There were multiple shots fired, there was possibly more than one shooter,” Sheriff John Mina said. Mina said some witnesses have spoken to investigators and given some details about the confrontation that led to the shooting.
3 Racial justice: A historically black university in Alabama has removed a name from a dormitory that honored a onetime governor who also led a Ku Klux Klan chapter nearly a century ago. Alabama State University in Montgomery removed the name “Bibb Graves” from a residence hall. At least two other state schools also have renamed campus buildings that honored Graves, who was known as a proeducation, progressive governor despite leading a KKK chapter in the capital city. Klan membership was so large at the time that politicians used connections in the racist terror group to win votes.
4 _ Texas voting: A state judge in Travis County issued an injunction blocking enforcement of Gov. Greg Abbott’s order limiting counties to one mailin ballot dropoff location. The ruling Thursday came in a lawsuit that raised state law claims and was separate from a similar federal court ruling that briefly blocked Abbott’s order before it was placed on hold by the 5th U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this week. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a notice of appeal within hours of the ruling from State District Judge Tim Sulak. “The limitation to a single dropoff location for mail ballots would likely needlessly and unreasonably increase risks of exposure to COVID19 infections,” Sulak wrote.
5 _ Wilson statue gone: A statue of former Gov. Pete Wilson was removed from a San Diego park after critics said his policies hurt immigrants and set back gay rights. It was taken down for safekeeping by the nonprofit that owns the plaza. Latino and LGBTQ groups spoke Monday at the lifesized bronze sculpture. “No one has unified the Latino community more than Pete Wilson,” wrote Enrique Morones, who led the removal effort. “His racist support of Proposition 187 back in 1994 unified Latino community and supporters of human rights against him.”