NATION IN BRIEF
US Defense Chief confirms $6 billion arms commitment for Ukraine
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed Friday a $6 billion commitment for long-term contracts to provide Ukraine with weapons such as Patriot missiles, artillery ammunition and drones.
Austin laid out a broad commitment but not signed contracts, which would be likely to take months to complete under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative for systems that would then be delivered over time. He spoke at the Pentagon after a virtual meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contract Group, which provides military support to Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion.
The defense chief highlighted some of the systems that would eventually be sent to Ukraine under the initiative: Patriot missile interceptors made by RTX Corp. and Lockheed Martin Corp. as well as munitions for National Advanced Surface-toair-missile Systems, artillery ammunition, ground-to-air munitions and Switchblade and Puma attack drones. Austin acknowledged Ukraine’s need for more Patriot batteries, not only the interceptors they fire, saying he’s been working with European counterparts in an effort to find countries willing to give up the prized batteries.
The $6 billion in contracts is separate from Presidential Drawdown Authority packages that pull equipment from U.S. inventories for fast deployments and later replenishment.
Athletic director at Maryland high school used AI to fake racist recording of principal, police say
BALTIMORE — Pikesville High School’s athletic director was arrested Thursday morning in connection with an artificial intelligence-made audio clip of the school’s principal having a fake, racist conversation.
Dazhon Darien, 31, is charged with disrupting school activities after Baltimore County Police say he created the falsified audio recording of Eric Eiswert in January. The audio clip using the principal’s voice went viral and was swiftly condemned by the Baltimore County community. The school was inundated with outraged calls and needed an increased police presence and additional counselors.
Maryland Transportation Authority Police arrested Darien as he was boarding a plane to Houston from BWI Marshall Airport. Law enforcement officers flagged Darien’s bag for the way he packaged a gun in his checked luggage and discovered he had an active arrest warrant.
Baltimore County Police Chief Robert Mccullough said police intended to serve the warrant Thursday. He didn’t know whether Darien was trying to flee or had travel plans.
Darien is also charged with theft, retaliating against a witness and stalking. He was released on a $5,000 bond from the Baltimore County Detention Center.
Nonfatal shootings in Kansas City have jumped 39% this year
Nonfatal shootings have spiked 39% so far this year, despite recent efforts at tackling Kansas City’s gun violence problem.
That uptick is in part attributed to the mass shooting at the Chiefs Super Bowl rally where two dozen people were shot and one bystander was killed on Valentine’s Day.
But even March saw a drastic increase — 42% — with 51 nonfatal shootings, according to Kansas City Police Department data presented at this week’s Board of Police Commissioners meeting. That’s compared to 36 recorded in both 2022 and 2023.
As of April 23, there have been 190 nonfatal shootings compared to 137 in 2023. Last year, the city suffered a recordbreaking 185 homicides. That rate is down this year, with 44 homicides compared to 51 at the same time last year.
“The alarming rise in nonfatal shooting numbers does not get lost on us,” said Sgt.
Phil Dimartino, a spokesman for the police department.
Of particular concern, he said, are the number of children who have become victims of gun violence. Forty-one youths have been shot and survived this year in Kansas City. Four of them were under age 13.
Seven children ranging in age from eight weeks to 17 have died in homicides this year, according to data tracked by The Star. At least one child has died in an accidental shooting.
Mayor Quinton Lucas said the city is addressing gun violence from all sides, including by providing resources for survivors of shootings, funding violence prevention programs and providing social services to those impacted by or at risk of violence.
“We all want our children and future generations of Kansas City to grow up in safe and vibrant neighborhoods,” Lucas said in a statement. “I have hope and I am committed to making it happen.”
Police officer who ran anti-crime charity indicted for wire fraud, money laundering
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas City police officer has been indicted on 14 federal counts of wire fraud and two counts of money laundering, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri announced Friday.
Aaron Wayne Mckie, 46, has been a Kansas City Police Department officer since April 2000.
The charges allege he took more than $300,000 in donations for his own personal expenses over the span of 14 years.
From 2002 to 2023,
Mckie was assigned to the department’s Crime Free Multihousing unit.
From 2009 to 2023, he was also president of Mid-america Crime Free, Inc., a nonprofit that claimed to promote anticrime programs and train staff in the rental housing industry.
According to the federal indictment, Mckie defrauded MACF throughout his tenure with the organization.
Source: Tribune News Service