3 Ga. officers injured in vehicle chase

Three Georgia law enforcement officers were injured during a wild car chase and shootout with two cousins from Alabama in the early hours of Monday morning, officials said.

The officers, from three separate west Georgia departments, were each shot and one crashed into a utility pole after taking gunfire in his patrol car during the chase, Carroll County Sheriff Terry Langley told reporters during a news conference. One officer was treated and released Monday afternoon, while the two others remained in a hospital as of Monday evening.

According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which was requested to handle its 20th officer-involved shooting investigation of 2021, the suspects crashed their car but still continued their gun battle with the officers.

One of the cousins was eventually shot and died at the scene. The other was arrested on multiple assault and battery charges, the GBI said.

The 20 shootings involving officers in Georgia this year lag well behind the pace of 2020. By this time last year, there had been 29 officer-involved shootings. The GBI finished the year with a total of 96.

“It could have been a lot worse, and we’re thankful,” said the sheriff, who called the incident “horrific.” “We pray for the speedy recovery of those officers.”

‘Huge’ explosion rocks island of St. Vincent

La Soufriere volcano fired an enormous amount of ash and hot gas early Monday in the biggest explosive eruption yet since volcanic activity began on the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent late last week, with officials worried about the lives of those who have refused to evacuate.

Experts called it a “huge explosion” that generated pyroclastic flows down the volcano’s south and southwest flanks.

“It’s destroying everything in its path,” Erouscilla Joseph, director of the University of the West Indies’ Seismic Research Center, told The Associated Press. “Anybody who would have not heeded the evacuation, they need to get out immediately.”

Richard Robertson, with the seismic research center, told local station NBC Radio the volcano’s old and new dome have been destroyed and a new crater has been created. He said the pyroclastic flows would have razed everything in their way.

“Anything that was there, man, animal, anything, ... they are gone,” he said, “and it’s a terrible thing to say it.”

Biden dog Major to be sent to training

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden’s dog Major will get professional help adjusting to the White House after a pair of biting incidents last month.

Private training for the 3year-old German shepherd will be conducted “off-site” — not at the White House but in the Washington area, Michael LaRosa, a spokesperson for Jill Biden, said Monday. The training is expected to last a few weeks, he said.

The Bidens also have a second German shepherd, 12-year-old Champ, at the White House. But it is the younger canine who has been the source of angst since both dogs were relocated to the White House in January from the Bidens’ home in Delaware.

Last month, the White House confirmed Major had nipped someone during a walk. Shortly before that incident, Major caused what the White House said was a minor injury to a Secret Service employee on March 8.