NEWS OF THE DAY
From Across the Nation
Las Vegas shooting: Attorneys who filed one of the first lawsuits after the Oct. 1 mass shooting that killed 58 concertgoers and left hundreds injured on the Las Vegas Strip are filing four more cases on behalf of more than 450 claimants. This time, they’re suing in Los Angeles — not in Nevada — against companies including Mandalay Bay resort and concert venue owner MGM Resorts International. Houston-based lawyer Chad Pinkerton said Monday many of the plaintiffs live in California, and they’re seeking a court and jury that won’t be swayed by the influence of a casino that’s the largest employer in Nevada. MGM Resorts says it won’t litigate the lawsuits in the press. In statements, the company has blamed the massacre on the gunman, Stephen Paddock.
Ex-officer sentenced: A white former police officer in Oklahoma was sentenced Monday to 15 years in prison for the fatal off-duty shooting of his daughter’s black boyfriend, after four trials spanning nearly a year including three that resulted in hung juries. Former Tulsa officer Shannon Kepler was convicted last month of first-degree manslaughter in the 2014 slaying of 19-year-old Jeremey Lake. Kepler, who retired from the force after he was charged, told investigators that Lake was armed and that he shot him in self-defense. Police never found a weapon at the scene. A single black juror was seated for each of Kepler’s four trials, and civil rights activists accused Kepler’s lawyers of purposely trying to exclude potential black candidates, a charge they denied.
Haitian immigrants: The Trump administration said Monday it is ending a temporary residency permit program that has allowed almost 60,000 citizens from Haiti to live and work in the United States since a 2010 powerful earthquake shook the Caribbean nation. The Homeland Security Department said conditions in Haiti have improved significantly, so the benefit will be extended one last time — until July 2019 — to give Haitians time to prepare to return home. Advocates and members of Congress from both parties had asked the Trump administration for an 18-month extension of the program, known as Temporary Protected Status. Advocates for Haitians criticized the decision, arguing the conditions in the island nation haven’t improved nearly enough for Haitians to be deported. Sexual harassment: PBS says it is immediately halting distribution of Charlie Rose’s interview program and CBS News suspended him following a Washington Post report of eight women who accused the veteran newsman of multiple unwanted sexual advances and inappropriate behavior. The women, three of whom spoke on the record, accused Rose of groping them, walking naked in front of them and relating an erotic dream. Rose told the Post that he was “deeply embarrassed” and apologized for his behavior. Helicopter crash: A medical helicopter crashed in rural Arkansas, killing all three people on board. The Arkansas Department of Emergency Management said the copter went down Sunday night near DeWitt, about 60 miles southeast of Little Rock. Officials said the crew was flying from Pine Bluff to Helena Regional Medical Center in Helena-West Helena. Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Lynn Lunsford said no patients were on board. FAA investigators were heading to the crash site, and the National Transportation Safety Board is also investigating.