NEWS OF THE DAY
From Across the Nation
_1 Kelly plea: R&B singer R. Kelly pleaded not guilty Friday in New York City to federal charges he sexually abused women and girls. The 52yearold was denied bail in a Brooklyn courtroom packed with his supporters. Kelly’s defense attorneys requested his release so he could better fight charges they have dismissed as “groupie remorse.” Friday’s hearing followed Kelly’s arrest last month in a separate Chicago case accusing him of engaging in child pornography. Kelly is charged in New York with exploiting five victims, identified only as “Jane Does.” Kelly’s attorneys said in court filings the alleged victims sought out Kelly’s attention and “pined to be with him.”
_2 Officer killed: Three suspects were arrested Friday in the fatal shooting last weekend of an offduty Los Angeles police officer at a taco stand, officials said. Mayor Eric Garcetti described those arrested as the “primary suspects responsible for the murder of Officer Juan Diaz,” and said they were taken into custody in the cities of Temecula and Murietta in Riverside County. The suspects were arrested as authorities conducted searches related to the case, said Assistant Chief Beatrice Girmala. She did not identify them. Diaz, 24, had been on the force for two years and was assigned to the police department’s Professional Standards Bureau.
_3 Mall fall: The family of a 5yearold boy who survived being thrown from a thirdfloor balcony at the Mall of America in in Bloomington, Minn., in April says he finally has been moved out of intensive care and into a rehabilitation program. The boy, identified only as Landen, has been hospitalized since he was thrown nearly 40 feet to the ground by a stranger. The family said on their Caring-Bridge site that Landen is now in an inpatient program. Emmanuel Aranda has pleaded guilty to attempted premeditated firstdegree murder. He told investigators he went to the Bloomington mall “looking for someone to kill” after women had rejected his advances.
_4 Police shooting: A patrol officer accidentally shot and killed a woman when he fired repeatedly at a dog that was charging at him, authorities in the Dallas suburb of Arlington said. The officer and other emergency workers responded Thursday to a welfare check concerning a woman who appeared to be passed out. The dog ran toward the officer as he was calling the woman, and the officer fired. The woman, Margarita Victoria Brooks, 30, yelled out as the shots were fired. She was taken to a hospital, where she died.
_5 Lawmaker targeted: Rep. Elijah Cummings, DMd., says he scared off an intruder at his Baltimore home last weekend, providing details for the first time after President Trump tweeted about the breakin. “I scared the intruder away by yelling,” Cummings said. Trump tweeted earlier Friday, “Really bad news! The Baltimore house of Elijah Cummings was robbed. Too bad!” The breakin came hours before Trump launched a Twitter tirade against Cummings calling his majorityblack district a “disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess.”