NEWS OF THE DAY
_1 Hate crime case: A judge Monday approved a competency evaluation of a woman accused of hate crimes in the Des Moines, Iowa, area, including intentionally running over a girl she thought was Mexican. The attorney for Nicole Poole, 42, told a judge that he believes she has a mental disorder and is incompetent to stand trial. The prosecutor didn’t oppose the request. Poole is charged with assault in violation of individual rights for an incident at a convenience store and with attempted murder for allegedly running over two children with her SUV. Both children survived. She remains in custody, pending $1 million bail.
_2 Fatal fire: An 8yearold boy who was gravely injured in an apartment fire in Riverside County that killed his father and two sisters has died. Hemet Fire Chief Scott Brown said the boy died Saturday, a day after the fire broke out in his family’s apartment while everyone was asleep. The boy’s father got his wife, their infant and their 11yearold child out of the apartment and then went back to try to save their other children. Juan Moreno and his daughters, 4yearold Janessa and 12yearold Maria, died from injuries related to heat and burns, Brown said. Investigators said an electrical malfunction sparked the fire.
_3 Ocean conservation: A federal appeals court in Washington has upheld former President Barack Obama’s designation of a federally protected conservation area in the Atlantic Ocean, a move that commercial fishermen oppose. Fishing groups sued over the creation of Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, a 5,000squaremile area that contains fragile deep sea corals and vulnerable species of marine life. The monument was established in 2016. The appeals panel rejected arguments that federal law governing monuments applies only to land, not ocean.
_4 Carter health: Former President Jimmy Carter on Sunday attended the Georgia church where he worships for the first time since undergoing brain surgery in November. The 95yearold and his wife, Rosalynn, attended services at the Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains. Parishioners prayed for the Carters, who sat in frontrow seats at the church where Carter famously has taught Sunday school. The nation’s oldestever expresident underwent surgery last month at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta to relieve pressure on his brain caused by bleeding from a fall. Carter has faced several health issues in recent years. In October, he was hospitalized for a fall that fractured his pelvis. _5 Winter storm: A fierce winter storm that buried North and South Dakota moved into the upper Midwest on Monday, creating hazardous travel conditions. The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning in northeastern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Forecasters expected up to 14 inches of snow along Lake Superior’s southern shore. Wind gusts topping 60 mph whipped up waves that crashed over shoreline barriers in Duluth and Grand Marais, Minn., causing localized flooding on Sunday.