QUICK HITS

1 Ex-Philadelphia police officer pleads guilty in shooting death of 12-year-old boy:

A fired Philadelphia police officer pleaded guilty Friday to murder in the shooting of a fleeing 12-year-old boy, who prosecutors have said was on the ground and unarmed when the officer fired the fatal shot. Thomas“T.J.”Siderio was shot in March 2022, with the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office saying at the time that video contradicted the officer’s version of events. Police have said the boy had first fired a shot at an unmarked police car, injuring one of four plainclothes officers inside but threw down the weapon.

2 Court: Texas attorney general can be disciplined for suit to overturn 2020 election:

A Texas appeals court has ruled that Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton can face discipline from the state bar association over his failed effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election. On Thursday, a three-judge panel of the 5th District Court of Appeals said Paxton can be sanctioned by the committee because the lawsuit seeks to punish him in his personal capacity as an attorney and not as a public official. The lone Republican on the panel was in dissent.

Video of 2 bear cubs pulled from 3 trees prompts North Carolina investigation:

A video of people pulling two bear cubs from a tree in North Carolina as one person posed for a photo with one prompted an investigation, but a state wildlife official said Friday that no charges will be filed. North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission staff responded to a report of people harassing bear cubs at an Asheville apartment complex Tuesday and were told the two cubs escaped after one bit a person. Officers found one cub but could not locate the other.

Tumbling tech stocks drag 4 Wall Street to the finish line of another losing week:

The worst week for big technology stocks since the COVID-19 crash in 2020 dragged Wall Street across the finish line of another losing week. The S&P 500 fell 0.9% Friday to close out its third straight losing week. The Nasdaq composite tumbled 2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which has less of an emphasis on tech, was an outlier and rose 0.6%. The market’s worst performers included several stocks that had been its biggest stars. Super Micro Computer lost more than a fifth of its value.

5 Debris removal begins:

Salvage crews at the site of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore are turning their focus to the thousands of tons of debris sitting atop the cargo ship that caused the catastrophe. An estimated 3,000 to 4,000 tons of steel and concrete landed on the ship’s deck. Crews have to remove all that before refloating the stationary ship and guiding it back into port.