MOTHER, BABY TIME
US, allies announce plans for second democracy summit
WASHINGTON – The Biden administration on Tuesday announced plans for a second Summit for Democracy next year, this time to be co-hosted by the governments of Costa Rica, the Netherlands, South Korea and Zambia.
The summit will be held March 29-30 in a virtual format and will be followed by hybrid gatherings in each of the host countries with representatives from government, civil society and the private sector participating.
“We are living through an era defined by challenges to accountable and transparent governance,” the five countries said in a joint statement. “From wars of aggression to changes in climate, societal mistrust and technological transformation, it could not be clearer that all around the world, democracy needs champions at all levels. Together with other invitees to the second Summit, we look forward to taking up this call, and demonstrating how transparent, accountable governance remains the best way to deliver lasting prosperity, peace, and justice.
The March summit is a follow-up on an event that President Joe Biden hosted in December 2021 with more than 100 leaders to begin a global conversation about how best to preserve democracy.
Texas prosecutor resigns amid 2019 Walmart attack criticism
EL PASO, Texas – A Texas prosecutor facing mounting criticism over the handling of the 2019 Walmart mass shooting in El Paso that killed 23 people resigned Monday after the county took the extraordinary step of seeking to remove her from elected office.
El Paso County District Attorney Yvonne Rosales, a Democrat who was elected in 2020, agreed to resign during a court hearing Monday, El Paso television station KTSM reported. Her last day will be Dec. 14.
El Paso County Attorney Jo Anne Bernal wrote last week in an amended petition that when it came to the Walmart shooting, Rosales’ office “could not even tell the court what work had been done on this case in the last few
A mother snow monkey holds her baby with other snow monkeys Tuesday at the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley, Minn. Some areas around the Twin Cities were expected to receive several inches of snow Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service. months.”
Rosales’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday. Her successor for the remainder of her term, which expires in 2024, will be chosen by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.
Court reinstates Indiana’s abortion burial, cremation law
INDIANAPOLIS – A federal appeals court has reinstated an Indiana law adopted in 2016 that requires abortion clinics to either bury or cremate fetal remains.
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling released Monday overturns an Indiana judge’s decision in September that the law infringed upon the religious and free speech rights of people who do not believe aborted fetuses deserve the same treatment as deceased people.
The appeals court cited a 2019 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court upholding the fetal remains provisions of the law signed by then-gov. Mike Pence and that the state had a legitimate interest in how those remains are disposed.
The lawsuit against the fetal remains law was filed in 2020 on behalf of the Women’s Med Group abortion clinic in Indianapolis, its owner, two nurse practitioners who work at the clinic and three women.
Attorneys for the group didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment Tuesday.
Police: Remains at Boston apartment building are 4 infants
BOSTON – Human remains found at a Boston apartment building this month are those of four infants, police said.
The remains are of two boys and two girls, Boston police said in a statement on the department’s website Monday. No arrests have been announced, and an investigation is continuing.
Officers responded to the building Nov. 17 and found what appeared to be human remains. The next day they found more. The Suffolk district attorney’s office previously confirmed that some of the remains were found in a freezer.
They were removed by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and were determined to be the remains of four infants, police said. Autopsy results are pending.
Gilyard, ‘Die Hard’ and ‘Matlock’ actor, dies at 66
NEW YORK – Clarence Gilyard Jr., a popular supporting actor whose credits include the blockbuster films “Die Hard” and “Top Gun” and the hit television series “Matlock” and “Walker, Texas Ranger,” has died at age 66.
His death was announced this week by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he taught stage and screen acting. Additional details were not immediately available Tuesday.
“Professor Gilyard was a beacon of light and strength for everyone around him at UNLV,” the school’s film chair, Heather Addison, said in a statement. “Whenever we asked him how he was, he would cheerfully declare that he was ‘Blessed!’ But we are truly the ones who were blessed to be his colleagues and students for so many years.”
In the 1990s, he was on the side of law enforcement in “Matlock,” playing opposite Andy Griffith, and “Walker, Texas Ranger,” which starred Chuck Norris. His other credits include “The Karate Kid: Part II,” a stage production of “Driving Miss Daisy” and an appearance alongside “Die Hard” star Bruce Willis in a commercial for Diehard batteries.