Nation & World Watch
vColumbia, S.C.: Church gunman in federal custody
A judge on Monday ordered that Charleston, South Carolina, church shooter Dylann Roof be transferred to federal custody, after an earlier agreement that he plead guilty to state murder charges in order to avoid a second death sentence. U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel ordered that U.S. marshals take custody of Roof, 22. He will remain at the Charleston County Jail. Roof has been awaiting trial on state murder charges for the deaths of nine black parishioners in June 2015.
Roof faced different charges from state and federal authorities, including nine counts of murder, while the federal government charged Roof with hate crimes and obstruction of the practice of religion.
vNew York: Commuter train derails at station
New Jersey Transit has limped back into service after a train derailment at New York’s Penn Station that also has affected Amtrak and Long Island Rail Road riders. No serious injuries were reported when the train derailed about 9 a.m. Monday while entering Penn Station at slow speed. It came a week and a half after an Amtrak train partially derailed while leaving Penn Station.
The railroad resumed limited service at midday after Monday’s derailment but predicted afternoon rush-hour delays of up to 30 minutes.
vIndianapolis: AG urged to appeal abortion ruling
An anti-abortion group is urging Indiana’s attorney general to appeal a federal ruling that blocks a state mandate that forced women to undergo an ultrasound at least 18 hours before having an abortion.
Indiana Right to Life President Mike Fichter said he wants Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill to appeal the case to a higher court and continue the fight “to put a time requirement on our state’s ultrasound law.” The ultrasound requirement took effect last July as part of a wide-ranging abortion law.
vPoland: Prosecutors accuse Russians in plane crash that killed president
Polish prosecutors alleged Monday that a new analysis of evidence from the 2010 plane crash in Russia that killed Polish President Lech Kaczynski shows that two Russian air traffic controllers and a third Russian official in the control tower deliberately contributed to the disaster.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman quickly rejected the claims.
Poland’s National Prosecutor Marek Kuczynski said there is “no doubt” that one of the causes of the crash was the behavior of those in the control tower. Deputy prosecutor Marek Pasionek said the two air traffic controllers were guilty of “deliberately causing an air traffic catastrophe” and said the third Russian official present was guilty of “assisting in deliberately causing a catastrophe.”
vItaly: Official warns of US budget cuts for food aid
The outgoing head of the United Nations’ World Food Program said Monday that she is certain the U.S. Congress will reject the Trump administration’s proposed budget cuts for U.N. aid agencies, saying: “No one in America believes that ‘America First’ means that other people must die.”
Executive Director Ertharin Cousin joined congressional Democrats and Republicans in criticizing the administration’s proposal to reduce funding for the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development by roughly 31 percent in the next fiscal year.
Congress, in negotiation with the administration, has the final say on the budget.