Ferguson officer who killed teenager resigns
Ferguson officer who killed teenager resigns
FERGUSON, Mo. (AP) — The white police officer who killed Michael Brown has resigned from the Ferguson Police Department, his attorney said Saturday, nearly four months after the fatal confrontation with the black 18-year-old that fueled protests in the St. Louis suburb and across the nation.
Darren Wilson, 28, has been on administrative leave since the shooting on Aug. 9. His resignation was announced Saturday by one of his attorneys, Neil Bruntrager. The resignation is effective immediately, Bruntrager said.
A grand jury spent more than three months reviewing evidence in the case before declining in November to issue any charges against Wilson. He told jurors that he feared for his life when Brown hit him and reached for his gun.
The U.S. Justice Department is still conducting a civil rights probe into the shooting.
The shooting struck up a national debate about race and police power. After the shooting, Wilson spent months in hiding. He broke his silence after the grand jury decision, saying he could not have done anything differently.
High court to consider pregnancy bias claim
WASHINGTON (AP) — Peggy Young only has to look at her younger daughter to be reminded how long she has fought United Parcel Service over its treatment of pregnant employees, and why.
Young was pregnant with Triniti, who’s now 7 years old, when UPS told Young that she could not have a temporary assignment to avoid lifting heavy packages, as her doctor had ordered.
“They told me basically to go home and come back when I was no longer pregnant,” Young said in an interview with The Associated Press. “I couldn’t believe it.”
She sued the Atlanta-based package-delivery company for discriminating against pregnant women. She lost two rounds in lower courts, but the Supreme Court will hear her case Wednesday.
The 42-year-old Young, who lives in Lorton, Virginia, said her persistence is not only for herself. “I am fighting for my two daughters and I’m fighting for women who want to start a family and provide for the family at the same time,” she said.
UPS spokeswoman Kara Gerhardt Ross said the law is on the company’s side.
“UPS did not intentionally discriminate,” Ross said.
Nigeria mosque blasts death toll above 100
KANO, Nigeria (AP) — Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan vowed to track down the perpetrators of the bomb blasts that killed more than 100 people at the central mosque in the city of Kano.
Jonathan said his government will “continue to take every step to put an end to the reprehensible acts of all groups and persons involved in acts of terrorism.”
More than 102 people were killed in the bomb explosions at the central mosque in Kano, said a hospital worker.
The multiple explosions that hit the mosque on Friday injured more than 150.
“Most of those receiving treatment … are in dire need of blood and we are appealing to people to come and donate their blood to rescue the victims,” Dr. Usman Bashir told Associated Press on Saturday.
Hundreds had gathered Friday in the mosque, which is known for attracting moderates, for a sermon in a region terrorized by attacks from the extremist group Boko Haram.