Last occupiers of Oregon wildlife refuge surrender to FBI
BURNS, Ore. (AP) — Surrounded by FBI agents in armored vehicles, the last four occupiers of a national nature preserve surrendered Thursday, and a leader in their movement who organized a 2014 standoff with authorities was criminally charged in federal court.
The holdouts were the last remnants of a larger group that seized the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge nearly six weeks ago, demanding that the government turn over the land to locals and release two ranchers imprisoned for setting fires. For the first time since Jan. 2, the federal land was fully under the control of the U.S. government.
Meanwhile, Cliven Bundy, who was at the center of the 2014 standoff at his ranch in Nevada, was arrested late Wednesday in Portland after encouraging the Oregon occupiers not to give up. Bundy is the father of Ammon Bundy, the jailed leader of the Oregon occupation.
On Thursday, the elder Bundy was charged in the standoff from two years ago. Federal authorities may have feared Bundy’s presence would draw sympathizers to defend the holdouts.
The 69-year-old Bundy was charged with conspiracy, assault on a federal officer, obstruction, weapons charges and other crimes. He’s accused of leading supporters who pointed military-style weapons at federal agents trying to enforce a court order to round up Bundy cattle from federal rangeland.
Riot at prison in northern Mexico leaves 49 inmates dead
MONTERREY, Mexico (AP) — A brawl between rival drug gangs at an overcrowded penitentiary in northern Mexico turned into a riot Thursday, leaving 49 inmates dead and 12 injured in the country’s deadliest prison melee in years.
No escapes were reported in the clash at the Topo Chico prison in Monterrey, said Nuevo Leo state Gov. Jaime Rodriguez. The riot took place on the eve of Pope Francis’ arrival in Mexico, a visit that is scheduled to include a trip next week to another prison in the border city of Ciudad Juarez.
Rodriguez said in the morning that 52 had died, but he lowered that by three in the late afternoon. The reason for the changed death toll was not clear.
At a news conference the governor read a list of 40 names of confirmed victims, saying five of the remaining bodies had been charred by fire and four were yet to be positively identified. One of the injured was in grave condition.
The fighting began around midnight with prisoners setting fire to a storage area, sending flames and smoke billowing into the sky. Rescue workers were seen carrying injured inmates — some with burns — from the facility.
Einstein’s right again: Scientists detect ripples in gravity
WASHINGTON (AP) — It was just a tiny, almost imperceptible “chirp,” but it simultaneously opened humanity’s ears to the music of the cosmos and proved Einstein right again.
In what is being hailed as one of the biggest eureka moments in the history of physics, scientists announced Thursday that they have finally detected gravitational waves, the ripples in the fabric of space and time that Einstein predicted a century ago.
The news exhilarated astronomers and physicists. Because the evidence of gravitational waves is captured in audio form, the finding means astronomers will now be able to hear the soundtrack of the universe and listen as violent collisions reshape the cosmos.
It will be like going from silent movies to talkies, they said.
“Until this moment, we had our eyes on the sky and we couldn’t hear the music,” said Columbia University astrophysicist Szabolcs Marka, a member of the discovery team. “The skies will never be the same.”
If Ferguson dissolves police department, who would step in?
FERGUSON, Mo. (AP) — As Ferguson prepares to do legal battle with the Justice Department, the city’s leaders have acknowledged the possibility that they might someday disband the police department and cede law enforcement to another agency.
The question is: Would anyone else want it?
The federal government sued Ferguson on Wednesday, just a day after an agreement to radically reshape the city’s police and municipal court practices fell apart.
On Tuesday, the Ferguson City Council approved the settlement, but with seven amendments. In the eyes of the Justice Department, that amounted to rejection.
Among the attempted changes was a statement that the terms of the agreement would not apply if another agency takes over duties currently provided by Ferguson, such as policing.
