Nation and World briefs for March 10

2 Baltimore officers charged in recorded assault on teen

BALTIMORE (AP) — Two officers who police Baltimore’s public schools walked out of jail Wednesday pending trial for assault and misconduct after their violent confrontation with a student was recorded by another teenager.

Both have checkered records, prompting parents and authorities alike to question whether enough is being done to prevent violent people from being hired to keep schoolchildren peaceful and safe.

Police said Wednesday that Saverna Bias allegedly told her fellow officer, Anthony Spence, to use force against the teen. According to a witness, she said, “You need to smack him because he’s got too much mouth,” police said. The video shows Spence shouting profanities as he repeatedly slaps and kicks the boy, telling him to leave the school and go home.

Spence was not trying to arrest the 10th grader, neither was he acting in reasonable self-defense, city police said.

At a packed school board meeting Tuesday night, some parents and principals implored officials to keep officers in the schools for everyone’s safety. Students and their advocates countered that having armed police with insufficient oversight in schools can be damaging and dangerous.

Iraqi officials: US captures top IS chemical arms engineer

BAGHDAD (AP) — U.S. special forces captured the head of the Islamic State group’s unit trying to develop chemical weapons in a raid last month in northern Iraq, Iraqi and U.S. officials told The Associated Press, the first known major success of Washington’s more aggressive policy of pursuing IS militants on the ground.

The Obama administration launched the new strategy in December, deploying a commando force to Iraq that it said would be dedicated to capturing and killing IS leaders in clandestine operations, as well as generating intelligence leading to more raids.

U.S. officials said last week that the expeditionary team had captured an Islamic State leader but had refused to identify him, saying only that he had been held for two or three weeks and was being questioned.

Two Iraqi intelligence officials identified the man as Sleiman Daoud al-Afari, who worked for Saddam Hussein’s now-dissolved Military Industrialization Authority where he specialized in chemical and biological weapons. They said al-Afari, who is about 50 years old, heads the Islamic State group’s recently established branch for the research and development of chemical weapons.

He was captured in a raid near the northern Iraqi town of Tal Afar, the officials said. They would not give further details. In Washington, U.S. officials confirmed al-Afari’s identity.

Iran fires 2 missiles marked with ‘Israel must be wiped out’

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran test-launched two ballistic missiles Wednesday emblazoned with the phrase “Israel must be wiped out” in Hebrew, Iranian media reported, in a show of power by the Shiite nation as U.S. Vice President Joe Biden’s visited Jerusalem.

The new missile firings were the latest in a series of tests in recent days, aimed at demonstrating that Iran will push ahead with its ballistic program after scaling backing its nuclear program under the deal reached last year with the U.S. and other world powers.

Israel, long an opponent of Iran, offered no comment on the test, though Biden issued a strong warning over any possible violation of the nuclear deal.

“A nuclear-armed Iran is an absolutely unacceptable threat to Israel, to the region and the United States. And I want to reiterate which I know people still doubt here. If in fact they break the deal, we will act,” he said.

Biden’s comments came after meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who strongly opposed the nuclear deal.

Somali forces kill 10 extremists in Somalia

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Hoping to capture a high-profile target, Somali forces hopped off helicopters a couple of miles (kilometers) from an al-Shabab-controlled town, slipped through the dark and got into a fierce firefight that reportedly killed more than 10 Islamic extremists, US and Somali officials said.

U.S. forces were serving in an advisory role and provided the helicopter transportation for the mission, said Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman. The U.S. forces accompanied the Somali troops on the mission, but did not “go all the way to the objective,” he said.

A Somali intelligence official told The Associated Press that the person they wanted to get was apparently killed during the fight.

“It was a high-profile target, and chances of capture were challenged by a stiff resistance by militants guarding the house targeted by the special forces, which forced the commando to resort to the kill or capture method,” the official said. He spoke to AP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press on the matter.

Another Somali intelligence official provided a similar account to AP. The exact target of the raid, if any, remains unclear.

Seoul: NKorea fires short-range missiles amid war games

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea on Thursday, South Korea’s military said, a likely show of anger at continuing springtime war games by rivals Washington and Seoul and another ratcheting up of hostility on the already anxious Korean Peninsula.

The South Korean Defense Ministry says the missiles were fired from North Hwanghae Province, flew about 500 kilometers (310 miles) and fell into the water off the country’s east coast.

Such missile firings by the North are not uncommon when animosity rises here. North Korea hates the massive annual military drills staged by Seoul and Washington, calling them invasion preparations. The allies call the drills, which this year are described as the biggest ever, defensive and routine. Pyongyang is also angry over tough United Nations sanctions following its recent nuclear test and long range rocket launch.

The firings come a day after North Korea caused a new stir by publicizing a purported mock-up of a key part of a nuclear warhead, with leader Kim Jong Un repeating a claim that his country has developed miniaturized atomic bombs that can be placed on missiles.

The North’s Rodong Sinmun newspaper carried photos on its front page showing Kim and nuclear scientists standing beside what outside analysts say appears to be a model warhead part — a small, silverish globe with a ballistic missile or a model ballistic missile in the background.

Tampon tax: Does being female in the US carry unfair costs?

NEW YORK (AP) — Margo Seibert and Natalie Brasington don’t think women should have to pay a “period tax,” and like a growing number of other women, they are publicly questioning whether being female in the U.S. carries unfair costs.

The pair are among five New York City women who filed a lawsuit last week arguing that it was unconstitutional for the state to levy sales tax on tampons and sanitary napkins while offering medical product exemptions to many other items used by both genders, like lip balm, foot powder and dandruff shampoo.

The case, they say, is about more than the few cents in tax levied on each pack.

Sick of the social taboo, and frustrated by a lack of access for some to a staple, these women and others are talking very publicly about menstruation and gaining political traction that would have been impossible a generation ago.

A national push to abolish sales tax on tampons is gathering steam, led by social media campaigns like #periodswithoutshame. At least seven states are now considering legislation. Illinois lawmakers were holding a hearing on the latest proposal Wednesday. Connecticut legislators discussed the issue Monday.

Lead fear forces water ban in 30 New Jersey school buildings

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Elevated levels of lead caused officials in New Jersey’s largest school district on Wednesday to shut off water fountains at 30 school buildings until more tests are conducted, but officials said they don’t believe the contamination poses any serious health risks.

Newark Public Schools notified the state Department of Environmental Protection on Monday that annual testing found levels ranging from non-detected to above the Environmental Protection Agency’s action level for lead, which is 15 parts per billion. That level requires additional testing, monitoring and remediation.

The DEP has requested test results from previous years to be able to do a complete analysis. No building had more than four samples above the action level, the DEP said in a statement.

The DEP confirmed lead has not been found in the city’s water supply. “In the vast majority of cases where lead is found in drinking water, it enters through the water delivery system itself when it leaches from either lead pipes, household fixtures containing lead or lead solder,” the DEP said.

Notices were posted and bottled water and water coolers were delivered to the school buildings in Newark.

As killings persist, New Orleans parade says ‘Stop Violence’

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — It bore trademarks of a classic New Orleans parade — the blare of brass, the dipping and kicking of dance, the strutting of bodies moving in unison through the streets. But wearing no sequins or plumes, those on parade were propelled by more than breezy revelry.

In a city torn by gun violence, they carried memories of the dead.

Travis Lyons, who has been on both sides of New Orleans’ carnage, had dreamed for years of staging this event. He envisioned it as an anti-violence rally presented as a classic second line, as the sashaying, carefree processions are known in this city where they’re a cultural cornerstone.

And now here they were, gathering in a circle outside City Hall, Mardi Gras so fresh that a stray lemon-colored feather blew past and a forgotten strand of fuchsia beads lay underfoot. Here they were, having buried friends and children and brothers, desperate to see the killing stop.

Pastor Kerwin Lewis stood among a crowd that would later grow to about 100 people. His teenage cousin was gunned down two decades ago while returning from his high school graduation party; a fiancee was shot years later. Offering a prayer, he thought of them.