Pro-Palestinian camp removed at school
NEW YORK -- New York police removed a pro-Palestinian protest encampment at Columbia University on Thursday and arrested more than 100 demonstrators.
Several students involved in the protest said they were also suspended from Columbia and Barnard College, including Isra Hirsi -- the daughter of U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.
Omar had questioned Columbia's president, Nemat Shafik, at a hearing Wednesday in Congress about the school's targeting of pro-Palestinian protesters.
Police said 108 people, including Hirsi, were charged with trespassing at the private Ivy League institution. Two people were also charged with obstructing government administration.
The students had been protesting on campus since early Wednesday, opposing Israeli military action in Gaza and demanding the school divest from companies they claim "profit from Israeli apartheid."
Shafik issued a statement saying the school warned protesters Wednesday that they would be suspended if the encampment was not removed. School officials made the decision Thursday to call in police and clear out the demonstrators.
She also said the university tried through several channels "to engage with their concerns and offered to continue discussions if they agreed to disperse."
The school said it was still identifying students involved in the protest Thursday and added more suspensions would be forthcoming.
Police moved in early Thursday afternoon, using zip ties to arrest protesters and escort them to waiting buses before removing the tents.
Alabama court clears way for execution
MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- The Alabama Supreme Court on Wednesday authorized the execution of a man convicted of killing a delivery driver who stopped at an ATM.
Justices granted the Alabama attorney general's request to authorize an execution date for Keith Gavin, 64. Gov. Kay Ivey will set the day of the execution, which will be carried out by lethal injection.
Gavin was convicted of capital murder for the 1998 shooting death of William Clayton Jr. in Cherokee County. Prosecutors said Clayton, a delivery driver, stopped at an ATM in downtown Centre for money to take his wife to dinner.
A jury voted 10-2 in favor of the death penalty for Gavin. The trial court accepted the jury's recommendation.
Friendly fire indicated in officer's death
MEMPHIS -- A 17-year-old suspect charged in the fatal shooting of a Memphis police officer has not been accused of first-degree murder because information obtained by the district attorney's office shows the officer was killed by friendly fire, officials said.
In a statement, the office of Shelby County's top prosecutor said the 17-year-old has been charged with 13 counts including attempted first-degree murder and assault against a first responder in the April 12 death of officer Joseph McKinney.
McKinney and an 18-year-old man, identified as Jaylen Lobley, were killed in a shootout that developed as officers investigated a suspicious vehicle.
The 17-year-old suspect was wounded and remains in the hospital. Another Memphis police officer was injured and a third officer was grazed and treated at the scene.
The district attorney office did not identify the 17-year-old suspect in statements released Wednesday about the charges, which carry up a maximum of 400 years in prison.
"We have not proceeded with a murder charge at this time because current information indicates that Officer McKinney was killed by friendly fire," one of the statements said. "Although current information indicates friendly fire, we believe the 17-year-old's reprehensible actions are still the real cause of Officer McKinney's death."
Lithium-ion battery fire hits Ohio capital
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Authorities evacuated an area of Ohio's capital for several hours Thursday out of fear that a fire in truck's trailer could have caused lithium-ion batteries to explode.
Police began evacuating a several-block area west of downtown Columbus shortly after 7 a.m. and closed off several highway exits near the Scioto River. Officers went door to door to alert residents about the evacuation, and a shelter was set up at a community center.
Although firefighters were still battling the blaze as of late morning, the evacuation order was lifted about three hours after it was issued and no injuries were reported.
The evacuation was ordered out of concern that the batteries could burn very rapidly and explode.
The fire was discovered about 6 a.m., but the back of the smoking trailer wasn't opened until around 9 a.m. because authorities were determining the best way to extinguish the blaze.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Firefighters tend to a fire Friday that began on a trailer carrying lithium batteries in Columbus, Ohio. (AP/Columbus Fire Department)
