LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY
“This apartment was designed to kill anyone who entered it. If you think we’re angry, sure as hell we’re angry.”
Dan Oates, Aurora, Colo ., police chief, on the explosives-laden apartment of theater shooting suspect James Holmes Article, 1A
2 missing Iowa girls believed to be alive
EVANSDALE, Iowa - Investigators said Saturday that they have evidence that leads them to believe that two Iowa cousins who vanished this month are still alive.
FBI spokesman Sandy Breault said authorities strongly believe that 10-year-old Lyric Cook-Morrissey and 8-year-old Elizabeth Collins have not been killed.
She refused to say what led authorities to that conclusion but said investigators are expanding their search beyond Iowa. The announcement came a day after authorities said they believed the girls were abducted.
The girls vanished July 13 while riding their bicycles near Meyers Lake in the northeast Iowa town of Evansdale.
Breault said investigators are interviewing “persons of interest” in the case.
Assaulted teen tweets, faces charge
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A 17-year-old Kentucky girl who was upset by the plea deal reached by a pair of teenagers who sexually assaulted her is now facing a contempt charge over posting their names on Twitter.
Savannah Dietrich of Louisville told The Courier-Journal that she is frustrated by what she feels is a lenient deal for her attackers. After posting the names on Twitter, Dietrich wrote, “I’m not protecting anyone that made my life a living Hell.”
The Associated Press does not normally report the names of sexual-assault victims, but Dietrich and her parents said they want her case to be public.
The boys’ attorneys have asked a judge to hold Dietrich in contempt for violating the confidentiality of a youthful-offender hearing and the judge’s order not to speak about it.
Dietrich said she was assaulted in August 2011 by two boys she knew when she passed out after drinking at a gathering.
Pictures of the assault were taken and shared with others.
The boys pleaded guilty June 26 to first-degree sexual abuse and misdemeanor voyeurism. Dietrich could not say what their proposed punishment was because of the court order but said she feels like it was a slap on the wrist.
Her attorneys want her contempt hearing open to the media, arguing that she has a First Amendment right to speak about her case and to a public hearing. The boys’ attorneys have asked to keep the hearing closed.
The contempt charge carries a possible sentence of 180 days in jail and a $500 fine.
Obama camp outspent take-in for June
WASHINGTON - Amid a barrage of advertising by opposing super political action committees, President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign spent more than it collected in June.
June was the second consecutive month in which Republican opponent Mitt Romney and the Republican National Committee took in more money than Obama and the Democrats did, finance reports filed Friday show.
Obama spent $38.2 million on television advertising in answer to the super PACs supporting Romney. Romney spent less than a third of that - $10.4 million - on TV time.
Obama reported more than $46 million raised in June and total spending of $58 million, and ended the month with $97.5 million in the bank. The Democratic Party reported $37.5 million in the bank.
Romney reported receipts of $33 million and spending of $27.5 million for June, and $22.5 million in the bank. The Republican National Committee said it had $89.4 million.
Air Force instructor’s sentence 20 years
SAN ANTONIO - An Air Force instructor was sentenced to 20 years in prison Saturday after being convicted of rape and sexual assault at one of the nation’s busiest military training centers.
A military jury at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio found Staff Sgt. Luis Walker guilty Friday night on all 28 charges he faced, including rape, aggravated sexual contact and multiple counts of aggravated sexual assault. A judge consolidated those charges Saturday into 20, but that didn’t affect Walker’s maximum sentence. He could have received life in prison.
Walker is among 12 Lackland instructors investigated for sexual misconduct toward at least 31 female trainees. Six instructors have been charged, on counts ranging from rape to adultery, and Walker was the first to stand trial.
Front Section, Pages 4 on 07/22/2012