Police kill man in St. Louis suburb
CLAYTON, Mo. -- Officers shot and killed a man after he purportedly pointed a rifle at them in Jennings, Mo., a suburb of St. Louis, the second fatal police shooting of a black suspect in the region since the August shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson.
Two officers fired a combined 25 shots Wednesday night after a chase in which the 42-year-old man slammed his vehicle into a police car then fled on foot into a construction area, St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said. The officers told Belmar the man tried to fire but his .22-caliber rifle jammed.
Belmar declined to name the man pending notification of relatives but said he had a lengthy criminal record and had spent eight years in prison on drug and weapons charges. The officers both have been with the department four years.
Like neighboring Ferguson, Jennings is predominantly black. Police said both officers involved in the shooting were white.
Jennings' police force disbanded in 2011 after corruption allegations that included misuse of department funds, so the city relies on St. Louis County police. Darren Wilson, the Ferguson officer whose Aug. 9 shooting of the unarmed Brown sparked weeks of unrest, was a former Jennings officer.
The other fatal shooting in the area since Brown was killed came Aug. 19 when St. Louis city officers fired at a man who moved toward them with a knife, telling them: "Shoot me now. Kill me now."
U.S. sets sights on drug-resistant germs
WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama on Thursday ordered the government to create a national plan to fight antibiotic-resistant germs by early 2015.
Already the world is facing a situation where once-treatable germs can kill. Repeated exposure to antibiotics can lead germs to become resistant to the drug, so that it is no longer effective in treating a particular illness.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, antibiotic-resistant infections are linked to 23,000 deaths and 2 million illnesses in the United States annually. The impact to the U.S. economy is as high as $20 billion, the White House said, or more, if lost productivity from those who are sickened is factored in.
Obama signed an executive order Thursday that would form a government task force and presidential advisory council on the issue, and he called for new regulations to make sure there is appropriate oversight of the use of antibiotics in hospitals. The orders also encourage better tracking of antibiotic use and the development of new antibiotics and tests.
Christie lambastes lane-closure probers
TRENTON, N.J. -- Republican Gov. Chris Christie on Thursday said he's growing tired of the legislative committee investigating politically motivated lane closures near the George Washington Bridge last year.
Speaking at a news conference in Trenton, Christie blasted the Democrat-controlled committee -- including its co-chairman Assemblyman John Wisniewski -- for leaking documents to the media.
"If they can't run their own ship, they shouldn't be running an investigation," he told reporters.
Reacting to the comments, Wisniewski said the governor's office had refused to turn over some documents the committee had requested, claiming executive privilege, which he said "flies in the face of his pledge to cooperate fully."
The committee is investigating who among Christie's aides ordered the lanes closed, apparently in a bid to create traffic jams in a town at the foot of the bridge to punish its mayor for not endorsing the governor's re-election bid.
Democrats report pile for House battle
WASHINGTON -- House Democrats' campaign arm spent heavily last month but still has almost $55 million left in the bank for an uphill fight against the Republican majority, party officials said Thursday.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's summary of fundraising through August shows it collected more than $10 million last month, taking its total for this election cycle to more than $146 million. The summary also indicates it spent $12 million in August alone, as officials began to empty bank accounts on ads to help Democratic candidates.
The National Republican Congressional Committee has not yet released its August fundraising tally and faces a Saturday deadline to do so. Republicans ended July with almost $48 million in their bank accounts.
Heading into August, the Democrats had outraised the Republicans in 17 of the previous 19 months despite long odds of tipping control of the chamber away from Republicans.
-- COMPILED BY DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE STAFF FROM WIRE REPORTS
A Section on 09/19/2014