Kentucky's Bevin sorry for teacher slam
FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin apologized Sunday for saying that children were sexually abused because they were left home alone while teachers rallied to ask lawmakers to override his vetoes.
The Republican issued his apology in a nearly 4-minute video posted online, saying "it is not my intent to hurt anybody in this process, but to help us all move forward together."
On Friday, Bevin's comments were part of his statement criticizing teachers for leaving work to protest at the Capitol. More than 30 school districts closed Friday. Bevin's comments came shortly after Republican lawmakers voted to override his vetoes of an operating budget that included increased spending for public education with the help of an accompanying tax increase.
The GOP-led Kentucky House later approved a pair of resolutions condemning Bevin's comments.
Bevin apologized several times in Sunday's video and said many people misunderstood and "did not fully appreciate" his earlier statement.
Wisconsin court to get professor's firing
MILWAUKEE -- A dispute between a conservative professor and the university that fired him is going before the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which will hear arguments this week on whether the firing was the result of a provocative blog post or his conduct.
Former Marquette University professor John McAdams sued the private Catholic school in 2016, arguing that he lost his job for exercising his freedom of speech by expressing his disapproval of what he believes was a teacher's attempt to shut down a discussion about opposition to gay marriage.
However, the school has always said that it was not what the professor wrote that led to his firing, but rather his "doxing" of a graduate student instructor in a blog post. Doxing is the practice of publicizing someone's personal identifying information online to subject them to harassment.
"Had he written the exact same blog post and not included the student-teacher's name and contact information he would not have been disciplined," said Ralph Weber, Marquette's attorney.
McAdams' attorney, Rick Esenberg, said the doxing argument is "fundamentally dishonest" and that all McAdams did was link to publicly available information.
The state Supreme Court will hear arguments Thursday.
Self-immolating lawyer a rights activist
NEW YORK -- A lawyer who burned himself to death in a grisly protest against ecological destruction was a nationally known gay-rights advocate and lead attorney in a famous case involving transgender murder victim Brandon Teena.
The charred remains of 60-year-old David Buckel were found in a grassy meadow in Brooklyn's Prospect Park at dawn Saturday, as early-morning cyclists and joggers strode by. He left a suicide note in a shopping cart near his body, writing that he hoped his act would bring attention to the need to protect the environment.
Buckel wrote that pollution was ravaging the planet and hoped his death would serve as a symbol. But he was best known as a champion of gay rights. A 1987 graduate of Cornell Law School, he served as marriage project director at Lambda Legal, a national organization that fights for LGBT rights.
Pilot error cited in '17 Navy jet crash
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Navy is citing pilot error for a military training jet crash in Tennessee that killed the two aboard, saying it was being flown for thrills and too low.
Navy officials said in a report that the T-45C Goshawk was flying below allowable altitudes in October when it plunged into woods near Tellico Plains.
The crash killed 31-year-old instructor Lt. Patrick Ruth from Metairie, La., and 25-year-old student pilot Lt. j.g. Wallace Burch from Horn Lake, Miss. Both were stationed at Naval Air Station Meridian in Mississippi. The flight originated from McGee Tyson Airport in Knoxville, Tenn.
The report cited a "culture" within the individual training unit and Naval air training at large that allowed pilots to fly "beyond the bounds" of approved Naval Air Training Command curriculum. It also said leadership failed to ensure training operations adhered to approved publications.
Ruth "was overly confident, nonchalant, and aggressive at low altitude training, with limited awareness of the performance capabilities" of the aircraft during the low-altitude awareness training flight, the report said.
-- Compiled by Democrat-Gazette staff from wire reports
A Section on 04/16/2018