Minnesota investigates police shooting
MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota state authorities are investigating after Minneapolis police shot and killed a black man they say was firing a handgun as he walked outside.
Roughly 300 people gathered for a Sunday afternoon protest at a police station, and a vigil near the north Minneapolis shooting scene was set for the evening, the Star Tribune reported. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said in a statement that it will release the names of the officers who shot their weapons after “both” have provided interviews.
Authorities say two calls to 911 reported that a man was firing a handgun into the air and the ground. When officers arrived, they pursued a suspect on foot and the chase “ended in shots being fired,” police said in a statement.
The Minnesota bureau said officials recovered a black and silver handgun from the area.
The bureau said officers’ body cameras recorded the shooting, but squad car cameras did not. Both officers are on administrative leave during the bureau’s investigation.
Wilder’s name removed from book award
CHICAGO — A division of the Chicago-based American Library Association has voted to remove Laura Ingalls Wilder’s name from a major children’s book award over concerns with how the early-to-mid 20th century author portrayed blacks and American Indians.
The Association for Library Service to Children’s board made the unanimous decision Saturday at a meeting in New Orleans. The name has been changed to the Children’s Literature Legacy Award.
The association says the work of Wilder — best known for her Little House on the Prairie novels — “includes expressions of stereotypical attitudes inconsistent with ALSC’s core values.”
The first award was given to Wilder in 1954. The Association for Library Service to Children says Wilder’s work continues to be published and read but her “legacy is complex” and “not universally embraced.”
Louisiana lawmakers OK sales tax bill
BATON ROUGE — Louisiana lawmakers on Sunday completed their third special legislative session this year with a deal that will avert hefty cuts to public colleges, tuition aid and public safety.
Senators gave final passage Sunday afternoon to a sales tax renewal bill that will raise $463 million for the $29 billion budget that starts next month. A 33-6 vote sent it to Gov. John Bel Edwards, who signed it into law though it was less than he sought.
Edwards thanked lawmakers who he said “found the courage to compromise and a strong desire to put Louisiana first.”
“Nobody got everything that they were looking for, but everybody got something,” the governor said. “It is going to fund our most critical priorities in a responsible way.”
The more than $29 billion operating budget ends fears that the state would shutter hospitals, nursing homes and food-stamp programs.
NOAA proposal scraps climate mission
President Donald Trump’s administration appears to be planning to shift the mission of a federal climate agency away from climate change.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is part of the Department of Commerce, operates a constellation of earth-observing satellites and works with climate-science data and analysis.
A slide presentation during a Department of Commerce meeting noted that the agency’s mission, which previously began with “to understand and predict changes in climate, weather, oceans and coasts,” had been changed to remove the word “climate” and to begin with “to observe, understand and predict atmospheric and ocean conditions.”
The presentation also included a new emphasis: “To protect lives and property, empower the economy, and support homeland and national security.”
While the past mission for the agency was focused on “healthy ecosystems, communities and economies that are resilient in the face of change,” the present mission, according to the presentation, has replaced that with a focus on “a safe, secure and growing economy empowered through accurate, reliable and timely environmental information.”
The presentation was by Tim Gallaudet, an oceanographer and retired Navy rear admiral who is the acting head of the agency. When asked for comment, Gallaudet said in a statement that the presentation was “a simplified draft for discussion.”
“It was not intended to create change in NOAA mission or policy from what it was before,” he said. “Any interpretation to the contrary is simply inaccurate.”