Remains of Marines, sailor recovered
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- The remains of seven Marines and a sailor lost when their amphibious vehicle sank near San Clemente Island have been recovered and will be transported to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for preparation for burial, the Marines said late Friday.
The sunken assault amphibious vehicle was recovered from the sea floor. The sunken vehicle was found Monday in 385 feet of water.
"Our hearts and thoughts of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit are with the families of our recovered Marines and Sailor," Col. Christopher Bronzi, commanding officer of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, said in a statement. "We hope the successful recovery of our fallen warriors brings some measure of comfort."
Nine service members died in the accident -- one was recovered at the time of the sinking while the others went down with the vessel.
The Marines and sailors of a battalion landing team, based at Camp Pendleton, were training with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit and the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group near San Clemente Island on July 30. Their assault amphibious vehicle began taking on water on its way back to the amphibious transport dock Somerset, according to the Marine Corps.
Footage release ordered in Floyd death
MINNEAPOLIS -- A Minnesota judge ordered the release of body camera footage recorded by former officers charged in the death of George Floyd.
Judge Peter Cahill ruled Friday that videos from the body cameras of Thomas Lane and J. Kueng taken on the night Floyd died will be made publicly available, though it is unclear how or when the footage will be released.
The videos were filed with the court last month by Lane's attorney. Initially only transcripts of the audio were released, but a judge later allowed journalists and members of the public to view the footage by appointment.
The body camera videos and transcripts were filed in court by attorney Earl Gray as part of a motion to have Lane's case dismissed.
Floyd, a Black man who was handcuffed, died May 25 after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, pressed his knee against Floyd's neck for about eight minutes as Floyd said he couldn't breathe. Chauvin is charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter. Tou Thao, Lane and Kueng are charged with aiding and abetting both second-degree murder and manslaughter. All four officers were fired.
Bond request filed in Georgia killing
SAVANNAH, Ga. -- The father and son jailed on murder charges in the slaying of Ahmaud Arbery are asking a Georgia judge to grant them bond and to throw out two charges in their indictment.
Gregory McMichael and his son, Travis McMichael, were arrested in May, more than two months after Arbery was killed. The 25-year-old Black man was chased and fatally shot after the McMichaels, who are white, spotted him running in their neighborhood just outside the port city of Brunswick. Gregory McMichael told police that he and his son suspected Arbery was a burglar.
Attorneys for both men filed legal motions Thursday asking Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley to grant the request, which would allow the McMichaels to be freed pending trial. The judge denied such a request last month for William "Roddie" Bryan Jr., a third man charged in Arbery's killing.
Attorneys for 34-year-old Travis McMichael argued he has no prior criminal history and poses no risk of fleeing.
"He does not have passport, and most importantly, his family, including his parents and three-year-old son, are here in Georgia," attorneys Robert Rubin and Jason Sheffield wrote.
Attorneys for Gregory McMichael, 64, asked for a court hearing on his bond request. No date has been set.
4 tribes file suit over gambling pacts
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Four Oklahoma tribes are asking a federal court to void gambling compacts between the state and two other tribes -- agreements that the Oklahoma Supreme Court recently invalidated.
The Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw and Citizen Potawatomi Nations filed a lawsuit Friday in U.S. District Court in Washington, asking for a declaration that the U.S. Interior Department violated federal law by allowing the agreements that Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed with the Comanche Nation and the Otoe-Missouria Tribe to take effect.
"While the Oklahoma Supreme Court has declared those agreements invalid under Oklahoma law, their validity under Federal law must also be addressed to avoid damage to the integrity of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act," attorneys for the tribes said in a statement. "The Tribes filed this suit to protect IGRA's established framework and the Tribal operations conducted under it."
Oklahoma's high court ruled July 21 that Stitt overstepped his authority. The deals would have allowed the Comanche Nation and the Otoe-Missouria Tribe to offer wagering on sporting events and house-banked card and table games.
The chairman of the Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association, Matthew Morgan, said the group supports the tribes' efforts.
-- Compiled by Democrat-Gazette staff from wire reports