Virtual-class weapons bring suspensions
HARVEY, La. -- A Louisiana school district that faced a backlash for suspending a student after a teacher saw a BB gun in his room during a virtual class has suspended at least three other students for weapons spotted during online learning.
In the two newest cases in Jefferson Parish, a ninth grader at Thomas Jefferson High School for Advanced Studies in Gretna, was seen picking up two butterfly knives and "flipping and twirling" them during a lesson, The Times Picayune-New Orleans Advocate reported, citing school documents. And a seventh grader at Patrick F. Taylor Science & Technology Academy in Westwego was seen handling a katana, a type of sword.
Both students are members of minority groups who qualify for special education, their attorney, Victor Jones, told the newspaper. They are challenging their suspensions, which violate their right to due process, especially provisions in the law that protect special education students from discrimination, Jones said.
The district has also suspended a student for having a BB gun, bringing the total number of suspensions for weapons spotted during virtual lessons to at least four, the newspaper reported.
In the BB gun case, the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Rifle Association spoke out in defense of the boy, and Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry has said he's looking into the possibility that the child's constitutional rights were violated. The family is suing the school district.
The state Legislature also got involved, passing a bill that would require districts to develop better discipline policies for online learning.
Pelosi to seek another term as speaker
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., intends to run for another term as House speaker, she said Sunday on CNN.
Pelosi's commitment underscores Democrats' confidence that they will retain their majority in the House after Election Day. She also called President Donald Trump's debate-stage prediction that Republicans would retake the House majority "delusional."
"You keep thinking that, Mr. President," she said. "You just keep on thinking that. Just another example of the delusional statements he made there."
Pelosi turned back a challenge in 2018 in her bid to reclaim the speakership. The California Democrat clinched the votes for another term after promising that she would step aside by 2022, a pledge that sought to address a group of insurgent Democrats who tried to block her nomination in an effort to force generational change in Congress.
Officer voicing 'Trump 2020' suspended
NEW YORK -- The New York Police Department said Sunday it has suspended an officer without pay a day after he was seen on video saying "Trump 2020" over a patrol vehicle's loudspeaker, a violation of department rules.
The suspension is effective immediately and the incident remains under investigation, the Police Department said.
Commissioner Dermot Shea tweeted that the behavior of the officer, whose name was not immediately made public, was "One hundred percent unacceptable. Period." Officers must remain apolitical, he said.
Mayor Bill de Blasio promised swift action, tweeting: "ANY NYPD Officer pushing ANY political agenda while on duty will face consequences.
The department, in its Patrol Guide, prohibits officers from "endorsing political candidates or publicly expressing personal views and opinions" about candidates while on duty or in uniform.
Videos posted on social media captured the officer bellowing his support of President Donald Trump from a marked Police Department SUV just before 10 p.m. Saturday. The vehicle was parked in a crosswalk with lights flashing in Brooklyn's Flatbush neighborhood.
"Trump 2020," the officer is heard saying, taunting someone on the street who was recording him. "Put it on YouTube. Put it on Facebook. Trump 2020."
Border Patrol agent kills vehicle driver
LAREDO, Texas -- A U.S. Border Patrol agent investigating suspected human smuggling with other agents in Texas fatally shot a person driving a vehicle carrying people believed to be in the country illegally, federal officials said Saturday.
Border Patrol agents, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials and the Webb County constable's office had stopped a semi in Laredo on Friday and found several people in the trailer, according to a statement from Customs and Border Protection spokesperson Rick Pauza.
Another semi then arrived, according to a statement, and law officers identified themselves and were approaching the tractor-trailer when the driver began moving in reverse, pinning a Border Patrol agent against another vehicle.
Other agents then opened fire, shooting the driver, who was pronounced dead at the scene. The injured agent was taken to a hospital, where he was treated and released Saturday, according to the statement.
The shooting is being investigated by Laredo police, the FBI, the Border Patrol and ICE.
-- Compiled by Democrat-Gazette staff from wire reports