Pipe bomb found at Iowa polling site
ANKENY, Iowa -- The discovery of a live pipe bomb at a central Iowa polling place as voters were casting ballots in a special election forced an evacuation of the building, police said.
Officers called to the Lakeside Center in Ankeny around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday found a device that looked like a pipe bomb in grass near the center. Police later confirmed in a news release that the device was a pipe bomb.
The banquet hall was being used as a polling place for an Ankeny school district special election. Police evacuated the building, and the state fire marshal and agents with the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were called in. Technicians safely detonated the device, and the center was reopened around 12:30 p.m. -- about three hours after the device was discovered, police said. No one was injured.
Polk County Auditor Jamie Fitzgerald described the device as a metal piece with two end caps, and said in a Twitter post that a couple walking their dog had discovered the device.
"I want to also add that there is no way of knowing how long this device had been at the Lakeside Center," Fitzgerald said in a tweet, saying officials don't know whether the pipe bomb was related to the election.
Fitzgerald and police said other polling places in Ankeny were checked and no other bombs or suspicious devices were found.
More charges filed in child-center abuse
WEBSTER GROVES, Mo. -- Four additional employees of Missouri's largest behavioral health organization are now charged with abusing residents, including two children with autism.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Wednesday that all four employees of Great Circle in Webster Groves are charged with abuse of a health care recipient.
Great Circle has announced that it intends to lay off 115 employees and close its Webster Groves residential treatment facility, which has also been raided by federal agents. Three other employees were arrested in January.
All seven arrested employees are in their 20s.
Great Circle is Missouri's largest provider of residential treatment for children with developmental delays or behavioral challenges. It has 13 residential facilities.
Great Circle spokeswoman Bev Pfeifer-Harms said in an email that the company "promptly reported" incidents, as well as "conducted an internal review of the facts and terminated the staff members involved."
Report critical of ex-White House doctor
NEW YORK -- The Department of Defense inspector general released a scathing report Wednesday on the conduct of Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, when he worked as a top White House physician.
The yearslong investigation into Jackson, who was elected to the House in November, examined allegations into his conduct during his time serving the administrations of both Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump.
The internal investigation concluded that Jackson made "sexual and denigrating" comments about a female subordinate, violated policies on drinking alcohol on a presidential trip and took prescription-strength sleeping medication that prompted worries from his colleagues about his ability to provide proper medical care.
After interviewing 78 witnesses and reviewing a host of White House documents, investigators concluded that Jackson, who achieved the rank of rear admiral, failed to treat his subordinates with dignity and respect. They also highlighted incidents of inappropriate behavior on at least two international presidential trips.
Jackson denied the allegations and declared that he was the victim of a "political hit job" because of his close ties to the former Republican president.
In a statement Wednesday, Jackson said: "My entire professional life has been defined by duty and service."
Missouri bill targets business closures
COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Community health officials in Missouri would be prevented from ordering businesses and schools to close for more than 15 days during an emergency without getting permission of elected officeholders under a Republican bill that got initial backing Wednesday.
During a debate in the GOP-led House, Republicans railed against business restrictions that St. Louis and St. Louis County enacted during the coronavirus pandemic in an effort to slow the spread of covid-19.
Health departments there prohibited bar and restaurant service for weeks at a time during the pandemic.
The measure, sponsored by Republican state Rep. Jim Murphy would allow health officials to close businesses, schools and churches, but only for 15 days at a time. After that, they would need approval from governing boards to extend closures.
However, critics argued that the bill places too much value on keeping businesses open over public health.
The House, which gave the bill initial approval in a voice vote, needs to give it a second approval vote before it would go to the Senate.