Texas entities keeping mask order sued
AUSTIN, Texas -- Acting on his threat, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Austin and Travis County officials on Thursday over their decision to continue requiring mask-wearing in public.
Paxton had threatened a suit after officials decided Tuesday to exempt the city and county from Gov. Greg Abbott's removal Wednesday of the state's mask mandate.
In announcing their opt-out Tuesday from Abbott's order, Austin Mayor Steve Adler and Travis County Judge Andy Brown said they are enforcing the covid-19 prevention rules made by Dr. Mark Escott, medical director and health authority for the city and county, as they contend state law provided.
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"We promised to be guided by the doctors, science and data as concerns the pandemic and we do everything we can to keep that promise," Adler said in a statement, adding, "We are not aware of any Texas court that has allowed state leadership to overrule the health protection rules of a local health authority."
Paxton asks a state district judge to block city and county officials from enforcing their mask mandate, saying: "This case raises a pressing question: who is ultimately responsible for responding to the covid pandemic and other emergencies?"
State to pay in dozer death of pot grower
READING, Pa. -- The state will pay $475,000 to the estate of a man who died underneath a bulldozer that Pennsylvania State Police troopers had used to chase him for growing a handful of marijuana plants, according to a settlement revealed in court Thursday.
Gregory Longenecker, a 51-year-old short-order cook and Grateful Dead fan, had fled into thick brush after being caught growing 10 marijuana plants on public land near Reading. His body was found under the treads of a Pennsylvania Game Commission bulldozer that the state police had commandeered in pursuit.
The lawsuit by Longenecker's family contended that the state police and the game commission took "crazy and lethal action" against an unarmed man who posed no threat, then destroyed or withheld evidence to cover it up.
A federal judge is reviewing the settlement and is expected to sign off. The settlement did not require the state agencies to admit wrongdoing.
A prosecutor who investigated Longenecker's death concluded that troopers acted reasonably. Authorities have publicly contended that Longenecker was high on methamphetamine, crawled under the back of the bulldozer when it stopped briefly and was crushed to death when it started moving again and made a left turn.
Berks County District Attorney John Adams said his office stands by its investigation, "and to date we have not been provided with any evidence contrary to our investigative findings."
Kin of teen slain by officer awarded $2M
PORTLAND, Ore. -- While the city will pay more than $2 million to settle a wrongful-death lawsuit arising from the police killing of a Black teenager in 2017, family members of Quanice Hayes say they are still upset that the officer who pulled the trigger was not disciplined.
Portland's city commissioners apologized to the 17-year-old's family on Wednesday before approving the settlement during a City Council meeting. Hayes' death sparked protests in 2017 and was among those frequently cited by protesters who demonstrated against police brutality and racial injustice in Portland for months last summer.
A Multnomah County grand jury found no criminal wrongdoing by officer Andrew Hearst, who fired three shots at Hayes on Feb. 9, 2017, while investigating an armed robbery.
"There was no accountability," said Steven Hayes, Quanice Hayes' uncle, according to The Oregonian/OregonLive.
According to previously released investigations, police discovered Hayes in an alcove in front of a home and ordered him to keep his hands up and crawl on the driveway toward officers. When Hayes appeared to reach toward his waistband, Hearst said he fired, killing Hayes.
Officers found an airsoft pistol in a flowerbed about 18 inches away from Hayes, according to court records.
N.D. lawmaker accepts his expulsion
BISMARCK, N.D. -- A North Dakota lawmaker expelled for allegedly threatening and sexually harassing women at the Capitol said Thursday that he will not challenge the expulsion in court.
The state House expelled Republican Rep. Luke Simons last week, marking the first time since statehood a lawmaker has been ousted from the Legislature. The 43-year-old rancher and barber is accused of a pattern of sexually aggressive, lewd, and threatening behavior toward female lawmakers, staff members and interns.
Simons, who has denied wrongdoing, has argued he wasn't being afforded due process.
"Unfortunately, the only way I can immediately correct this injustice is to allow someone else to serve," Simons said in a statement. "I cannot in good conscience prioritize my legal battle over the potential outcome of important legislation for the people of North Dakota."