Suspect jailed in rapper Takeoff’s killing
HOUSTON — Police have arrested a 33-year-old man in the shooting of rapper Takeoff, who was killed last month outside a bowling alley in Houston.
Houston police announced Friday that Patrick Xavier Clark has been charged with murder. Police Chief Troy Finner said he was arrested peacefully.
Born Kirsnick Khari Ball, Takeoff was the youngest member of Migos, the Grammy-nominated rap trio from suburban Atlanta that also featured his uncle Quavo and cousin Offset.
The 28-year-old musician was one of three people shot outside the downtown bowling alley about 2:30 a.m. Nov. 1, when a dispute started as about 40 people were leaving a private party. Police said another man and a woman suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the shooting, in which at least two people opened fire.
Police Sgt. Michael Burrow said Friday that the shooting occurred after a dispute over a game of dice, but that Takeoff was not involved and was “an innocent bystander.” Migos’ record label, Quality Control, mourned Takeoff’s death and attributed it to “senseless violence.” Fans and other performers, including Drake and Justin Bieber, celebrated his musical legacy in a memorial service last month in Atlanta.
Mental health hotline back up, running
WASHINGTON — The nation’s 988 hotline, intended to help anyone experiencing a mental health emergency, was back up and running Friday after a daylong service failure.
The call service, which was launched in July, was restored shortly before midnight Thursday. People experiencing a mental health crisis were still able to reach a counselor by texting 988 or visiting 988lifeline.org.
The federal government is investigating the outage, a Health and Human Services spokeswoman said, and the Federal Communications Commission said it was investigating as well.
The 988 hotline is a national helpline staffed with mental health counselors around the country that’s designed to be as easy to remember as the emergency line, 911. Since its launch, it has fielded roughly 8,000 phone calls a day.
The telecommunications company Intrado, based in Omaha, Neb., did not return repeated requests for comment. It’s the largest U.S. provider of 911 services, providing the back-end plumbing for emergency communication services such as the 988 helpline.
The company paid a $175,000 penalty in 2019 for its role in a 911 failure the previous year that lasted 65 minutes and affected nine states.
Dead man ID’d as ‘Green Book’ actor
NEW YORK — A man found dead on a New York City sidewalk this week was identified as Frank Vallelonga Jr., an actor who appeared in the Oscar-winning movie “Green Book.” Vallelonga, 60, is the son of one-time Copacabana bouncer Frank Vallelonga Sr., known as Tony Lip, who was portrayed by Viggo Mortensen in the 2018 film. Frank Vallelonga Jr. played a relative of Mortensen’s character in the movie, which won the Oscar for best picture.
His unidentified body was discovered early Monday in the Bronx after a 911 caller reported seeing it near a factory. Police found no obvious signs of trauma, and the cause of death has not been determined.
Police identified Vallelonga on Thursday and his manager later confirmed that he was the actor. “It’s completely a tragedy and shocking,” Melissa Prophet said.
A 35-year-old man was charged with concealment of a human corpse a day after the body was found. The investigation was continuing.
DeSantis sued over migrant relocations
MIAMI — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other officials are being sued in federal court by immigrant rights groups that challenge the constitutionality of the state’s migrant relocation program.
The suit was filed Thursday by three groups against De-Santis and state Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
Earlier this year, the Florida Legislature approved a $12 million budget item to relocate people in the U.S. illegally from Florida to another location. The money came from interest earned on federal funds given to Florida under the American Rescue Plan.
The lawsuit claims the appropriation creates an incoherent definition of “unauthorized alien” that is inconsistent with federal immigration laws. The groups claim the designation may include people whose presence is authorized by the federal government, but who now risk harassment for merely wishing to either enter or stay in the state.
In September, Florida officials arranged flights from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., that carried 49 mostly Venezuelan migrants to the island.
DeSantis, a Republican, said it was part of a campaign to focus attention on what he calls the Biden administration’s failed border policies. He was joining Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in the tactic of sending migrants to Democratic strongholds without warning.
The Martha’s Vineyard flight has also spawned lawsuits accusing Florida of lying to the migrants in San Antonio to get them to go.