3 shot at Philadelphia Ramadan event
PHILADELPHIA -- A joyful celebration of the end of Ramadan devolved into panic Wednesday in Philadelphia after rival groups exchanged gunfire, leaving at least three people injured and driving hundreds of parents and children to flee in search of safety.
The annual Eid al-Fitr event, held outside a large mosque in the city's Parkside neighborhood, came to a sudden end when some 30 shots rang out at about 2:30 p.m., Philadelphia police said.
Five people were later taken into custody, including a 15-year-old boy who sustained leg and shoulder wounds when he was shot by police and taken to the hospital by an officer, authorities said. Police said he was carrying a gun.
Additionally, one man was shot in the stomach and a juvenile victim had a wound to the hand, police said.
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel confirmed at a news conference that a police vehicle responding to the 911 calls for help struck a 15-year-old girl who was fleeing the park. He said the child suffered a leg injury.
Senate summons Boeing CEO to testify
SAN FRANCISCO -- A Senate subcommittee has summoned Boeing CEO David Calhoun to testify about the company's jetliners in an inquiry prompted by new safety-related charges from a whistleblower.
The panel said it will hold a hearing next week featuring a Boeing quality engineer, Sam Salehpour, who is expected to detail safety concerns involving the manufacture and assembly of the 787 Dreamliner. The subcommittee said in a letter those problems could create "potentially catastrophic safety risks."
Boeing would not say whether Calhoun plans to attend the April 17 hearing. In response to a query from The Associated Press, a spokesperson said the company is cooperating with the subcommittee's inquiry and has "offered to provide documents, testimony and technical briefings."
The Federal Aviation Administration has also been investigating Salehpour's claims since February, according to the subcommittee. The FAA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Salehpour, whose concerns were featured in a New York Times article Tuesday, is also expected to describe retaliation he faced after bringing his concerns forward.
According to Salehpour's account, Boeing not only failed to take his concerns seriously, it silenced him and transferred him to work on a different jetliner.
In a 1,500 word statement, Boeing said it was "fully confident" in the 787 and called concerns about structural integrity "inaccurate."
"Retaliation is strictly prohibited at Boeing," the company added, noting that it encourages employees to "speak up when issues arise."
US considers no extradition of Assange
WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden said Wednesday he is considering a request from Australia to drop the decade-long U.S. push to prosecute Wikileaks founder Julian Assange for publishing a trove of American classified documents.
For years, Australia has called on the U.S. to drop its prosecution against Assange -- an Australian citizen who has fought U.S. extradition efforts from prison in the U.K. Asked about the request Wednesday, Biden said, "We're considering it."
Assange has been indicted on 17 espionage charges and one charge of computer misuse. American prosecutors claim that Assange, 52, encouraged and helped U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning steal diplomatic cables and military files that WikiLeaks published, putting lives at risk.
Australia argues there is a disconnect between the U.S. treatment of Assange and Manning. Then-U.S. President Barack Obama commuted Manning's 35-year sentence to seven years, which allowed her release in 2017.
WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson said in a statement "it is not too late for President Biden to stop Julian's extradition to the U.S."
A British court ruled last month that Assange can't be extradited to the United States on espionage charges unless American authorities guarantee he won't get the death penalty.
Mississippi sentences six ex-officers
BRANDON, Miss. -- Already sentenced to many years in federal prison, six white former Mississippi law enforcement officers who pleaded guilty to a long list of state and federal charges for torturing two Black men were sentenced Wednesday in state court.
The six former officers who attacked Michael Jenkins and Eddie Parker in January 2023 were sentenced last month to federal prison terms ranging from about 10 to 40 years.
Rankin County Circuit Judge Steve Ratcliff Wednesday gave the men yearslong state sentences that were shorter than the federal time they already received, but longer than what state prosecutors had recommended. Time served for the state convictions will run concurrently as the federal sentences, and the men will serve their time in federal prisons.
"Your honor, they killed me. I just didn't die," Jenkins said.
The defendants include five former Rankin County sheriff's deputies -- Brett McAlpin, 53; Hunter Elward, 31; Christian Dedmon, 29; Jeffrey Middleton, 46; and Daniel Opdyke, 28 -- and a former Richland police officer, Joshua Hartfield, 32, who was off duty during the assault.
Six former Mississippi law enforcement officers who pleaded guilty to a long list of state and federal charges for torturing two Black men in Braxton, Miss., are seated together with their security detail of Mississippi Highway Patrol officers as they await sentencing in state court in Brandon, Miss., on Wednesday. (AP/Rogelio V. Solis)