Ammo plant blast fatal in Missouri
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — An explosion Tuesday at a sprawling ammunition plant near Kansas City, Mo., killed one person and injured four others, the U.S. Army said.
The blast at the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant in Independence, just east of Kansas City, occurred in a building where chemicals are mixed, Army officials. The building has been secured and rendered safe, they said, allowing investigators to begin looking into what caused the explosion.
All of the plant’s nearly 1,800 employees were sent home after Tuesday’s explosion and told to call in before returning to work today. The four injured workers were evaluated at the scene and declined further treatment, officials said.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives will lead the investigation.
The 77-year-old plant, created to help arm the U.S. military effort in the runup to World War II, makes small-caliber ammunition and tests its reliability.
Court: Police step Memphis overkill
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A federal appeals court has rebuked Memphis police for sending a tactical team to serve a misdemeanor warrant on a 67-year-old animal hoarder who was later killed by an officer, but the court upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit against the city.
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Monday that the shooting of Donald Moore Sr. in January 2013 was constitutional because the officer had reason to fear for his life. But the court said the decision to use the tactical team to break into Moore’s home using stun grenades jeopardized the lives of all involved.
In a civil-rights lawsuit against the city, Moore’s three adult children said their father had no criminal record and the department should have sent a specialized team that defuses mental health calls instead of the tactical unit.
The 6th Circuit Court opinion upheld the shooting because the 911 recording that picked up police commands in the background makes it clear that officer Phillip Penny thought Moore was armed. A fully loaded gun with a round in the chamber was found in Moore’s hand after he was shot, the opinion said.
Texas Senate OKs clerks’ gay opt-out
AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Senate gave preliminary approval to a hotly debated bill allowing county judges and other officials to refuse to issue marriage licenses for same-sex couples because of personal religious objections.
Sen. Brian Birdwell’s proposal passed 21-10 on Tuesday but only applies when other officials without objections can step in and issue marriage documents.
If the substituting official is located outside the county where the marriage license is being sought, documents could be sent electronically.
Texas Democrats and progressive groups say the bill sanctions discrimination and violates the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 legalization of gay marriage.
Birdwell, a Granbury Republican, counters that he’s protecting the religious liberties of county clerks, justices of the peace and others. He says, “If we don’t do this, we are discriminating against people of faith.”