Alabaman shot from behind, family says
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- A forensic examination shows a black man was shot three times from behind when an Alabama police officer mistook him for the shooter after gunfire at a crowded shopping mall, the man's family said Monday.
The results of a report commissioned by the family are "devastating" to relatives of Emantic "EJ" Bradford Jr., their lawyer, Ben Crump, said at an emotional news conference.
Police in Hoover reiterated Monday that they won't release officer video or other evidence about the Thanksgiving night killing until the state investigation is complete.
Crump said the forensic pathologist hired by the family determined Bradford was struck by one gunshot that entered the rear of his skull; another that hit the back of his neck; and a third that penetrated his lower back.
Police initially described Bradford as the person who opened fire at the mall as Black Friday shopping began on Thanksgiving night.
Officials then backtracked, saying Bradford wasn't the initial shooter. They said Bradford, who lived in Hueytown, had a handgun visible after the initial gunfire, and the city and police said that action increased the threat level for responding officers.
Afghan bombing claims 4th U.S. soldier
WASHINGTON -- A fourth U.S. soldier has died as a result of a roadside bomb in central Afghanistan last week, the Pentagon announced Monday, marking the incident as the single largest loss of American life in the war since 2015.
Sgt. Jason M. McClary, 24, was in an armored vehicle that was hit by Taliban militants in Ghazni province on Nov. 27. He died of his wounds in Landstuhl, Germany, on Sunday.
Defense Department officials said the bomb was manually detonated by a trigger man who targeted the U.S. vehicle in the middle of a joint Afghan and American convoy.
The explosion flipped the soldiers' mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle, killing Army Capt. Andrew Patrick Ross, 29; Sgt. 1st Class Eric Michael Emond, 39; and Air Force Staff Sgt. Dylan J. Elchin, 25. Two other soldiers and a civilian contractor were wounded.
Ross, the leader of the detachment, and Emond were Green Berets and part of 3rd Special Forces Group, a unit that was sent to Ghazni after its provincial capital was overrun by Taliban militants in August and then retaken by U.S. and Afghan troops. Elchin was responsible for coordinating airstrikes.
Officials said McClary, originally assigned to the 4th Infantry Division, was a driver and turret gunner for the Green Beret unit, part of what the Pentagon calls the "uplift program."
Thirteen Americans have died in combat in Afghanistan this year, up from 11 in 2017.
Court keeps clergy-abuse names secret
HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Pennsylvania's highest court ruled Monday that the names of 11 Roman Catholic clergy members cited in a grand jury report on sexual abuse of children can't be made public.
The Supreme Court said releasing the information would have violated the clergymen's state constitutional right to have their reputation protected.
The clergy challenged being named in the document before its August release.
Attorney General Josh Shapiro says that although he can't release the names, the state's bishops should.
The clergy argued they hadn't been provided an adequate opportunity to respond to the grand jury about the allegations. They also said the report stigmatized people who hadn't been convicted of crimes, and contained inaccuracies.
The jury found more than 300 priests had abused children going back 70 years, and church officials covered up abuse.
Agents search Atlantic City mayor's home
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Federal agents searched the home of Atlantic City Mayor Frank Gilliam Jr. on Monday, but authorities and the mayor himself were tight-lipped about what prompted the raid.
Agents in dark blue FBI windbreakers carried white cardboard boxes out of the house, which is about a mile from Atlantic City's casinos. Earlier they removed a computer and a printer, stashing the items in dark sport utility vehicles.
Outside the home, FBI agent Jessica Weisman said, "We are here in an official capacity, executing a search warrant. That's all we can say."
Gilliam, a Democrat in his first year as mayor, emerged from the home shortly after 12:30, ignoring shouted questions from reporters. He then got into his personal sport utility vehicle and drove away.
IRS agents also were on the scene, a spokesman for the service's criminal investigations unit said Monday.
-- Compiled by Democrat-Gazette staff from wire reports
A Section on 12/04/2018