The Nation in Brief

Linda Schellenger hugs supporters Thursday outside of the Stout Center for Criminal Justice in Philadelphia, after a not guilty verdict was announced in the stabbing death last July of her son, Sean Schellenger.
Linda Schellenger hugs supporters Thursday outside of the Stout Center for Criminal Justice in Philadelphia, after a not guilty verdict was announced in the stabbing death last July of her son, Sean Schellenger.

Senate sustains veto of wall funding ban

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Senate voted Thursday to sustain President Donald Trump's veto of Democratic-sponsored legislation reversing his raid of military base project money to pay for the U.S.-Mexico border wall.

The 53-36 vote was well short of the two-thirds required to overturn the veto. The vote mirrored ones last month and in March in which a number of Republicans broke with Trump in defending lawmakers' power of the purse. The military projects in question included funding for base schools and target ranges.

In February, Trump declared the security situation along the border a national emergency. That decision enabled him to take up to $3.6 billion from such projects to finance wall construction beyond the miles that lawmakers have been willing to fund.

Democrats reacted with anger and some GOP senators opposed Trump as well. Top Republicans such as Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky had urged Trump not to do it. But once Trump acted, McConnell and others fell into line even as 10 Republicans broke with Trump on Thursday's vote.

Trump has obtained just over $3 billion for border barrier construction by working through regular congressional channels, subject to limitations imposed by lawmakers. He has used various transfer and emergency authorities to shift almost $7 billion more from the emergency declaration, a forfeiture fund containing money seized by law enforcement,

Academy accused in gun-law violation

SAN ANTONIO -- A sporting goods retailer is accused of violating federal firearms laws by selling an AR-15-style rifle and large capacity magazines to a man who later used them to kill more than two dozen worshippers at a Texas church, federal prosecutors said in a court filing.

Devin Patrick Kelley, 26, presented a Colorado driver's license at an Academy Sports + Outdoors store in Texas to buy the rifle and ammunition, the Department of Justice said in a motion filed Tuesday in San Antonio. Kelley fired at least 450 rounds at congregants in the attack that also left 20 people injured. A man living nearby shot and wounded Kelley, who fled in a vehicle and later shot himself to death, authorities have said.

"Academy was not permitted to sell Kelley the Model 8500 Ruger AR-556 under federal law because sale of that rifle would have been illegal in Colorado," prosecutor Paul David Stern wrote in the filing. "On November 5, 2017, Kelley used the [rifle] to commit the shooting at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs."

The Department of Justice wants to add Academy as a responsible third party in an ongoing federal lawsuit.

A spokesman for the Texas-based company declined to comment Thursday on the federal action, citing the pending litigation.

Police make arrest in Brooklyn shooting

NEW YORK -- New York City police have arrested a 20-year-old man in connection with a mass shooting over the summer at a Brooklyn community festival that left one person dead and 11 wounded.

Police said the gunman, Kyle Williams, has confessed to being one of two people who opened fire -- possibly shooting at each other -- during the Old Timers Day gathering in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn on July 27.

The gunfire sent a crowd of thousands of people, who had gathered in the area around a playground and community center for music and food, scattering. This year's event, held annually as a reunion for people who grew up in Brownsville, was attended by as many as 3,000 people.

Williams was arrested late Wednesday on charges of murder, criminal possession of a weapon, reckless endangerment and attempted murder charges.

Deputy Chief Michael Kemper says police are looking for the second shooter.

Nashville officials close winter shelter

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Officials in the city of Nashville, Tenn., said that emergency shelters normally set up for the homeless during the winter won't open this year because of a lack of funding and resources.

The decision was announced Monday during an Emergency Weather Committee and Stakeholder meeting.

The Tennessean reported the potential cut is indicative of Nashville's budget difficulties despite the city having a "thriving economy" from tourism, new residents and industrial interest.

Chris Song, a spokesman for Mayor John Cooper, said the mayor plans to meet with the Department of Social Services on the decision.

Social Services opened the overflow shelters in 2016 as a "no-barrier" option for the homeless when the temperature drops below 28 degrees.

From December 2017 to February 2018, those shelters served about 2,200 people and their pets.

-- Compiled by Democrat-Gazette staff from wire reports

photo

AP/The Messenger-Inquirer/ALAN WARREN

City facilities maintenance employee Kris Wink creates a fall scene of decorations Thursday in front of the C. Waitman Taylor Jr. Municipal Building in Owensboro, Ky.

A Section on 10/18/2019

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