Texas lawman, suspect die in shootout
HOUSTON -- An arson investigator and an arson suspect were killed during a shootout early Friday in Houston after the investigator pursued the suspect, city police and fire officials said.
Investigator Lemuel Bruce, 44, died at a hospital where he was taken after the shooting around 3:30 a.m. in northwest Houston, according to Fire Chief Samuel Pena. He said that this is the first time a fire investigator has been shot in the line of duty.
Assistant Police Chief Matt Slinkard noted that Bruce was part of a team investigating recent arsons in the area when he spotted and pursued a vehicle suspected of being connected to the blazes. One suspect had been arrested in connection with at least seven fires.
The suspect was dead at the scene, but has not been identified, Slinkard added. Guns were recovered from both Bruce and the suspect, according to Slinkard.
As an arson investigator, Slinkard said Bruce was a certified peace officer, but did not wear a body camera.
Court to review migrant-exclusion order
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Supreme Court announced Friday that it will review President Donald Trump's attempt to exclude people in the country illegally when calculating how congressional seats are apportioned among the states.
The unprecedented proposal would have the effect of shifting both political power and federal funds away from urban states with large immigrant populations and toward rural and more Republican interests.
A three-judge panel in New York said that Trump's July 21 memorandum on the matter was "an unlawful exercise of the authority granted to" him by Congress. It blocked the Commerce Department and the Census Bureau from including information about the number of people in the country illegally -- it is unclear how those numbers would be generated -- in their reports to the president after this year's census is completed.
The Supreme Court justices agreed to put the case on a fast-track and said they will hold a hearing Nov. 30.
In 2019, the justices rejected the Trump administration's plan to add a citizenship question to the census form, which experts said would discourage participation by people in the country legally and illegally.
The Supreme Court earlier this week agreed with the Trump administration that it could stop the count, despite fears that the coronavirus and other problems will lead to an undercount of members of minority groups and those in hard-to-reach communities.
Park Police officers charged in '17 death
FAIRFAX, Va. -- Two U.S. Park Police officers have been indicted on manslaughter charges in the 2017 shooting death of an unarmed motorist who led officers on a stop-and-go chase outside Washington, capping nearly three years of inquiry into a case that caused an outcry over concerns of excessive force.
Bijan Ghaisar, 25, of McLean, was fatally shot by the officers in November 2017 after a chase on the George Washington Parkway, outside the nation's capital in northern Virginia, after he was involved in a minor accident.
The charges Thursday against officers Alejandro Amaya and Lucas Vinyard come after years of agitation by Ghaisar's family.
Some local and federal political figures also had criticized Park Police and the FBI for sitting on the case for two years without taking action or explaining events after widely publicized dash cam video of the chase and shooting raised doubts about the officers' conduct.
Federal prosecutors declined to pursue criminal charges against the officers last year, saying their actions did not rise to the level of criminality. After that decision, the Fairfax County Commonwealth's attorney's office launched an investigation, resulting in the indictments.
Test-penalty halt urged in Tennessee
MEMPHIS -- Gov. Bill Lee is calling for the temporary suspension of negative consequences for Tennessee schools and teachers related to student tests for the current school year because of adjustments and disruptions to learning caused by the covid-19 virus outbreak.
The Republican governor said Friday that while student testing will continue, he wants to "alleviate any burdens" associated with teacher evaluations and school accountability for the 2020-2021 school year.
Lee said school districts missed critical learning time when in-person classes were suspended during the spring as the virus pandemic struck. While some districts started holding in-person classes when the current school year started several weeks ago, others have maintained online learning only.
Some teachers and school district administrators have called for cancellation of tests or suspension of accountability measures. Teacher pay can be influenced by teacher evaluation scores, and poorly performing schools can be moved under state control.
Lee said he will work with the Tennessee General Assembly on his call to "temporarily pause the accountability that we have in our state that ties student testing to teacher evaluations."