Full tour schedule set at White House Couple’s lawyers want son to testify

Aaliyah Banda, 11, places a bracelet in front of Uziyah Garcia's photo, one of the victims killed in last week's school shooting, at a memorial at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, Tuesday, May 31, 2022. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Aaliyah Banda, 11, places a bracelet in front of Uziyah Garcia's photo, one of the victims killed in last week's school shooting, at a memorial at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, Tuesday, May 31, 2022. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Full tour schedule

set at White House

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- Public tours of the White House will return to a full operating schedule next month, after nearly a year and a half of disruptions because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Free tours of the executive mansion were suspended when President Joe Biden took office, as officials tightened virus protocols in line with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They resumed on a limited basis, being held only on Friday and Saturday mornings, on April 15, and will return to their normal schedule from Tuesday through Saturday, excluding federal holidays, beginning July 19.

The White House said Monday it will "continue to closely monitor the covid-19 situation with guidance based on recommendations from the CDC, other public health officials and medical experts, and reserves the right to adjust availability of the public tours as necessary to adhere to the latest health guidance."

It added that, within 10 days of going on a tour, anyone who has tested positive for covid-19, has had any symptoms or been in close contact with someone who is suspected of having the virus "should stay home."

Masks will be available to visitors who want them, though their use will be optional.

Tours had been canceled for months by then-President Donald Trump at the onset of the pandemic but resumed in September 2020 as he tried to project normalcy, prompting a new suspension when the Biden administration began.

Other White House events, including the Easter Egg Roll in April, have resumed this year after a two-year hiatus.

Couple's lawyers

want son to testify

The Associated Press

Lawyers representing the parents of the Michigan teenager charged in the shooting at Oxford High School that left four of his fellow students dead said Monday that they plan to call him to testify at the couple's trial.

Defense attorney Shannon Smith told Oakland County Circuit Judge Cheryl Matthews that Ethan Crumbley's testimony would be related to "extraneous matters" and not the Nov. 30 shooting.

"We need him as a witness in this trial," said Smith, who represents Jennifer Crumbley. "There are just certain questions we would just not be able to ask. We do understand that."

The disclosure came during a court hearing in Pontiac, where Matthews ruled against the defense's motion for a change of venue for James and Jennifer Crumbley's involuntary manslaughter trial, which is tentatively scheduled to begin in October.

Matthews sided with the couple's arguments that some evidence, such as the condition of their home, would not be admitted at trial. The judge said she would allow the Oakland County prosecutor's office to admit statements written in their son's journal, his text messages to a friend and his internet searches.

Seven others, including a teacher, were wounded in the shooting about 30 miles north of Detroit.

Ethan Crumbley faces murder and other charges. His trial is expected to start in January. His parents are accused of failing to keep the gun used in the shooting secure at home and failing to reasonably care for their son when he showed signs of mental distress. They have pleaded not guilty.

Matthews said Monday that she was wondering whether their son would be called to testify.

Prosecutor Karen McDonald asked in court if "they want to call their son to somehow diminish -- highlight -- his role instead of his parents."

But Smith said calling him to testify "is not about the defendants wanting to throw their son under the bus or make him look bad." Smith added: "This is about our clients defending the case."

  photo  Uziyah Garcia's cross stands at a memorial site for the victims killed in this week's shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, Friday, May 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)
 
 
  photo  CORRECTS AGE TO 10, NOT 8 - This March 2022 photo provided by Manny Renfro shows his grandson, Uziyah Garcia, while on spring break in San Angelo, Texas. The 10-year-old was among those killed in Tuesday’s shooting at Robb Elementary School on May 24 in Uvalde, Texas. (Manny Renfro via AP)
 
 
  photo  TCORRECTS AGE TO 10, NOT 8 - his March 2022 photo provided by Manny Renfro shows his grandson, Uziyah Garcia, while on spring break in San Angelo, Texas. The 10-year-old was among those killed in Tuesday's shooting at Robb Elementary School on May 24 in Uvalde, Texas. (Manny Renfro via AP)
 
 

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