Commission investigating shooting seeks to subpoena Card’s military records

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — An independent commission investigating the mass shooting that killed 18 people in Maine last month moved Monday to seek subpoena power so it can obtain the military service records of the shooter. Democratic Gov. Janet Mills and Attorney General Aaron Frey have tasked the commission with performing a review of the events leading up to the Lewiston shootings and the response to it. Army reservist Robert Card, 40, killed 18 people in a bowling alley and a restaurant on Oct. 25 before dying of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Vermont hopes to raise $1M more for flood victims through license plates, socks

BERLIN, Vt. (AP) — Vermont hopes to raise an additional $1 million this holiday season for victims of the July flooding through ongoing sales of “Vermont Strong” license plates and socks, Republican Gov. Phil Scott said Monday in announcing the six-week campaign. “With summer flooding not yet in the rearview mirror, many families are going into the holiday season still trying to make repairs to their damaged homes. And some will be living with family and friends while others are still trying to figure out what their future looks like,” Scott said at his weekly press conference. Some families don’t yet have heat and many businesses are still trying to open for the critical holiday season, he said.

Los Angeles freeway fully reopened after arson fire

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles drivers returned to a much more normal commute Monday when an elevated stretch of a major freeway reopened well ahead of original estimates following a raging arson fire that shut down the roadway for more than a week. The section of Interstate 10 south of downtown reopened Sunday night, and authorities assured commuters that the freeway is safe after emergency work to shore up the structure until permanent repairs of scorched support columns can be completed.

New York City’s ban on police chokeholds, diaphragm compression upheld

(AP) — New York’s highest court on Monday upheld a New York City law that forbids police from using chokeholds or compressing a person’s diaphragm during an arrest, rejecting a challenge from police unions to a law passed after the death of George Floyd. The New York Court of Appeals, in a unanimous decision, ruled that the law is clear in its language and that it does not conflict with an existing state law that bans police from using chokes.

3 teen girls plead guilty, in carjacking, dragging death of 73-year-old woman

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Three teenage girls involved in the dragging death of a woman whose arm was severed during a carjacking in New Orleans last year pleaded guilty Monday to reduced charges and were sentenced to 20 years in prison. New Orleans news outlets report that the three were convicted of attempted manslaughter in the death of Linda Frickey, 73. A fourth suspect, a male who is now 18, still faces a second-degree murder charge, which carries a life sentence. All four had been slated for trial Monday. Jury selection for the lone remaining suspect, who prosecutors said was behind the wheel when Frickey died, got underway after the three girls’ guilty pleas were entered.