Background check deal in jeopardy

Background check deal in jeopardy

WASHINGTON

A bipartisan proposal to expand background checks to more gun buyers seemed in jeopardy Monday as a growing number of Republican senators expressed opposition to the proposal, perhaps enough to derail it. But there was plenty of time for lobbying and deal- making to affect the outcome, and the sponsors seemed willing to consider carving out at least one exemption in an effort to drum up votes.

The White House said President Barack Obama was calling lawmakers, as both sides hunted support for a nail-biting showdown.

As of Monday evening, some senators were saying the vote now appeared likely late this week, rather than midweek as top Democrats have hoped.

Texas official arrested in threats

KAUFMAN, Texas

Texas authorities investigating the killing of a district attorney and his wife are working to build a case against a former justice of the peace prosecuted last year by the slain official’s office, a law-enforcement official said Monday.

Eric Lyle Williams, 46, was arrested over the weekend and remains jailed on a charge of making a terroristic threat. He is being held on $3 million bond.

Authorities allege he emailed an anonymous threat to law officers from his personal computer one day after Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife, Cynthia, were found dead in their home March 30. The email implied that if authorities didn’t respond to various demands, there’d be another attack, according to an affidavit released by the sheriff’s office.

Pulitzer awarded for massacre stories

NEW YORK

The Denver Post won a Pulitzer Prize on Monday for its coverage of the movie- theater massacre in Aurora, Colo., while The New York Times captured four awards for reporting on a harrowing avalanche, the rise of a new aristocracy in China and the business practices of Apple and Wal-Mart.

The Associated Press received the award in breaking news photography for its coverage of the civil war in Syria.

In awards that reflected the rapidly changing media world, the online publication InsideClimate News won the Pulitzer for national reporting for stories on problems in the regulation of the nation’s oil pipelines.

The Sun Sentinel of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., received the public service award for an investigation of off-duty police officers’ reckless driving, and longtime Pulitzer powerhouses The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post were recognized for commentary and criticism, respectively.

Grand jury seated

COLUMBUS

An eastern Ohio grand jury will begin work in about two weeks to investigate whether other laws were broken in the case of a 16-year-old girl raped by two high school football players last year.

Nothing is off the table for the Jefferson County panel selected Monday in Steubenville, said Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine.

Iraq assaults kill 55

BAGHDAD

Insurgents in Iraq deployed a series of car bombs as part of highly coordinated attacks that cut across a wide swath of the country Monday, killing at least 55 on the deadliest day in nearly a month.

The assault bore the hallmarks of a resurgent al-Qaida in Iraq and appeared aimed at sowing fear days before the first elections since U.S. troops withdrew. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but coordinated attacks are a favorite tactic of al-Qaida’s Iraq branch.

Associated Press