Justice Department to probe police shooting of teen

Justice Department to probe police shooting of teen

DALLAS

A spokeswoman for the Dallas County prosecutor says the U.S. Justice Department has launched an investigation into the fatal shooting of a black 15-year-old by a white police officer.

Brittany Dunn, a spokeswoman for District Attorney Faith Johnson, confirmed to The Associated Press that the federal agency is conducting the investigation. A Justice Department spokesman didn’t immediately return a message Thursday.

Roy Oliver, a former officer with the Balch Springs Police Department, was fired and charged with murder in the April 29 shooting of Jordan Edwards. Oliver is free on bond awaiting trial on a murder charge.

New faces for the French parliament

PARIS

A female fighter pilot, a farmer, a teacher, people out of work. They all applied for the job – and got it among more than 19,000 people hoping to become candidates in June elections for the French parliament under the banner of President-elect Emmanuel Macron.

Renewing a political landscape long bogged down with out-of-touch parties and long-serving politicians was a central campaign promise and the eclectic mix of candidates speaks to Macron’s desire to pull the plug on a system he deems broken.

On Thursday, his Republic on the Move party announced an initial slate of 428 candidates for France’s 577-seat National Assembly. It was a potpourri of citizens, more than half of whom, like Macron, have never held elected office. Their shared goal: to deliver Macron the parliamentary majority he needs to govern effectively.

Intelligence chief warns of Afghan gains being lost

WASHINGTON

The U.S. must “do something very different” in Afghanistan, such as placing American military advisers closer to the front lines of battle, or risk squandering all that has been invested there in recent years, the head of the Pentagon’s military intelligence agency said Thursday.

The grim assessment by Marine Lt. Gen. Vincent Stewart, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, comes as the Trump administration considers Pentagon recommendations to add more U.S. and NATO troops and to deepen support for Afghan forces. The timing of a White House decision is unclear but is not expected this week.

In testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Stewart said he visited Afghanistan about six weeks ago to see for himself what others have called a stalemate with the Taliban.

Amusement park law passed after fatality may be delayed

TOPEKA, Kan.

Less than three weeks after GOP Gov. Sam Brownback signed tightened rules for Kansas amusement parks, lawmakers who were spurred by the death of a colleague’s son are proposing to delay the law’s implementation.

The House Federal and State Affairs Committee met Thursday and passed tweaks to the new requirement that amusement rides be inspected by qualified, outside inspectors. They also voted to push off the implementation until July 2018. The law was set to go into effect July 1.

Republican Rep. John Barker, who chairs the committee, led a charge to change the law after Republican Rep. Scott Schwab’s son, Caleb, was killed last year on a water slide in Kansas City.

Associated Press