Month: June 2021

The Biden administration unveiled a new national strategy on Tuesday to help combat a rise in domestic terrorism, which includes adding prosecutors and other law enforcement officials across the government. The strategy seeks $100 million to add key personnel in the departments of justice and homeland security, and calls for monitoring federal employees who could pose an inside threat.

President Biden said in a statement: “Domestic terrorism — driven by hate, bigotry and other forms of extremism — is a stain on the soul of America. It goes against everything our country strives for, and it poses a direct challenge to our national security, democracy and unity.” One of the main focuses of Biden’s strategy is to improve the sharing of information across federal agencies to track domestic terrorism, a key failing that investigators say contributed to the Jan. 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol by radical supporters of former President Donald Trump.  “This is a project that should unite all Americans,” Biden added. “Together we must affirm that domestic terrorism has no place in our society. We must work to root out the hatreds that can too often drive violence.”

Police in Albertville, Alabama say an employee at a water distribution plant opened fire on co-workers early Tuesday, killing two and injuring two before taking his own life.  The shooting occurred at the Mueller Co. plant, which employs more than 400 people and makes water distribution and measurement products, giving the city of Albertville its nickname, “Fire Hydrant Capital of the World.”

Michael Lee Dobbins and David Lee Horton of Boaz, Alabama died in the shooting around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday. The shooter was later identified as Andreas Deon Horton, 34, of Dekalb County.  Police have not determined a motive, and confirmed there was no known familial relation between the Hortons and that they had “no ties” other than working at the same place. The two wounded employees were taken to a hospital in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

The shooter used a handgun to fire an unknown number of rounds at his co-workers before fleeing, and was later found dead in the vehicle from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head in Guntersville, about 15 miles away from the factory. Multiple weapons were recovered from the vehicle.

Airline passengers who refuse to wear masks this year could face fines as high as $15,500, officials said on Monday.  The fines are part of an increased effort to crack down on what federal authorities described as “unruly and dangerous behavior” in the skies. The Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) made the announcement amid alcohol bans aimed at calming in-flight tensions and thousands of reports of out-of-control passengers. The FAA said as of Monday it had received 2,800 such reports since Jan. 1, with 3/4 of those reported refusing to comply with federal mask rules, it said.

The steepest proposed fine, $15,500, involved a passenger on a Feb. 5 JetBlue flight between Florida and Las Vegas who ignored at least 10 requests from flight attendants to wear a mask over his nose and his mouth. Other potential fines, from $10,500 to $7,500, were proposed for a passenger on another JetBlue flight who was alleged to have become “disruptive” after a flight attendant asked her to wear a mask, a passenger on an Alaska flight who was alleged to have smoked an e-cigarette in the restroom and refused to wear a mask in the cabin and a passenger on a Southwest flight who also refused to wear a mask.

In addition, passengers who assault, threaten or interfere with aircraft crew members could face fines of $35,000 on top of criminal charges.

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Airline passengers who refuse to wear masks this year could face fines as high as $15,500, officials said on Monday.  The fines are part of an increased effort to crack down on what federal authorities described as “unruly and dangerous behavior” in the skies. The Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) made the announcement amid alcohol bans aimed at calming in-flight tensions and thousands of reports of out-of-control passengers. The FAA said as of Monday it had received 2,800 such reports since Jan. 1, with 3/4 of those reported refusing to comply with federal mask rules, it said.

The steepest proposed fine, $15,500, involved a passenger on a Feb. 5 JetBlue flight between Florida and Las Vegas who ignored at least 10 requests from flight attendants to wear a mask over his nose and his mouth. Other potential fines, from $10,500 to $7,500, were proposed for a passenger on another JetBlue flight who was alleged to have become “disruptive” after a flight attendant asked her to wear a mask, a passenger on an Alaska flight who was alleged to have smoked an e-cigarette in the restroom and refused to wear a mask in the cabin and a passenger on a Southwest flight who also refused to wear a mask.

In addition, passengers who assault, threaten or interfere with aircraft crew members could face fines of $35,000 on top of criminal charges.

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Dozens of homes in northern Illinois were evacuated Monday after A massive fire destroyed a chemical plant in northern Illinois on Monday forcing dozens of evacuations and producing smoke so thick that it could be seen for miles. Fire officials in Rockton, Ill., issued a mandatory evacuation order affecting about 150 homes near a Lubrizol Corp., facility in the town of about 7,600 along the Wisconsin border 100 miles northwest of Chicago.

The evacuation was ordered moments after first responders arrived at the scene at 7 a.m. to find the Chemtool facility completely consumed by flames as a thick, black plume of smoke spread hundreds of feet overhead. About 70 plant employees were safely evacuated from the facility while one firefighter sustained minor injuries. According to Rockton Fire Chief Kirk Wilson:  “The fire was through the roof when we arrived, and the cause remains unknown at this point. Everything is still under investigation.” There was no danger to people at ground level from contaminants, the chief added.

Emergency officials are opting to let the fire burn out rather than douse it with water because of possible contamination from the runoff reaching the nearby Rock River.

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