Dallas
A Texas grand jury will not indict the president of a police association accused of tampering with evidence in the case of a white Dallas police officer who fatally shot her unarmed black neighbor in his apartment 2 years ago, Associated Press reported.
Former Dallas Police Officer Amber Guyger is serving a 10-year sentence for the murder of Botham Jean in his apartment in September 2018. Guyger, 31, said she returned from work after a long shirt and mistook Jean’s apartment for her own, which was directly below his. Finding the door ajar, she entered and shot him, thinking the 26-year-old was a burglar, according to AP.
Guyger called 911 to report the shooting, was taken into custody and placed in a squad car. Dashcam footage shows Dallas Police Association President Michael Mata walk to the car and tell Guyger not to talk to anyone. Mata also asks a sergeant to turn off the car’s camera, AP reported.
Tuesday, a Dallas County grand jury declined to indict Mata in regard to the alleged evidence tampering. His attorney Robert Rogers said “protecting the constitutional rights of police officers” is part of Mata’s job and the association’s president’s actions were “consistent with” Dallas Police Department policy, according to AP.
Phoenix
A freight train traveling on a bridge which spans a lake in a Phoenix suburb derailed Wednesday, setting the bridge ablaze and partially collapsing the structure, Associated Press reported.
None of the train’s crew members were hurt but there was a report of someone suffering from smoke inhalation. Tim McMahan, a spokesman for Union Pacific Railroad, said he did not know how many crew members were aboard when the train derailed, according to AP.
The train traveling from Tucson to Phoenix had 102 cars and between eight and 10 of them caught fire. Investigators with the Federal Railroad Administration were dispatched to start a preliminary investigation. The National Transportation Safety Board also will investigate, AP reported.
Several carts carried lumber, but the three which fell to the ground beneath the bridge were tank cars. Two of those tankers were carrying cyclohexanone, a pale and oily liquid which is toxic and flammable. The third tank was carrying a “rubber material.” None of the tank cars were involved in the fire or appeared to have nay leaks, according to AP.
California
The founder of a Silicon Valley venture capital firm was sentenced Wednesday to 6 months behind bars for paying about $450,000 in bribes to boost his two daughters’ entrance exam scores and get one of them into Georgetown University as a bogus tennis recruit, Associated Press reported.
Manuel Henriquez, the founder and ex-CEO of Hercules Capital based in Palo Alto, California, cried and dabbed his eyes with a tissue as he prayed for forgiveness from his children and other families he hurt, and asked the judge for mercy. His wife Elizabeth was sentenced to 7 months in March and currently is expected to be released in January, according to AP.
The couple paid about $50,000 in bribes to have someone cheat multiple times on standardized tests for their daughters. The Henriquezes also were charged with paying $400,000 to the sham charity run by admissions consultant Rick Singer to get their oldest daughter into Georgetown by portraying her as a star tennis player, AP reported.
Henriquez’s lawyers said in court documents his participation in the scheme was “minor and largely passive” as he was busy running his company while his wife “devoted herself to the care and well-being of their children,” according to AP.
West Addison, Vermont
A Vermont skydiver who lost his prosthetic leg during a jump has it back, thanks to a farmer who kept an eye out for it and spotted it in a soybean field, Associated Press reported.
Double amputee Chris Marckres went for a jump Saturday at Vermont Skydiving Adventures and lost one of his prosthetic legs after leaping from the plane. Marckres, who was harnessed to an instructor, landed safely, according to AP.
He then put out the word on social media he’d lost his leg. Farmer Joe Marzalkowski saw the post before finding the prosthetic Sunday in a soybean field. Beyond a few scratches, it was undamaged, AP reported.
Marszalkowski, who compared the discovery to a needle in a haystack, said he was grateful he found the leg without running it over with a machine during the fall harvest, according to AP.
Cape Canaveral, Florida
Tropical weather barreling toward Florida cold delay this weekend’s planned return of the first SpaceX crew, Associated Press reported.
Wednesday, SpaceX and NASA cleared the Dragon crew capsule to depart the International Space Station and head home after a 2-month flight. Because NASA test pilots Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken will aim for the Atlantic or Gulf of Mexico just off Florida’s coast, the wind and waves must be relatively calm. It would be the first astronaut splashdown in 45 years, according to AP.
Managers are targeting a Sunday splashdown, right around the time rough weather is expected to hit Florida. The weather system was in the Eastern Caribbean Wednesday and was expected to develop into a tropical storm. Flight controllers will monitor the weather closely and keep the astronauts at the space station until conditions improve if necessary, AP reported.
“You have to remember this is a test flight,” NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said. “If the weather isn’t good or the sea states are good, we’re going to take our time bringing Bob and Doug home. Our No. 1 highest priority is their safety.”