Garland vows return to 'normal' Justice Dept. on 1st day
President Joe Biden's pick for attorney general Merrick Garland, addresses staff on his first day at the Department of Justice, Thursday, March 11, 2021, in Washington. Welcome to the new Justice Department, likely a much tamer place to be after four years of blaring headlines under Donald Trump. The former president insisted that his attorney general, and entire department, be loyal to him personally, battering the departmentโs reputation for political independence. โWhen I walked in the door of Main Justice this morning, it really did feel like I was coming home,โ Garland said, referring to Justice Department headquarters. AdAbout 15 minutes later, he took the oath of office, administered by Assistant Attorney General Lee Lofthus.
Militias in Michigan: A troubling presence dating back decades
The Michigan Militia was first brought to the spotlight after the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. AdTimothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, the men who carried out the attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, were said to have attended Michigan Militia meetings. Dr. JoEllen Vinyard, a retired EMU history professor, studied the Michigan Militia in the late 1990s and into the early 2000s. โThat was one of their major worries across all the different groups.โThe early meetings of the Michigan Militia were attended by McVeigh and Nichols. April 9, 2013: Hutaree members sue FBI, Michigan State PoliceAdArena said militia groups have always been a concern for the FBI.
Gun provocation reveals tensions in Michigan tourist haven
Activists Tyasha Harrison, left, and Holly T. Bird pose along the Grand Traverse Bay waterfront in Traverse City, Mich., Feb. 13, 2021. โIn this age, no place is an island,โ said Warren Call, president of a business organization in Traverse City, the county seat. Producers of the fruit for which Traverse City bills itself โcherry capital of the worldโ are struggling to survive. The area remains solidly Republican, although Democrats have captured two county commission seats representing Traverse City, which has a gay mayor. Her organization formed after a Black Lives Matter rally along the Traverse City waterfront last summer.
Biden introduces Merrick Garland as attorney general pick
Attorney General nominee Merrick Garland speaks during an event with President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Del., Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021. If confirmed by the Senate, which is likely, Garland would take over as the U.S. attorney general at a critical moment for the country and the agency. His confirmation prospects as attorney general were all but ensured when Democrats scored control of the Senate majority by winning both Georgia Senate seats. Biden also introduced three others for senior Justice Department leadership posts on Thursday, including Obama administration homeland security adviser Lisa Monaco as deputy attorney general and former Justice Department civil rights chief Vanita Gupta as associate attorney general, the No. Garland was selected over other finalists including former Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., and former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates.
Beyond the no-knock: Push in states to reform police tactics
But with no-knock warrants, officers don't have to say anything and don't have to wait. โThere has been an historic issuance of no-knock warrants for inappropriate purposes, basically for fishing expeditions for drug evidence,โ said Kraska, who helped Campaign Zero write its recommendations. The group is now working with 37 cities and states to introduce legislation on no-knock warrants. In Charlotte, North Carolina, when police Chief Johnny Jennings took over his post in July he dug into the issue of no-knock warrants and ended their use for the department's 1,800 officers. โWe found that if there is something that is so dangerous that it requires a no-knock search warrant, that we did not need to take that risk.
Anti-government groups shift focus from Washington to states
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer campaigns with Dan O'Neil, a Democratic candidate for the Michigan House in Traverse City, Mich., Friday, Oct. 9, 2020. Whitmer visited the area the day after police announced a foiled plot to kidnap the governor. (AP Photo/John Flesher)
Anti-government groups shift focus from Washington to states
Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, convicted in the 1995 bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building that killed 168 people, were reported to have met with Michigan militia activists. In many ways, their focus is unchanged, including contempt for authority, reverence for the Second Amendment and backwoods military-style training exercises. The group used Facebook to recruit members and communicated on an encrypted messaging platform, the affidavit said. The ADL said it wasnโt immediately clear if the suspects had extensive ties to other self-styled militia groups. Their more recent focus on state governments makes the job of monitoring them and preventing terrorist activities harder, he said.
US government executes killer obsessed with witchcraft
He would be the first African American on federal death row to be put to death in the series of federal executions this year. Two days after killing Tiesler, LeCroy was arrested driving Tieslerโs truck after passing a U.S. checkpoint in Minnesota heading to Canada. Authorities found a note LeCroy wrote before his arrest in which he asked Tiesler for forgiveness, according to court filings. After he cut her throat, he went to Tieslerโs computer to search for books about witchcraft, court filings said. He was convicted in 2004 on a federal charge of carjacking resulting in death and a jury recommended a death sentence.
Only Native American on federal death row set to be executed
Daniel Lee, father of Tiffany Lee, wipes his face as he leaves the podium after a statement by his attorney at the federal prison complex in Terre Haute, Ind., Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020. Lezmond Mitchell, the only Native American on federal death row, was executed at 6:29 p.m. for the slaying of Lee's 9-year-old daughter Tiffany and her grandmother nearly two decades ago. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Only Native American on federal death row set to be executed
(AP Photo/Jonathan J. Cooper)CHICAGO The only Native American on federal death row is set to die Wednesday for the slayings of a 9-year-old and her grandmother nearly two decades ago, though many Navajos are hoping for last-minute intervention by President Donald Trump to halt the execution. The first three federal executions in 17 years went ahead in July after similar legal maneuvers failed. If Mitchells execution goes ahead as planned, it would happen on the third night of the GOP convention. There are currently 58 men and one woman on federal death row, many of whose executions have been pending for over 20 years. Several relatives had said they opposed Mitchell's execution.
A look at some deadly explosions involving ammonium nitrate
A Lebanese army helicopter flies over the scene where an explosion hit the seaport of Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020. Prime Minister Hassan Diab, in a short televised speech, has appealed to all countries and friends of Lebanon to extend help to the small nation, saying: "We are witnessing a real catastrophe." (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
A look at some deadly explosions involving ammonium nitrate
Some other recent deadly explosions involving ammonium nitrate:Aug. 12, 2015: A massive warehouse explosion rocked the port city of Tianjin, China, killing 173 people and injuring nearly 800. Investigators found the warehouse held illegal stores of ammonium nitrate, which caught fire and caused a series of blasts. The fire ignited in a seed room and quickly engulfed an area where ammonium nitrate was stored in wooden containers. According to investigators, the primary ingredient of the main bomb that tore through the popular Kuta nightclub district was ammonium nitrate. Ammonium nitrate was found to be the main ingredient.
Justice Department schedules 2 additional federal executions
WASHINGTON The Justice Department scheduled two additional federal executions on Friday, an announcement that comes weeks after it fought off last-minute legal challenges and successfully resumed federal executions following a 17-year pause. The government carried out three executions in July, and two other executions had been set previously for August. There are currently 58 men and one woman on federal death row, all of them in Terre Haute. No federal executions were carried out from 1963 to 2001. The Justice Department announced an Aug. 26 execution date for the only Native American on federal death row, Lezmond Mitchell, earlier this week.
On this day: August 14
1997: U.S. District Court Judge Richard Matsch formally imposes a death sentence on an unrepentant Timothy McVeigh for the Oklahoma City bombing. A federal jury had found him guilty of conspiracy to commit the attack and for the deaths of eight federal law agents and sentenced him to death in June 1997. He would be executed by lethal injection on June 11, 2001, at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana. Hide Caption