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On this date in 2005, former Klan organizer Edgar Ray Killen was arrested for directing the 1964 murders of civil rights activists James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner in Philadelphia, Mississippi. Killen had first been tried in 1966, but was released after an all-white jury deadlocked on his murder charge. He was retried in 2005, and on the 41st anniversary of the murders, Killen was found guilty of three counts of manslaughter and sentenced to 66 years in prison.
Stat of the day: 231 — the number of new abortion restrictions enacted by states in the past four years, according to the Guttmacher Institute.
“A stronger focus on the victim” –> A grand juror is suing St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch to be allowed to “speak out on what happened in the Darren Wilson case,” which the grand juror says doesn’t line up with the way McCulloch characterized the results. Normally, jurors are sworn to secrecy. ALSO: Andrew Tobias reports for Cleveland.com that “Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson said on Sunday that he asked the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office to assume control of the investigation into the fatal police shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice because he didn’t trust the state to do it.”
Related –> The NYPD’s work slowdown has continued into a second consecutive week. According to the NYT’s J. David Goodman and Al Baker, 911 calls are being answered, but tickets, criminal summons and arrests are still down.
Warming –> At ThinkProgress, Joe Romm reports that, globally, “2014 was the hottest year in more than 120 years of record-keeping — by far.”
“Breaking point” –> The Air Force says that the US drone fleet is being stressed by steadily increasing demand for strikes by the unmanned aircraft. The Daily Beast’s Dave Majumdar reports that they have enough equipment, but are so strapped for manpower that they’re raiding their training schools and canceling leave for overworked operators.
Tense –> In a pretrial hearing for ex-CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling, who is accused of leaking secrets to the media, NYT national security reporter James Risen sparred with prosecutors — and confirmed some information that he had previously revealed — but continued to protect his sources. The Justice Department recently decided not to jail Risen for refusing to divulge the information. Josh Gerstein has the details at Politico.
Tragic –> Two young prospects for the US ski team were killed on Monday when they were caught in an avalanche while skiing off-trail at a training facility in Austria. Four other skiers managed to escape, according to The Guardian.
Keystone –> Justin Sink reports for The Hill that the White House is being “coy” about whether it will veto a measure forcing approval of the Keystone XL pipeline if it passes the GOP-controlled Congress. AND: MoJo’s Kevin Drum wonders whether Republicans are wise to push the issue when there’s a glut of oil on the market and gas is selling for two bucks a gallon.
“A watershed period in American politics” –> National Journal’s Charlie Cook writes that with two open presidential contests and demographic changes underway, 2016 may prove to be a “generational shift” in our politics.
Talking points –> TNR’s Danny Vinik writes that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s claim that public interest regulations were responsible for the slow recovery is nothing short of ridiculous.
Viral –> A “humorous” posting to the Arizona Department of Transportation’s Facebook page suggested that some large animals caught on a surveillance camera may have been a family of sasquatches and the Internet went wild. Via: ABC.
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