SWAT officers kill man, 107, in standoff
PINE BLUFF, Ark. – A 107-year-old man was killed after SWAT officers shot back at him during a standoff at a home, police in the southeastern Arkansas city of Pine Bluff said Sunday.
Police were called to the home Saturday afternoon about a disturbance and say officers arrived to find Monroe Isadore had threatened two people by pointing a weapon at them.
Officers had the pair leave the home for their own safety and approached a bedroom looking for Isadore. When the officers announced who they were, Isadore shot through the door at them but missed hitting them, said Pine Bluff Lt. David Price in a news release.
The officers retreated, attempted to negotiate with Isadore and when negotiations failed shot gas and a distraction device into the the room before entering, Price said.
However, Isadore began to fire at the officers and they fired back, killing him.
Price did not immediately return phone calls Sunday for further comment. He said in the release that the investigation into the shooting is ongoing.
Opposition shows up strong in Moscow race
MOSCOW – Opposition leader Alexei Navalny swept up far more votes than expected Sunday while finishing second in Moscow’s mayoral election, a pivotal contest that has energized Russia’s small opposition in ways that could pose a risk to the Kremlin in the days and years ahead.
Partial results released early Monday showed Navalny with about 27 percent of the vote, while the Kremlin-backed incumbent, Sergei Sobyanin, held a clear lead with about 52 percent. Exit polls, however, predicted Navalny would get as much as 32 percent.
As the results only began to trickle out two hours after the polls closed, Navalny said he suspected the vote count was being manipulated.
The election was being watched for what it bodes for the future of the opposition and for Navalny. He faces time in prison after being convicted of embezzlement in a case seen as part of a Kremlin effort to sideline him, but his strong showing could lead to a shortening of his five-year sentence if the Kremlin feels this would help defuse discontent.
Mexican left slams oil reform
MEXICO CITY – Thousands of people rallied Sunday in Mexico City to oppose President Enrique Peña Nieto’s plan to open the state-owned oil sector to profit-sharing contracts with private firms.
Leftist leader Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador told the rally that the proposal constitutes “treason” and “a filthy, shameless robbery.”
Lopez Obrador pledged to block attempts for greater private sector involvement with “peaceful civic mobilization” and called for more protests later this month.
Peña Nieto proposed the energy overhaul in August, saying state-owned oil monopoly Pemex has to offset falling production by exploiting shale gas and deep-water reserves, and it needs foreign know-how and investment to do that.
Sinatra’s Tahoe resort to get makeover
RENO, Nev. – A Lake Tahoe resort once owned by Frank Sinatra and frequented by his Rat Pack buddies is about to undergo a major makeover.
The Cal Neva hotel-casino that straddles the California-Nevada line will close for more than a year beginning Monday to allow for the multimillion-dollar project.
The 219-room, 10-story hotel and 6,000-square-foot casino will be upgraded in an effort to revive the struggling property, said Robert Radovan, co-owner of Criswell-Radovan. His Napa Valley, Calif.-based development company acquired the Cal Neva in April.
“Our goal is to bring it back to its former glory and to make it what it was like in Sinatra’s day,” Radovan told The Associated Press. “It has such great soul and character, and it’s needed this redo for many decades.”
Associated Press
