SMALL PLANE CRASH-MINNESOTA

Parts apparently fell off plane that crashed in Minnesota

VICTORIA, Minn. (AP) — Federal investigators say crucial pieces of a single-engine plane piloted by a Nebraska surgeon apparently fell off in flight before it crashed in Minnesota, killing him and two relatives. The Mooney M20M crashed Saturday in Victoria, west of Minneapolis. Relatives and employers identified the victims as pilot Dr. James Edney, of Omaha, Nebraska, and his stepson, Jacob, and Jacob's wife, Dr. Sara Mertes, of Libby, Montana. National Transportation Safety Board investigator Mike Folkerts told reporters that important parts from the tail section were found away from the rest of the wreckage, indicating they fell off in flight.

MINNEAPOLIS POLICE-CRIME

Minneapolis PD to offer reward in shooting of three children

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minneapolis Police Department is offering a $180,000 reward in the investigations into the shootings of three children. The reward is the largest in Minnesota history and will be featured in a billboard campaign launching later this week. The three children were unintended targets of alleged gun violence between rival gangs, according to the department. As with most other major U.S. cities, Minneapolis has experienced a rise in violence and property crime in the past year. The police department is more than 200 officers below its authorized strength due mostly to a wave of retirements and disability leaves following George Floyd’s death.

AP-US-SANDERSON-FARMS-SALE

With chicken prices soaring, Sanderson Farms sold for $4.5B

With the price of chicken soaring, third-largest poultry producer in the U.S. is being bought for $4.53 billion. Cargill and privately held Continental Grain formed a joint venture to acquire Sanderson Farms. They will pay $203 per share in cash for a company that last year processed more than 4.8 billion pounds of meat. Restaurant chains have begun to offer their own variations of fried chicken sandwiches, further heightening demand for poultry. Sales at Sanderson Farms soared more than 34% during the second quarter compared with the same three-month period last year.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-US-CANADA

Canada reopens its border for vaccinated US visitors

DERBY LINE, Vermont (AP) — Canada has lifted its prohibition on Americans crossing the border to shop, vacation or visit, but the United States is keeping similar restrictions in place for Canadians. The reopening on Monday is part of a bumpy return to normalcy from COVID-19 travel bans. The border has been closed to nonessential travel since March 2020. The U.S. has closed its border to Canadians for nonessential trips until at least Aug. 21 and that ban also applies to the Mexican border. The lopsided rules on one of the world’s longest and busiest land borders is unsurprisingly being met with cheers and jeers.

R KELLY

R&B star R Kelly jurors summoned for sex trafficking trial

NEW YORK (AP) — After several delays, the first phase of the sex trafficking trial of R&B star R. Kelly has begun with jury selection in New York City. A judge questioned potential jurors in federal court in Brooklyn on Monday. The proceeding comes two years after Kelly was charged with abusing women and girls for nearly two decades. Defense lawyers have said Kelly’s alleged victims were groupies who only started accusing him of abuse years later when public sentiment shifted in the #MeToo era.

GEORGE FLOYD-MINNEAPOLIS POLICE

New push to disband Minneapolis police after Floyd's death

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Activists in Minneapolis are making a second attempt to get rid of the city's police department, more than a year after George Floyd's death at the hands of officers. In the heat of summer, they're hitting doorsteps in an effort to persuade people to vote this November to replace the department with a new public safety unit that will have licensed peace officers “if necessary.” An effort to do away with the department last summer came up short when City Council members ran out of time to get the proposal on the ballot. The new push is well-funded; a foundation with ties to billionaire George Soros has donated $500,000.

ST. PAUL POLICE SHOOTING

Fired officer who wounded unarmed Black man won't be charged

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Authorities say there will be no criminal charges for a former St. Paul police officer fired for a nonfatal shooting of an unarmed Black man who had been hiding from police last November after allegedly livestreaming a sexual assault. Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office said in a memo released Friday that Officer Anthony Dean had reasonably concluded that Joseph Javonte Washington was capable of hurting or killing officers or others when Washington rushed officers. The incident happened on Nov. 28. St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell quickly released body camera footage of the incident and subsequently fired Dean, saying Washington was naked and unarmed at the time and shouldn’t have been shot.

GREEK FESTIVAL CANCELED

Recent unrest in Minneapolis area scares away Greek festival

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — An annual Greek festival in the Uptown neighborhood of Minneapolis has been canceled because of recent unrest in the district. St. Mary’s Greek Orthodox Church sponsors the Taste of Greece festival, which showcases food, music, dancing and other celebrations of Greek heritage. It had been scheduled for Sept. 9-11. The church said on the festival’s website said it “would be unable to find a successful solution to ensure the safety and security” for people or property during the festival.” The Star Tribune reports that organizers plan to resume the festival next year.

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