U.S. justice

Judge: California Is Mistreating Mentally-Ill Inmates

Eliana Dockterman @edockterman

8:46 PM ET

A federal judge ruled that California is violating the constitution after videotapes were released to the public showing prison guards pumping pepper spray into cells and throwing chemical grenades toward inmates

A federal judge ruled on Thursday that California is violating the constitution in its treatment of mentally-ill patients in correctional facilities. He said that too much use of pepper spray and isolation constitutes cruel and unusual punishment, according to the Associate Press.

U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence Karlton in Sacramento said the corrections department would have to update its policies on pepper spray and isolation within 60 days. The ruling came after videotapes were released to the public showing prison guards pumping copious amounts of pepper spray into cells and throwing chemical grenades. Some of the mentally-ill patients in the video are screaming. “Most of the videos were horrific,” Karlton wrote in his order. He also concluded that too much isolation can cause ill inmates psychological harm and increase their risk of suicide.

Mentally-ill inmates make up 28 percent of California’s 120,000 total prisoners. The ruling is only one of many changes in the California prison system prompted by a 24-year-old lawsuit.

[AP]

U.S. TIME 100

Which U.S. Political Figures Should Be on the 2014 TIME 100?

7:41 PM ET

While TIME’s editors will choose the TIME 100–our annual list of the most influential people in the world–we want readers to have a say, too. Cast your vote here for the people in U.S. politics you think have changed the world this past year, for better or worse. Voting closes at 11:59 p.m. on April 22, and the winner of our reader poll will be announced April 23. This year’s official TIME 100 list will be announced April 24.

Click here to vote in other categories: World, Business & Tech, Culture & Fashion, Movies & TV, Music, Media, and Sports.

Barack Obama

The U.S. President spent much of the year encouraging uninsured Americans to sign up for the Affordable Care Act and — after initial website setbacks — eked out the Administration’s goal of 7 million sign-ups.
Hillary Clinton

The question on everyone’s lips is whether 2016 will be Hillary’s year, but 2014 will see the publication of her memoir, sure to be a blockbuster.
Chris Christie

The once rising GOP star could still be felled by investigations into the closing of a New Jersey bridge.
Kirsten Gillibrand

This New York Senator is an accomplished lawmaker who is now one of the Democratic Party’s rising stars. She made headlines for her efforts to change the way the military handles rape and sexual assault.
Michael Bloomberg

After 12 years as mayor of New York City, Bloomberg was appointed U.N. special envoy for cities and climate change, giving the billionaire a new platform to effect change.
Jerry Brown

With shrewd budget cuts and taxes, the Democratic governor of California rescued the state from the brink of financial ruin.
Ted Cruz

The Tea Party favorite for 2016 shifted the GOP — and the country — further to the right when he won his Texas Senate seat in 2012. His influence in the state shows that the Tea Party’s not dead yet.
Wendy Davis

Davis skyrocketed into the national spotlight after her 11-hour filibuster of antiabortion legislation went viral, which led to her clinching the Democratic nomination in the upcoming Texas governor’s race.
Bill de Blasio

This liberal Brooklyn dad once seemed like a long shot for New York City mayor, but de Blasio won the competitive race by a landslide after running as an anti-Bloomberg who pledged to end the NYPD’s controversial stop-and-frisk program.
Eric Holder

Although Obama’s Attorney General continues to grapple with the NSA, he has encouraged the recognition of gay marriage on the state level and has taken a leading role in pushing for criminal-justice reforms.
Anthony Kennedy

As the court’s swing vote, this longtime Justice wrote the majority opinion that struck down parts of the Defense of Marriage Act.
Sheldon Adelson

Adelson spent at least $100 million backing Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney and other conservatives in 2012. Now the GOP race for this billionaire’s support in 2016 is heating up.
John Kerry

This busy Secretary of State made high-level contact with Iran while grappling with crises in Syria and Ukraine and attempting to broker peace between Israel and Palestine.
David and Charles Koch

The billionaire brothers known for backing GOP candidates are key players in the midterm elections through their network of outside groups.
Elizabeth Warren

Since joining the Senate last year, the former Harvard law professor has become a favorite of the left by pressing Wall Street banks and presenting herself as a megaphone for the middle class.
Claire McCaskill

The former sex-crimes prosecutor turned Missouri Senator has reformed the U.S. military’s approach to sexual-assault cases after her bill unanimously passed in the Senate this year.
Mitch McConnell

The Senate minority leader will be facing challenges from the left and the right this November. His biggest hope, should he outlast his competitors as expected? A new title next year: majority leader.
Michelle Obama

The U.S. First Lady spent most of the year advocating for childhood fitness while campaigning for young people to get covered by the Affordable Care Act.
Rand Paul

The freshman Senator from Kentucky, who has become a lightning rod in Washington, is expected to run for President in 2016.
Harry Reid

The Nevada Senator must keep the Democratic Party together, with its control of the U.S. Senate and his spot in the majority leader’s office in the balance this year.
Scott Walker

The Wisconsin governor sparked debate with his controversial budget cuts in 2011, which limited collective-bargaining rights. He’s up for re-election in November.
Janet Yellen

As the newly appointed chair of the Federal Reserve, Yellen holds the keys to the world’s largest economy.

Click here to vote in other categories: World, Business & Tech, Culture & Fashion, Movies & TV, Music, Media, and Sports.

U.S. Crime

Los Angeles Police Accidentally Kill TV Production Assistant

Eliana Dockterman @edockterman

6:42 PM ET

In a deadly case of mistaken identity, John Winkler was confused for a stabbing suspect.

Officers of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department accidentally shot and killed a production assistant on the Comedy Central show Tosh.0 on Monday Night in West Hollywood.

John Winkler, 30, had reportedly gone to a West Palm apartment to help neighbors who had been taken hostage. Authorities confused Winkler for a stabbing suspect as he rushed out of the apartment with another victim and the suspect, the sheriff’s office said in a statement. Three deputy officers shot three times at Winkler. He was hit once and killed, according to Variety.

“The apartment door suddenly opened and a male victim came rushing out,” the statement said. “He was covered in blood and bleeding profusely from the neck. Simultaneously, victim Winkler ran out of the door, lunging at the back of the fleeing victim. Both ran directly at the deputies.”

[THR]

[Variety]

U.S. Crime

Stabbing Suspect’s Family Is ‘Like the Brady Bunch’

Eliana Dockterman @edockterman

6:27 PM ET

Alex Hribal, the suspect in the multiple stabbings at the Franklin Regional High School in Murrysville, Pa., is escorted by police to a district magistrate to be arraigned in Export, Pa., April 9, 2014. Keith Srakocic—AP

Police have charged 16-year-old Alex Hribal in Wednesday's stabbing attack, which injured 22 people at a Pennsylvania high school

Stabbing suspect Alex Hribal is a nice kid from a normal family, says his lawyer. “This is not a dysfunctional family,” Patrick Thomassey told CNN on Thursday. “They’re like the Brady Bunch. These parents are active with their two sons, and we’re trying to figure out what happened.”

Police charged Hribal as an adult with four counts of attempted homicide and 21 counts of aggravated assault after a stabbing spree on that left 22 people (including Hribal) injured in a high school outside Pittsburgh on Wednesday. Authorities are still struggling to decipher the motive behind Hribal’s alleged crimes.

Hribal had a reputation as a quiet teenager at his school. Some have alleged that Hribal was bullied in school, pushing him to his limit. His lawyer denied that that was the case. “I heard these rumors about being bullied. I don’t believe that’s true,” Thomassey said. “I’m sure that at a certain point, we’ll find out what caused this. Maybe there is something that was going on at school that I’m not aware of yet or his parents aren’t aware of yet.”

Thomassey said that he wants a psychiatrist to evaluate his client and that he plans to file a motion to have the case moved to juvenile court. “I’m not sure he knows what he did, quite frankly,” Thomassey said, adding that Hribal is remorseful. “He’s scared. He’s a young kid.”

Police also had little insight into the reasons for the attack. “We believe, through the investigation, that this was random,” Murrysville Police Chief Tom Seefeld told CNN. “We don’t have anybody that was targeted, as far as we know at this point.” Police are investigating a possible phone threat made by Hribal the night before the incident but have not yet confirmed that such a call was made.

A student who witnessed the incident said the attacker was silent as he stabbed his victims with kitchen knives. “He was very quiet. He just was kind of doing it,” Mia Meixner said. “And he had this, like, look on his face that he was just crazy and he was just running around, just stabbing whoever was in his way.”

Hribal allegedly wounded 20 students and a security guard before the assistant principal, Samuel King (a neighbor fo the Hribals), tackled him, according to the police. Students outside the school heard a fire alarm go off during the attack, and one student, Matt DeCesare, saw two of his classmates emerge from the school covered in blood. He then saw teachers running in to pull other students out of the bleeding. “We all took our hoodies off and handed them to the teachers to use as tourniquets to stop the bleeding,” DeCesare said.

One of the stabbing victims, Brett Hurt, said everything happened quickly. He was goofing off with a classmate, Gracie Evans, when he was stabbed from behind. “I didn’t even know it was going on at the time. I was just walking down hall and he stabbed me with a knife,” Hurt said in a press conference Thursday, according to ABC News. “Everything went…I didn’t even know it was going on. I couldn’t move.” Evans took Hurt into a classroom and put pressure on his wounds, saving his life.

Hurt said he didn’t know Hribal well and had only met him a few times. “I don’t know his reputation, but after today he’s going to have a bad one,” Hurt said.

Westmoreland County District Attorney John Peck argued in front of a judge against bail Thursday. He cited “statements [made by Hribal] when subdued by officials that he wanted to die.”

Hribal is being held without bail at a juvenile detention center. He has been treated for injuries to his head and hands.

Many of the victims have been hospitalized and at least four were in critical condition on Wednesday, though all are expected to survive.

[CNN]

U.S.

What Russia Knew About the Boston Marathon Bomber

TIME Video

5:36 PM ET

An unreleased report shows that the Russian government concealed key information on Tamerlan Tsarnaev two years before the bombing

+ READ ARTICLE

Could Russia’s information on Tamerlan Tsarnaev have prevented the Boston Marathon bombings?

Russian authorities intercepted a phone conversation in which the older Tsarnaev brother discussed Islamic jihad with his mother, but they withheld the information from the FBI, according to an unreleased government review that comes as the one-year anniversary of the Boston bombing approaches.

Congress will be briefed on additional details from the report Thursday, and some findings are expected to be released to the public next week.

Watch the video above for details.

U.S. Transportation

More Than 100 Get Virus On California Cruise

Associated Press

5:24 PM ET

(SAN FRANCISCO) — A cruise line says more than 100 passengers have now contracted the highly contagious norovirus as a ship tours California ports, but fewer than 15 are still complaining of symptoms.

Princess Cruises spokeswoman Karen Candy said Thursday that 104 passengers and 25 crew have been infected on the cruise that stopped in San Diego Thursday and concludes in Los Angeles Saturday.

Candy says most have quickly recovered from the virus. Fifty people have been quarantined in their cabins because they could still be contagious.

Candy says the cruise has continued as planned because the sick represent only about 3 percent of the over 3,000 on board.

In January, a Royal Carribbean cruise with similar numbers aboard canceled its voyage and returned to New Jersey after nearly 700 people contracted norovirus.

U.S. Crime

Driver In Deadly Florida Day Care Crash In Custody

AP / Matt Sedensky and Patrick Peterson

5:11 PM ET

(WINTER PARK, Fla.) — The man authorities say fled after causing a deadly crash at a Florida day care center has surrendered.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office says 26-year-old Robert Alex Corchado surrendered Thursday at the county jail.

Police agencies across the state had been searching for Corchado since the Wednesday crash that killed a 4-year-old girl and injured 14 other people, most of them children.

The Florida Highway Patrol says Corchado slammed into a convertible, which then smashed into the KinderCare building north of Orlando.

Records show he’s been arrested eight times since 2000, including in December when he was charged with leaving the scene of another crash.

U.S. Crime

Prosecutor: NY Day Care Drug Scheme Busted

Associated Press

4:11 PM ET

(NEW YORK) — Authorities say a drug ring used a private Bronx day care center as a cover for a narcotics trafficking scheme.

Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget Brennan announced Thursday that five people have been arrested following an investigation led by the Drug Enforcement Administration. Agents seized more than 50 pounds of cocaine and $1.4 million.

Authorities said wiretaps revealed that the ring used couriers to deliver suitcases full of cash to Puerto Rico. The cash paid for cocaine and other drugs that were mailed to New York hidden in children’s merchandise.

Late last year, agents discovered more than two pounds of cocaine hidden in SpongeBob SquarePants bedding.

In a raid on a residence that also housed the day care, agents found another two pounds of cocaine, 1,000 oxycodone pills and cash.

U.S. Drugs

Top Member of Mexican Drug Cartel Aiding U.S. Authorities

Nolan Feeney @NolanFeeney

3:33 PM ET

Jesus Vicente Zambada Niebla is presented to the media after his arrest in Mexico City, March 19, 2009. Eduardo Verdugo—AP

A newly unsealed plea agreement reveals a high-ranking Sinaloa cartel member has been cooperating with federal authorities since last year. If he is found to have given “full and truthful” cooperation, he'll get a reduced prison sentence

A high-ranking member of the largest drug cartel in the Americas has been co-operating with U.S. authorities since he pleaded guilty to drug trafficking last year, federal prosecutors in Chicago announced Thursday.

Jesus Vicente Zambada-Niebla, who last April pleaded guilty to taking part in a “vast narcotics trafficking conspiracy” involving multiple kilograms heroin and cocaine between 2005 and 2008, coordinated logistics of narcotics deliveries as a member of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, according to a recently unsealed plea agreement.

Zambada-Niebla is also believed to have worked closely with Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, the leader of the cartel who was captured in Chicago this past February, although the information Zambada-Niebla provided is not said to have aided in Guzman’s arrest.

Although no sentencing date has been set, Zambada-Niebla is in custody and faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and a maximum fine of $4 million. If he is found to have given “full and truthful” co-operation with U.S. authorities, he’ll be guaranteed a sentence below life imprisonment.

Fernando X. Gaxiola, an attorney of Zambada-Niebla, declined to comment to the AP.

U.S. Civil Rights

Feds Blast Albuquerque Police For ‘Excessive Force’

Noah Rayman @noahrayman

3:28 PM ET

Vigil For Veteran Shot Dead by Albuquerque Police — Star Garrett, left, and Shannon Haley, second from left, embrace during the vigil for James Boyd in the foothills near U-Mound in Albuquerque, April 2, 2014. Marla Brose—Albuquerque Journal/ZUMA Press

The scathing report comes weeks after protests against police brutality shook the city. The mayor has already said the police department will implement reforms as a result of the Justice Department probe

A federal investigation into the Albuquerque police department found “a pattern or practice of use of excessive force, including deadly force” that violated the Fourth Amendment, the Justice Department said Thursday.

The probe, launched in 2012, found that the Albuquerque Police Department too often uses deadly force, applies less lethal force—like Tasers—unnecessarily, and too often uses force against people with mental illness. The report also details problems within the department that include inadequate training and lack of accountability.

The scathing report comes weeks after protests against police brutality shook the city, fueled by outrage over the police shooting of James Boyd, a homeless mentally ill man. Since January 2010, 37 people were shot by police, and 23 were killed.

Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry announced last week in anticipation of the report the hiring of a deputy police chief to oversee implementation of the report’s recommendations.