Best News: September 2015

Army Ranger instructors say women didn't carry the same amount of equipment, didn't take their turns carrying heavy machine guns, and were given intensive pre-training not offered to men, among other things

Kristen Griest (left) and Shaye Haver

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A congressman who is a combat veteran and Ranger graduate has asked the Pentagon's top Army leader to produce documents related to the performance of the females who began Ranger School at Fort Benning, Georgia earlier this year, PEOPLE has learned.

In a letter obtained exclusively by PEOPLE, Rep. Steve Russell, R-Okla., gave outgoing Army Secretary John McHugh until September 25 to produce documents revealing the women's test scores, evaluations, injuries, pre-training and more. The letter was delivered to McHugh's Pentagon office on September 15.

"The training of our combat warriors is paramount to our national defense," Russell wrote to McHugh. "In order to ensure that the Army retains its ability to defend the nation, we must ensure that our readiness is not sacrificed."

The congressman is concerned because "sources at Fort Benning are coming forward to say the Army lied about women in Ranger School, that the women got special treatment and played by different rules," according to a Capitol Hill source with knowledge of why the letter was crafted. "These folks say one thing, the Army says another. Congress needs to know the truth, and Russell reached out to find it."

Ranger instructors – who said they were ordered to remain silent, and fear for their careers for speaking out – gave Russell's office specific examples of the special treatment the women received, the Capitol Hill source says.

The school consists of three phases: Benning, which lasts 21 days and includes water survival, land navigation, a 12-mile march, patrols, an obstacle course and others; Mountain, which lasts 20 days, and includes rigorous mountain training like assaults, ambushes, mountaineering and patrols; Florida/Swamp, which lasts 17 days and covers waterborne operations.

The instructors say that among other things, the women did not carry the same amount of equipment as the men, did not take their turn carrying the heavy machine guns and were given intensive pre-training that was not offered to men, other sources with knowledge of what occurred at the school tell PEOPLE. In addition, men who repeatedly failed crucial phases of the school were sent home while the women were allowed to redo those phases over and over, sources say.

On August 21, two women – First Lts. Kristen Griest and Shaye Haver – graduated. A third woman just failed the third phase in Florida and is being allowed to try it again, sources say.

The women could not be reached for comment but an Army spokesperson insists they passed under their own steam.

"... There was no pressure from anyone to lower any standards – the standards remained the same and the Soldiers that graduated with their Ranger tabs on August 21, 2015 in Ranger Class 8-15 accomplished the very same demanding standards of Ranger School as previous classes," the Army's Lt. Col. Garrett wrote in an emailed statement to PEOPLE.

That's why the congressman wants to see the documents himself, the Capitol Hill source says.

"The only way to resolve the discrepancy is to examine the documents," the source says.

The issue is gaining prominence as the military as a whole moves towards opening all jobs, including combat positions, to females. The positions are slated to be open January 1, unless special exemptions are granted. All services have until October 1 to notify the Secretary of Defense whether they want exemptions.

"Everyone is waiting to see how this plays out with the Army," says Jim Lechner, a retired Army officer and Ranger who was wounded in combat in Mogadishu, Somalia, during the famed "Black Hawk Down" incident.

The issue is crucial, Lechner says. "Combat is brutal and unforgiving. Fighters must be prepared and capable. If they are not, people will die."

Ranger School needs to remain a stark litmus test of who can perform in combat, says a longtime trainer.

"These are our front-line fighters, and they have to have what it takes," says Bubba Moore, a former Ranger instructor with close ties to the Ranger and Fort Benning communities.

A number of "concerned" congressional leaders are watching closely to see the results of Russell's inquiry, a committee staff member says.

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Charlotte, NC police department considering instituting "public safety zones," areas where people with past arrests would be prohibited from entering

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department and Charlotte City Council are discussing whether to create "public safety zones," city areas where people with past arrests would be prohibited from entering.

Under the controversial proposal, Chief Kerr Putney could designate a high-crime area as a safety zone in response to crimes such as drug sales or discharging guns that were committed on public property.

Someone who has been arrested for crimes in the area could be issued a notice that they are no longer allowed to enter, for as long as the safety zone is in effect. Entering the zone after being prohibited would be a misdemeanor.

The bans could be appealed for reasons that include entering the area to go to work or to pick up a child from school.

The idea isn't new to Charlotte.

The safety zones would be similar to the city's "prostitution-free zones" that were started in 2005. That ordinance had a three-year sunset and wasn't renewed in 2008.

In 2013, the city also received an injunction against the Hidden Valley Kings gang. It prohibited some Kings members from "driving, standing, sitting, walking or appearing together in public view" to possessing firearms or drugs, or being in the presence of anyone who does.

That injunction expired last year, though CMPD said it could seek another injunction against members of the gang.

Council member Al Austin represents northwest Charlotte, including some high-crime neighborhoods. He said he first floated the idea of the zones to former Chief Rodney Monroe.

"We were looking for additional tools that could address some of the criminal behavior," Austin said. "We want something more flexible."

The city has been experimenting with different tactics to lower crime. In addition to the injunction against gang members, the city has used a public nuisance ordinance, which gives it the ability to seize private property from owners who continually have police come to their property.

There is some urgency to finding new solutions. Violent crime, including homicides, are up this year compared with 2014 and previous years.

"Truthfully, I don't know if they will do any good," said City Council member Claire Fallon, who chairs the public safety committee. The committee heard a CMPD presentation about the zones in early September. "If someone doesn't obey the law, do you think a safety zone will impress them?"

Fallon also said she's worried the safety zones would simply move crime from one part of the city to another.

"We would take it off the plate of one community and then put them on another community," she said.

A CMPD presentation to council members notes the zones could be an "additional tool to assist in maintaining or repairing a neighborhood or location's reputation" and could also "disrupt nuisance criminal activity."

But the department also acknowledges that there are downsides.

Among them: a perception that the zones would be "an overhanded arbitrary government action" and would place a harmful "brand" on a neighborhood.

Portland, Ore., created drug and prostitution exclusion zones in 1992. But former Mayor Tom Potter led a push in 2007 to end the zones, saying they just moved criminal activity to a new area and that African-Americans were being disproportionally excluded from the areas.

The safety zones could be triggered by crimes that occur on public property, such as a sidewalk or street. Some crimes, such as prostitution, easily fit that category. Others, such as drug dealing, could qualify as well, if the buyer and seller met on a street corner and then moved inside a home to make the actual sale.

The proposal will come back before the public safety committee for further discussion. It would need to pass the committee as well as a full City Council vote to be enacted.

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Girl, 9, denied inhaler during coughing fit, per school district policy

WEST JORDAN, Ut. — A 9-year-old girl was denied her inhaler during a coughing fit at school in West Jordan because staff were not notified of the child's prescription, Jordan School District officials said Monday.

Emma Gonzales obtained an inhaler over the weekend after a coughing fit landed her in the emergency room, KSTU reports.

On Monday, the fourth grader was hit with another coughing spell in class at Columbia Elementary. When Emma took her inhaler out to use it, her teacher sent her to the office, where staff took the inhaler.

Emma said she started coughing so hard she threw up on her pants.

"When I get into the coughing fit, I kind of hurtle up on the ground, can't breathe and then I start to kind of feel a little nauseous," Emma said.

District officials say the staff did everything right by taking the medication to make sure it was for that specific student.

The inhaler doesn't have Emma's name on it and the school had not been notified that she was taking the medication.

"There could be all sorts of problems if children were just allowed to take any medication and we didn't have that verification. Again, this is for the student's safety," said district spokeswoman Sandy Riesgraf.

District policy is that parents must fill out paperwork regarding what their child is taking for medication so school administrators know about it. If proper paperwork is filled out, district policy allows children to administer medications to themselves.

Her parents say they understand the policy and will fill out the proper paperwork to make sure Emma can get her inhaler in the future. But her mother, Britney Badger said at the point her daughter started throwing up, she thinks the school needed to do more.

"When a child is puking all over themselves and they can't breathe, you know you kind of have to take action right then and there," Badger said.

Emma never got her inhaler at school, but her coughing fit did end.

District officials say Emma was monitored the entire time and if they felt she was in serious danger, they would have called 911.

Emma's father was contacted during the coughing fit. After Monday's incident, he plans to keep his daughter out of school for the time being.

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U.S. workers sue Monsanto claiming herbicide caused cancer

A U.S. farm worker and a horticultural assistant have filed lawsuits claiming Monsanto Co.'s Roundup herbicide caused their cancers and Monsanto intentionally misled the public and regulators about the dangers of the herbicide.

The lawsuits come six months after the World Health Organization's cancer research unit said it was classifying glyphosate, the active weed-killing ingredient in Roundup and other herbicides, as "probably carcinogenic to humans."

One suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on Sept. 22, names as plaintiff 58-year-old Enrique Rubio, a former farm worker in California, Texas and Oregon who over several years labored in fields of cucumbers, onions and other vegetable crops.

His duties included spraying fields with Roundup and other pesticides before Rubio was diagnosed with bone cancer in 1995, the lawsuit states.

A separate lawsuit making similar claims was filed the same day in federal court in New York by Judi Fitzgerald, 64, who claims she was exposed in the 1990s to Roundup when she worked at a horticultural products company. Fitzgerald was diagnosed with leukemia in 2012.

Attorney Robin Greenwald, one of the attorneys who brought Rubio's case, said on Tuesday that she expects more lawsuits to follow because Roundup is the most widely used herbicide in the world and the WHO cancer classification gives credence to long-held concerns about the chemical.

"I believe there will be hundreds of lawsuits brought over time," said Greenwald.

Monsanto spokeswoman Charla Lord said that the claims are without merit and that glyphosate is safe for humans when used as labeled.

"Decades of experience within agriculture and regulatory reviews using the most extensive worldwide human health databases ever compiled on an agricultural product contradict the claims in the suit which will be vigorously defended."

The lawsuits claim that Roundup was a "defective" product and "unreasonably dangerous" to consumers, and that Monsanto knew or should have known that glyphosate could cause cancer and other illnesses and injuries, failing to properly warn users of the risks.

The lawsuits claim the Environmental Protection Agency changed an initial classification for glyphosate from "possibly carcinogenic to humans" to "evidence of non-carcinogenicity in humans" after pressure from Monsanto.

WHO scientists cited several studies showing cancer links to glyphosate, though Monsanto has said the findings are wrong.

Since the WHO action, some product liability lawyers have been seeking out plaintiffs for potential class-action lawsuits over glyphosate, postings on legal websites show.

(Reporting By Carey Gillam in Kansas City, Mo.; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

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Childress Police Chief refuses to remove "In God we Trust" from cruisers. Tells Freedom from Religion to go fly a kite.

CHILDRESS, TX (KCBD) -

Childress Police Chief Adrian Garcia says he received a letter from the Freedom From Religion Foundation, "demanding we remove the 'In God we trust' off our patrol units."

This was his reply:

"After carefully reading your letter I must deny your request in the removal of our Nations motto from our patrol units, and ask that you and the Freedom From Religion Foundation go fly a kite."

He posted his response to the department's Facebook page on Monday afternoon.

Sen. Charles Perry and Rep. Drew Springer released a joint statement in support of Chief Garcia on Tuesday:

AUSTIN, TX – Today Senator Charles Perry (R-Lubbock) and Representative Drew Springer (R – Muenster) issued a joint statement in support of Childress Police Department's right to display "In God We Trust" on their patrol cars.

"In God We Trust" was designated the national motto of the United States in 1956 after legislation passed by Congress was signed by President Dwight Eisenhower. The group behind the letter to Childress, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, has unsuccessfully fought to remove "In God We Trust" from other government fixtures such as currency and courthouses in the past.

"I stand firmly with Chief Adrian Garcia and the Childress Police Department as they protect their right to display 'In God We Trust' on patrol cars," said Perry. "We live in a country with a rich history of celebrating faith and honoring religious liberty. It is un-American to suggest a police department should not be allowed to display our national motto."

"Our law enforcement officers work hard to keep our communities safe and deserve our support, not demands like this," said Springer. "We are in the middle of a spiritual battle in America right now, with the issue of religious liberty front and center. I am proud of Childress Police Department for standing strong."

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South Dakota Tribe to Open Nation's 1st Marijuana Resort

The Santee Sioux tribe has already proven its business acumen, running a successful casino, a 120-room hotel and a 240-head buffalo ranch on the plains of South Dakota.

But those enterprises have not been immune to competition and the lingering effects of the Great Recession, so the small tribe of 400 is undertaking a new venture — opening the nation's first marijuana resort on its reservation. The experiment could offer a new money-making model for tribes nationwide seeking economic opportunities beyond casinos.

Santee Sioux leaders plan to grow their own pot and sell it in a smoking lounge that includes a nightclub, arcade games, bar and food service, and eventually, slot machines and an outdoor music venue.

"We want it to be an adult playground," tribal President Anthony Reider said. "There's nowhere else in American that has something like this."

The project, according to the tribe, could generate up to $2 million a month in profit, and work is already underway on the growing facility. The first joints are expected to go on sale Dec. 31 at a New Year's Eve party.

The legalization of marijuana on the Santee Sioux land came in June, months after the Justice Department outlined a new policy that allows Indian tribes to grow and sell marijuana under the same conditions as some states.

Many tribes are hesitant to jump into the pot business. And not everyone in Flandreau, about 45 miles north of Sioux Falls, believes in the project. But the profit potential has attracted the interest of many other tribes, just as the debut of slot machines and table games almost 27 years ago.

"The vast majority of tribes have little to no economic opportunity," said Blake Trueblood, business development director at the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development. For those tribes, "this is something that you might look at and say, 'We've got to do something.'"

Flandreau's indoor marijuana farm is set against a backdrop of soybean fields. If not for a security booth outside, the building could pass as an industrial warehouse.

Inside, men are working to grow more than 30 different strains of the finicky plant, including those with names like "Gorilla Glue," ''Shot Glass" and "Big Blue Cheese."

Pot is prone to mildew and mold, picky about temperature and pH level and intolerant to tap water. So the Santee Sioux have hired Denver-based consulting firm Monarch America to teach them the basics.

Tribal leaders from across the country and South Dakota legislators will tour the Flandreau facility in mid-October.

"This is not a fly-by-night operation," said Jonathan Hunt, Monarch's vice president and chief grower. Tribal leaders "want to show the state how clean, how efficient, how proficient, safe and secure this is as an operation. We are not looking to do anything shady."

Elsewhere, crews have begun transforming a bowling alley into the resort.

A marijuana resort open to the public has never been tried in the U.S. Even in states such as Colorado and Washington, where pot is fully legal, consumption in public places is generally forbidden, although pro-pot activists are seeking to loosen those restrictions. Colorado tolerates a handful of private marijuana clubs.

Unlike the vast reservations in western South Dakota, where poverty is widespread, the little-known Flandreau Santee Sioux Reservation is on 5,000 acres of gently rolling land along the Big Sioux River. Trailer homes are scarce and houses have well-trimmed lawns.

The Santee Sioux hope to use pot in the same way that many tribes rely on casinos — to make money for community services and to provide a monthly income to tribal members. The existing enterprises support family homes, a senior living community, a clinic and a community center offering afterschool programs.

Reider hopes marijuana profits can fund more housing, an addiction treatment center and an overhaul of the clinic. Some members want a 24/7 day care center for casino workers.

The prosperity that marijuana could bring to Indian Country comes with huge caveats. The drug remains illegal under federal law, and only Congress can change its status. The administration that moves into the White House in 2017 could overturn the Justice Department's decision that made marijuana cultivation possible on tribal lands.

Meanwhile, tribes must follow strict security measures or risk the entire operation.

The marijuana cannot leave the reservation, and every plant in Flandreau's growing facility will have a bar code. After being harvested and processed, it will be sold in sealed 1-gram packages for $12.50 to $15 — about the same price as the illegal market in Sioux Falls, according to law enforcement. Consumers will be allowed to buy only 1 gram — enough for two to four joints — at a time.

Want another gram? The bar-coded package of the first gram must be returned at the counter.

Since the Santee Sioux announced their plans, the Passamaquoddy Tribe in Maine signed a letter of intent with Monarch to build a cultivation facility for industrial hemp. The Suquamish Tribe and Washington state officials signed a 10-year agreement that will govern the production, processing and sale of pot on the tribe's land.

In the long run, Reider is certain that the benefits will outweigh the risks of tribal marijuana enterprises.

The tribe, he said, must "look at these opportunities because in order to preserve the past we do have to advance in the present."

———

Follow Regina Garcia Cano on Twitter at https://twitter.com/reginagarciakNO .

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Author Lemony Snicket Will Give $1 Million to Planned Parenthood

On the eve of Tuesday's hearings, the author of A Series of Unfortunate Events and his wife promised to donate $1 million to Planned Parenthood, BuzzFeed News reported.Daniel Handler, better known by his pen name Lemony Snicket (and for that unfortunate joke he made a year ago), and his wife and illustrator Lisa Brown have been longtime supporters of the women's-health organization. Brown revealed in a statement that she thinks Planned Parenthood "has gone through a series of unfortunate events" this year, and she and Handler wanted to make their support clear — with a colossal contribution. But then again, as the Cut's Rebecca Traister wrote today, Republican objections aside, Americans love Planned Parenthood.The organization seems excited — almost as excited as several Twitter book nerds.@DanielHandler @lisabrowndraws Thank you so much for your support!— Planned Parenthood (@PPFA) September 28, 2015@DanielHandler that's a Virtous Financial Decision— Pen Pjork (@grlshavcooties1) September 28, 2015Lemony Snicket donated one million dollars to Planned Parenthood because even he is done with that series of unfortunate events.— Minou Clark (@MinouClark) September 29, 2015What a grandiose gift.

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Man accused of stealing $5 in snacks died in jail as he waited for space at mental hospital

I would love to hear a presidential candidate speak to our embarrassing mental health system or lack thereof. It so clearly permeates into so many major issues facing America today but seems to go continually unmentioned.

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Minnesota police departments lost their bid Monday to classify most body-camera footage as private.

Sgt. Chris Wicklund of the Burnsville Police Department wears a body camera beneath his microphone in November 2014. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

Minnesota police departments lost their bid Monday to classify most body-camera footage as private.

The commissioner for the Department of Administration rejected a request to temporarily wall off the data until state lawmakers pass body-camera regulations. A coalition of police departments had sought the data lockdown to avoid having to release footage they say could infringe on privacy of people officers interact with.

In a letter outlining his decision, Commissioner Matt Massman said it's outside of his authority to classify the information as private because current laws say the footage is public in the same way as written arrest data and police reports. Massman urged the police chiefs to approach the Legislature about clarifying data laws.

"Minnesota's data practices laws are designed to be neutral to technology," Massman wrote. "The reality is, however, that body cams have the potential to collect substantial amounts of video and audio in private and very sensitive circumstances."

Transparency watchdogs contend that making footage private would lessen the accountability aspect of body cameras.

Maplewood Police Chief Paul Schnell, who spearheaded the request, said the police departments knew the request was a longshot.

"We had hoped we could have moved forward," Schnell told the Associated Press on Monday. Now, the group will focus on working out a legislative solution, "which we knew all along was our ultimate goal," Schnell said.

Eighteen police departments had banded together to make the request, including some that don't even use the cameras yet. Some indicated in letters accompanying their application that they were hesitant to use the cameras until the data guidelines were clearer.

The applicants argued that limitations are justified because police encounters with the public can be highly emotional or in bathrooms, bedrooms or hospitals.

Existing law makes some data off-limits if, for example, footage is part of a sensitive investigation or could expose children who are suspected abuse victims.

Associated Press reporter Jeff Baenen contributed to this story.

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Two top Army generals recently discussed trying to kill an article in The New York Times on concussions at West Point by withholding information so the Army could encourage competing news organizations to publish a more favorable story, according to an Army document.

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A federal judge has overruled the city of San Francisco and given a group of 50-100 nudists the right to march naked down to City Hall.

Photo: Brandon Chew, The Chronicle

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Gypsy Taub, dancing in front of City Hall in support of nudism in August, said the group will be exercising its freedom of expression this weekend.

Photo: Brandon Chew, The Chronicle

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Popi, with his parrot Patricia Dolores riding on top of his head, grabbed a beverage from a friend's bike bag while they and other nude and partially nude cyclists rode through Fisherman's Wharf for the World Naked Bike Ride in San Francisco, Calif., Saturday, March 9, 2013.