Pittsburgh
Cops ambushed: A gunman who was reportedly fearful that President Obama wanted to take away his guns ambushed three Pittsburgh police officers, killing them all. The officers were responding to a 911 report of a domestic dispute, but the dispatcher failed to mention that the man involved in the dispute was armed. When two officers arrived at the scene, Richard Poplawski allegedly shot them both dead. He then shot and killed a third officer who had rushed to their aid, before he was shot and wounded by other officers. Poplawski, 23, was angry over “the Obama gun ban that’s coming,” said his friend Edward Perkovic. Poplawski was a frequent commenter on Stormfront.org, a white supremacist website. The Obama administration has not proposed a gun ban.
Ellsinore, Mo.
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Airborne pursuit: A Turkish-born Canadian stole a plane from an Ontario flight school this week and flew it almost 800 miles, before landing on a dirt road near the small Missouri town of Ellsinore. Air Force F-16 fighters intercepted the stolen Cessna 172 soon after it crossed the U.S.-Canadian border into Michigan, and shadowed it until the suspect, Yavuz Berke, landed the craft. He later told authorities that he was hoping the Air Force would shoot him down. “Basically, his statement was he wanted to end it all,” said Missouri state trooper Justin Watson. Berke reportedly has been treated for psychiatric problems.
Montpelier, Vt.
Gay-marriage vote: Vermont state legislators have voted a second time to legalize same-sex marriage, mustering one more vote than needed to override Republican Gov. Jim Douglas’ veto of the gay-marriage law. Vermont is the first state in which gay marriage was legalized through legislation rather than a court decision. “This is really a triumph of people who care about our well-being,” said Bill Lippert, a gay Democratic legislator. The legislature’s vote is virtually irreversible, legal experts say, but opponents said the measure would energize the movement for a U.S. constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. “People need to get active,” said Brian Brown of the National Organization for Marriage. The Vermont vote follows the Iowa Supreme Court’s ruling last week that legalized same-sex marriage and a vote by the Washington, D.C., City Council to recognize gay marriages performed elsewhere.
Chicago
Blagojevich charged: Even before he was elected Illinois governor in 2002, Rod Blagojevich plotted to run the state government as a “criminal enterprise,” federal prosecutors have alleged in a massive, 19-count indictment. Last week’s indictment greatly expands on charges first aired in December by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, who accused the since-impeached Democrat of trying to sell President Obama’s former Senate seat to the highest bidder. The indictment charges Blagojevich, along with his brother and four top aides, with trying to shake down politicians—including former Rep. Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff—for campaign contributions. Blagojevich, who was in Florida visiting Disney World, said he was “saddened and hurt but not surprised by the indictment. I am innocent.”
Boston
Globe in danger: New York Times Co. has threatened to close The Boston Globe unless union employees make $20 million in concessions, union officials said. Times Co. bought the Globe for $1.1 billion in 1993. Union officials said they were willing to grant concessions, including pay reductions and cuts in corporate pension-plan contributions, but wanted sacrifices from management and nonunion employees as well. Nonunion employees already have had their pay cut 5 percent in return for 10 extra days off. As with other papers, the Globe’s circulation and ad revenue have plummeted. Many Bostonians were dismayed to learn that the venerable daily might disappear. “If you took the paper away, what am I getting up in the morning for?” asked Danny Doyle, 70.
Dover, Del.
Hero’s return: For the first time in 18 years, the Pentagon has allowed the press to cover the return of a serviceman killed in battle. Photographers and reporters witnessed the flag-draped metal coffin of Air Force Staff Sgt. Phillip Myers, 30, being carried off a military transport aircraft at Dover Air Force Base. His wife and other relatives were present for the ceremony. Myers was killed last week in Afghanistan. The Obama administration in February ordered the military to allow journalists to cover the return of fallen personnel, provided that they have permission from the soldier’s family. The first President Bush imposed the press ban during the 1991 Gulf War.
