Nation briefs October 6, 2011
FBI: Suspect in triple slaying in Montana arrested
LODGE GRASS, Mont. - A 22-year-old man suspected of killing his elderly grandmother and two others on Montana's Crow Reservation was arrested Wednesday night in Washington state after a daylong search, the FBI said.
Sheldon Bernard Chase was arrested without incident in Spokane, Wash. He is suspected of using a rifle around noon Tuesday to kill his grandmother, Gloria Sarah Goes Ahead Cummins, 80; his cousin, 21-year-old Levon Driftwood; and her boyfriend, 20-year-old Rueben Jefferson.
The arrest follows a manhunt that stretched from the rugged Crow countryside across much of the northern U.S. Schools on reservations in southeastern Montana and western North Dakota were closed and residents stayed indoors for safety during the search.
Eric Barnhart, FBI supervisor in Billings, told The Associated Press that investigators are still trying to piece together what led to the shooting.
"At this point, we still don't know," he said. "With some history of mental illness, that's an X factor."
The shootings happened at Cummins' home about 10 miles outside Lodge Grass, a town of 500 people near the Wyoming border. Chase lives with his uncle in a mobile home about 100 feet from the modest log house, city clerk Cody Not Afraid said.
On Wednesday, police tape stretched across Cummins' property, and Bureau of Indian Affairs law enforcement officers kept onlookers from approaching.
It was unclear what led to the shootings or how Chase was identified as a suspect. Earlier Wednesday, Barnhart said authorities considered Chase to be armed and extremely dangerous.
Sarah Palin says she will not run for president
WASHINGTON - Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said Wednesday she will not run for president, leaving little doubt that the eventual Republican nominee will come from the current field of contenders.
After months of leaving her fans guessing, Palin said in a statement that she and her husband Todd "devote ourselves to God, family and country." She said her decision maintains that order.
Palin sent the statement to supporters. She told conservative radio host Mark Levin that she would not consider a third party candidacy because it would assure President Barack Obama's re-election.
Sen. John McCain plucked Palin from relative obscurity in 2008 by naming her as his running mate. She electrified Republican activists for a while, delivering a well-received speech at the GOP national convention. But Palin later seemed overwhelmed by the national spotlight, faltering at times in televised interviews even when asked straightforward questions.
Palin's announcement Wednesday was much anticipated but not greatly surprising. Her popularity had plummeted in polls lately, even though she remained a darling to many hard-core conservatives. Some Republicans felt she waited and teased too long about a presidential candidacy. Some remained perplexed by her decision to quit her job as governor with more than a year left in her single term.
Union members, students join Wall Street protests
NEW YORK - Unions gave a high-profile boost to the long-running protest against Wall Street and economic inequality Wednesday, with their members joining thousands of protesters in a lower Manhattan march. Across the country, students at several colleges walked out of classes in solidarity.
People gathered at Foley Square. From there they marched to Zuccotti Park, the protesters' unofficial headquarters.
Sterling W. Roberson, vice president for the United Federation of Teachers, said union members shared the same ideals as activists who have been camped out in sleeping bags for more than two weeks.
"The middle class is taking the burden but the wealthiest of our state and country are not," he said.
- The Associated Press