Summarize this article:

Why it matters: Hospitals say they're having trouble staying afloat because insurance programs, namely Medicare and Medicaid, aren't paying them enough. But while their margins on patient care are slim, they've more than made up for it on Wall Street.

 The nation's largest not-for-profit hospital systems reaped more than $21 billion last year from their Wall Street investments, mergers and other investment options, according to an Axios analysis of financial documents.

 The analysis: We looked at the financial documents of 84 of the biggest, most dominant not-for-profit hospital systems in the country. They don't all operate on the same fiscal year, so we looked at their latest annual filings. These systems collected $535.5 billion of annual revenue — a big piece of the entire health care system.

 Data: Axios review of health system financial documents; Chart: Chris Canipe and Andrew Witherspoon / Axios

 What we found: Cumulatively, these hospital systems made $14.4 billion in profit last year from caring for patients, for an operating profit margin of 2.7%. Add in Wall Street investments, stocks, bonds, credit default swaps and accounting gains from mergers and acquisitions, though, and their surpluses rose to $35.7 billion, or a 6.7% total profit margin — more than double the year before.

 Those margins aren't gigantic. But modest margins on a large amount of revenue still equal a large amount of profit.

 Many of these systems operate their own health insurance arms. Their financial status varied from extremely healthy (like Kaiser Permanente) to red ink (Partners HealthCare).

 Many academic systems, including Northwestern Memorial HealthCare in Chicago and University of Colorado Health, registered some of highest margins and surpluses.

 The bottom line: Top tax-exempt hospital systems are quite profitable. They are raking in cash from Wall Street, as well as from their rush to merge and acquire competing hospitals and systems. Researchers say all that consolidation often has led to higher prices and higher insurance premiums — and usually does not lower costs, contrary to hospitals' marketing pitches.

 "We don't have anything close to what most people would see as a functioning, competitive market in hospital care," says Alan Sager, a health policy professor at Boston University who reviewed the analysis. "Hospitals may do well because they got dominant or because they were lucky in some of their investments."

 The American Hospital Association responded to the analysis with a statement saying hospitals are benefiting from the booming stock market, and they "need a positive margin to keep pace with advances in medicine and increasing health care needs." The lobbying group also faulted Medicaid and Medicare for paying "less than the cost of care."

 The AHA also said investment income gets reinvested. However, money often goes toward projects that boost revenue.

 A caveat: The analysis highlights the wealthiest hospital systems in the country. But there are many hospitals — smaller, rural facilities and publicly owned hospitals — that are struggling more because of dwindling payments, fewer patients and an inability to compete against larger, better-funded systems when negotiating payment rates with commercial insurers.

 "Some systems are doing really well in this country. That doesn't mean all systems and all facilities are doing well," says Gary Young, a health policy professor at Northeastern University.

 Get smart: Large not-for-profit hospital systems now resemble and act like Fortune 500 companies instead of the charities they were often built as. They consequently hold immense financial and political power. ||||| poster="http://v.politico.com/images/1155968404/201705/2924/1155968404_5453533342001_5453523512001-vs.jpg?pubId=1155968404" true Trump's communications director is out as larger shakeup looms Mike Dubke, who was on the job a little over three months, resigned May 18.

 Mike Dubke, President Donald Trump’s communications director, has resigned as Trump considers a larger personnel shakeup to confront the growing scandals weighing down his administration.

 The veteran GOP strategist privately announced his resignation in a meeting with the president on May 18, and Trump accepted immediately, Dubke said in an interview. He added that he offered to stay through Trump’s first foreign trip to ensure there was a smooth transition as he exited.

 Story Continued Below

 Dubke, who spoke with POLITICO as he drove into the White House early Tuesday morning, said he expects to go back to Black Rock Group, his communications and public affairs firm. A White House official said press secretary Sean Spicer will return to his dual role as communications director until everything is sorted out. Axios first reported that Dubke was leaving.

 “The reasons for my departure are personal, but it has been my great honor to serve President Trump and this administration,” Dubke emailed friends Tuesday morning. “It has also been my distinct pleasure to work side-by-side, day-by-day with the staff of the communications and press departments. This White House is filled with some of the finest and hardest working men and women in the American Government.”

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 Chief of staff Reince Priebus thanked Dubke for his service in a statement Tuesday. “Mike will assist with the transition and be a strong advocate for the President and the President's policies moving forward,” Priebus said.

 Dubke’s exit comes as Trump considers larger staff changes as he tries to contain the deepening scandals related to ties between Russia and his campaign.

 Trump returned to Washington this weekend facing not only congressional probes but the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller into possible collusion between Trump’s associates and Russia as the Kremlin allegedly tried to tip the election Trump’s way. Trump, whose tweets were largely restrained while he was abroad, returned to form Tuesday morning, writing that Germany has a “MASSIVE trade deficit” with the U.S. and pays “FAR LESS than they should on NATO & military.”

 “Very bad for U.S.,” he said. “This will change.”

 In subsequent tweets, Trump claimed Russian officials are laughing at America and “how a lame excuse for why the Dems lost the election has taken over the Fake News.” He also recommended that the Senate do away with the legislative filibuster to advance health care legislation and approve tax cuts. Republicans, however, are already pursuing both issues with a budget procedure known as reconciliation that allows them to advance the measures with a simple majority.

 The president rounded out his spree with retweets of his Memorial Day crowd size and an anonymously sourced Fox News report that says his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, didn’t suggest a Russian communications channel when he met with the Russian ambassador in December.

 Beyond Dubke, Spicer, the press secretary, is expected to take on a reduced public role, though he is conducting the briefing later on Tuesday. Dubke, who was only on the job for a little over three months, had generally been seen as a Spicer ally in the White House.

 Trump has also been in talks with former campaign aides Corey Lewandowski and David Bossie about taking on more formal roles, possibly in a crisis management function. Trump met with Lewandowski and Bossie in the White House on Monday, and the discussion centered on what role they could play, said one person briefed on the matter.

 Trump is also said to have become more frustrated with Kushner, a top adviser who has become the subject of damaging reports alleging that he tried to set up secret communications with the Russians during the transition and failed to disclose multiple meetings with Russian officials.

 However, it’s not clear that Trump would remove a family member, and Kushner’s lawyer said he is willing to cooperate with the various investigations into the matter.

 White House counselor Kellyanne Conway on Tuesday tried to downplay the idea of a staff shake-up and said Dubke has been professional about his departure.

 “He has expressed his desire to leave the White House and made very clear that he would see through the president’s international trip and come to work every day and work hard even through that trip,” Conway told "Fox & Friends."

 In a notoriously leak-prone White House, Dubke told POLITICO he was surprised that the news of his planned departure took 12 days to leak out.

 A longtime Republican operative and establishment stalwart, Dubke never fit into a White House consumed by chaos. Some questioned why he and not a Trump loyalist was tapped for the communications director job. After being selected for the post, he began telling people in the administration that he never produced TV ads targeting Trump during the 2016 campaign — a move that was designed to reassure loyalists in the White House, but one that left some rankled.

 There was also some awkwardness to Dubke’s role: internally, it was made clear he was subordinate to the press secretary, Spicer — an unusual set-up. Dubke also came under fire after POLITICO reported last month that the president didn’t have a foreign policy doctrine.

 Trump told friends in recent weeks that he was unhappy with Dubke — and that he wondered why he never seemed to get positive press anymore.

 As the president dwells on the scandals, the embattled communications wing has emerged as the center of possible change in the White House. It is seen as increasingly likely that Lewandowski and Bossie will take on some functions, though it remains unclear whether they will join the White House or work for Trump as outside advocates. Both have complex business dealings that would need to be untangled should they enter the administration in an official capacity.

 The two fit the mold of what Trump is looking for. Both have reputations as cutthroat, hard-charging operatives, and both worked on Trump’s presidential campaign in senior roles. Lewandowski, however, was pushed out as campaign manager after a power struggle with campaign chairman Paul Manafort. And there are questions about how effective Lewandowski would be in a crisis management role, given how he has clashed with top Trump aides including Priebus and Kushner.

 In recent days, the president has told aides he misses being around some of those who worked for him during the campaign and has talked about bringing the crew back together.

 Other changes could also be in the works: While Spicer is likely to remain in the White House, Conway, a frequent Trump on-air surrogate, could take on a broader role.

 Nolan D. McCaskill contributed to this report. |||||

– Rumors of major restructuring of White House staff have been circulating in recent days, and on Tuesday the first shoe may have dropped in the form of Mike Dubke, President Trump's communications director. Axios reports that Dubke offered Trump his resignation on May 18, though he offered to stay on at least until the president's overseas trip had wrapped up. A senior administration official notes Dubke is leaving on friendly footing, and he's still reporting for work—in fact, Politico nabbed him for an interview as he was driving into the White House on Tuesday. It's not clear yet when his last day will be, though he plans to return to the Black Rock Group communications firm once he exits the White House. "The reasons for my departure are personal, but it has been my great honor to serve President Trump and this administration," Dubke said in a Tuesday morning email. Dubke told Politico he was shocked it took nearly two weeks for news of his resignation to get out. Axios notes Dubke's sayonara is just the "start of a wave of changes." Sean Spicer is expected to take on a downplayed role, though it's unclear where the fates of Steve Bannon, Reince Priebus, and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner lie. Axios reports Trump is rumored to be considering bringing on "killers," including GOP lobbyist David Urban and former campaign aides David Bossie and Corey Lewandowski, the latter being one who "experience suggests … will not only indulge Trump's most combative instincts, but goad them." In other anticipated changes, an official says Trump plans on serving more often as the White House's spokesperson. "He says things exactly the way he wants them to be said," the official notes.


Summarize this article:

From humble beginnings in southwest Mexico, Gabino Zavala entered the priesthood and embarked on a remarkable journey that landed him squarely in the corner offices of the nation's largest Roman Catholic archdiocese.An auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, he oversaw the church's vast San Gabriel region, a diverse community considered vital to the future of the church. Then, from his pulpit, he became a forceful champion for social and economic justice.Bishop resigns: An article in the Jan. 5 Section A about the resignation of Gabino Zavala, an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles who fathered two children, said a parishioner was "relieved to learn that the Vatican had confronted and dealt with Zavala's transgressions." Zavala submitted his resignation at the time he informed the Vatican of the children. —Popular and approachable, Zavala was widely known by his first name. To many, that sensibility made the Vatican's announcement on Wednesday unthinkable: For more than a decade, Zavala had harbored a dark secret. He is the father, church officials said, of two children, and had resigned his post.Zavala's fatherhood, a violation of canon laws of celibacy for priests, was the first controversy to rock the local church during the tenure of Archbishop Jose Gomez , who succeeded Roger Mahony last year. Gomez responded with a blunt letter to his flock on Wednesday announcing the resignation, which elicited shock, despair and, among some, a palpable sense of betrayal."He is the father of two minor teenage children, who live with their mother in another state," the letter said. "Let us pray for all those impacted by this situation and for each other."The Vatican did not immediately name Zavala's successor. Gomez declined to be interviewed, and the church declined to disclose further details. Asked whether Zavala was involved in the children's lives, and why the information suddenly surfaced after so many years, archdiocese spokesman Tod M. Tamberg said: "Those are questions for Bishop Zavala to answer."Zavala, who is no longer in ministry but remains a priest and bishop, could not be reached for comment. The voice mail on his cellphone was full and no one answered the door of his home in the Hacienda Heights foothills.Tamberg noted that the church, which learned of the situation in December but had to wait for the Vatican to announce the resignation, had investigated the finances of Zavala's office and confirmed that there was no misuse of church money to support the children. Zavala, despite his prominence, earns a relatively modest priest's salary, and the archdiocese has offered financial support to help pay for the children's college.Zavala's resignation is likely to spark renewed debate over the ecclesiastical laws of celibacy. The earliest popes — St. Peter himself, under some interpretations — were married men and fathers. Later, in the fourth century, church officials concluded that men who were not celibate "shall be deprived of the honor of the clerical life."The idea was to mimic the sacrificing, chaste life of Jesus — for priests to be married, in a sense, to the church. But in recent years, hundreds of theologians have argued that the rules are dated and needlessly restrictive."It's self-evident — celibacy does not work," said Father Richard McBrien, a professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame. Younger priests influenced by conservative Vatican administrators in recent years "think celibacy is the crown jewel of the priesthood," he said. "That's nonsense."A.W. Richard Sipe, a former Benedictine priest and retired psychotherapist in La Jolla, said there was "no question" the Zavala's case raises questions about celibacy standards, and he said he hoped it would spark an overdue review. "I want it discussed openly and honestly," he said.Zavala, 60, was raised in Los Angeles and ordained in 1977, and had overseen the San Gabriel region since 1994. One of the archdiocese's five pastoral regions, San Gabriel is home to 66 parishes, 13 high schools and hundreds of thousands of the area's five million Catholics.Zavala's work resonated far beyond Southern California. He served as the president of Pax Christi USA, an influential group that lobbies against war and violence, was a member of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and led efforts to foster cultural and ethnic diversity in the church, especially among fellow Latinos. He argued passionately for an end to capital punishment and, like many priests, for immigration reform and a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants.But he stepped deeper into the arena of social justice than many of his peers — resigning from a national gay and lesbian ministries association, for instance, after the Vatican tightened controls over how the church reaches out to homosexuals. And amid grumbling from some corners that the church has remained silent as initiatives have been launched across the nation to limit or eliminate labor unions, Zavala struck out on his own, decrying those efforts as "a moral failure that undermines values at the heart of our democracy.""The sad reality," he wrote in one missive, "is that many of the same CEOs who eviscerate workers' rights have awarded themselves generous bonuses. Elected officials who rely on political contributions from corporate lobbyists take away basic rights for workers even as they lavish the wealthiest Americans with tax breaks."Javier Stauring, co-director of the archdiocese's Office of Restorative Justice, which assists people who are incarcerated, victims of crime and relatives of both, has worked alongside Zavala for 20 years. Most years, Zavala performed Christmas and Easter masses at juvenile detention halls. ||||| Image caption Bishop Zavala was known for his work with California's Hispanic community

 A Catholic bishop who fathered two children has stepped down.

 Pope Benedict has accepted the resignation of Gabino Zavala, an auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles, the Vatican said.

 The Archbishop of Los Angeles, Jose Gomez, wrote in a letter to worshippers that Bishop Zavala told him in December that he was the father of two teenage children.

 The children, who are minors, live with their mother in another state.

 Archbishop Gomez said that the archdiocese was offering the family "spiritual care," as well as funding to help the children with college costs.

 In his letter he described the news as "sad and difficult" and said Bishop Zavala had been living privately and not participating in ministry since resigning.

 Bishop Zavala is 60 and was born in Mexico. He has campaigned against the death penalty and for immigrants' rights.

 The Vatican did not spell out the reason for Bishop Zavala's resignation in its statement, but made reference to canon law which allows bishops to step down before normal retirement age if they are ill or unfit for office for some other reason.

 The Pope has shown no sign of relaxing the Roman Catholic Church's rule on priestly celibacy, which has been in place since the 11th Century.

 Image caption The Pope has made clear that he has no plans to change the rule of priestly celibacy

 In March 2010 he described celibacy as "the sign of full devotion, the entire commitment to the Lord and to the 'Lord's business', an expression of giving oneself to God and to others".

 Priests are not allowed to marry but married Anglican priests who convert to Catholicism are exempted from the celibacy rule.

 Two days ago Pope Benedict appointed an American married priest to head the first US structure for Anglicans converting to Roman Catholicism. |||||

– A Los Angeles bishop has resigned after he revealed to his superiors that he has a secret family. Mexican-born Auxiliary Bishop Gabino Zavala, 60, is the father of two teenage children who live with their mother in another state, reports the BBC. LA Archbishop Jose Gomez said the archdiocese is offering the family "spiritual care," as well as funding to help with college costs. He called the situation "sad and difficult." Zavala's resignation has been accepted by the Vatican. The popular, influential bishop has been known as a champion of immigration rights and social and economic justice. "He is a wonderful advocate for the marginalized communities—the outcasts," a co-worker told the Los Angeles Times. "It was his understanding of God and our faith—that there is a preferential love for those who are suffering and those who are going through difficult times." His resignation is bound to re-ignite a debate over celibacy for Catholic clerics. "It's self-evident—celibacy does not work," said Father Richard McBrien, a professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame.


– With protests gaining steam, the city of North Charleston is trying to stay aggressive in its reaction to a white police officer's fatal shooting of an unarmed black man: Officer Michael Slager, who already has been charged with murder, has been fired from the force, the mayor said today. Mayor Keith Summey also announced that every police officer in the city will wear body cameras from now on, reports the Post and Courier. "I have watched the video and was sickened by what I saw," said Police Chief Eddie Diggers of footage of the shooting taken by a bystander. As he spoke at a press conference, the AP reports that protesters interrupted him with chants of "no justice, no peace." "It looked like he was trying to kill a deer or something, running through the woods," Walter Scott Sr., father of the slain Walter Scott, tells NBC. Though Slager has been fired, the city will continue to pay his health insurance for a while because his wife is eight months' pregnant. Meanwhile, the Daily Beast reports that the attorney who initially represented Slager dropped him as a client as soon as video emerged of the shooting—but he's leaving it for others to connect the dots. "I can't specifically state what is the reason why or what isn't the reason why I'm no longer his lawyer," says David Aylor. "All I can say is that the same day of the discovery of the video that was disclosed publicly, I withdrew as counsel immediately."

Expand this summary.

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — A white South Carolina police officer who claimed he killed a black man in self-defense has been fired and faces murder charges after a bystander's video recorded him firing eight shots at the man's back as he ran away. The city's mayor also said he's ordered body cameras to be worn by every single officer on the force.

 In this April 4, 2015, frame from video provided by attorney L. Chris Stewart representing the family of Walter Lamer Scott, city patrolman Michael Thomas Slager checks Scott's pulse in North Charleston,... (Associated Press)

 In this April 4, 2015, frame from video provided by Attorney L. Chris Stewart representing the family of Walter Lamer Scott, Scott runs away from city patrolman Michael Thomas Slager, right, in North... (Associated Press)

 A man holds a sign during a protest for the shooting death of Walter Scott at city hall in North Charleston, S.C., Wednesday, April 8, 2015. Scott was killed by a North Charleston police officer after... (Associated Press)

 In this undated photo provided by the North Charleston Police Department shows City Patrolman Michael Thomas Slager. Slager has been charged with murder in the shooting death of a black motorist after... (Associated Press)

 This photo provided by the Charleston County, S.C., Sheriff's Office shows Patrolman Michael Thomas Slager on Tuesday, April 7, 2015. Slager has been charged with murder in the shooting death of a black... (Associated Press)

 Rodney Scott, left, and his brother, Anthony Scott, appear at a news conference in Charleston, S.C., on Tuesday, April 7, 2015. The brother of the two men, Walter Lamer Scott, was shot and killed by a... (Associated Press)

 In this April 4, 2015 photo, investigators collect evidence at the scene following an officer involved shooting in North Charleston, S.C. City Patrolman Michael Thomas Slager was charged with murder Tuesday,... (Associated Press)

 Rev. Arthur Prioleau holds a sign during a protest in the shooting death of Walter Scott at city hall in North Charleston, S.C., Wednesday, April 8, 2015. Scott was killed by a North Charleston police... (Associated Press)

 The officer, Michael Thomas Slager, has been fired, but the town will continue to pay for his health insurance because his wife is eight-month's pregnant, said North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey, who called it a tragedy for two families.

 Police Chief Eddie Diggers said he was "sickened" by what he saw on the video, but his explanations were repeatedly interrupted by shouts of "no justice, no peace!" and other hard questions that he said he couldn't answer. The mayor then took back the podium and threatened to close the news conference.

 Protests began within hours of the murder charge against Slager, which was announced Tuesday, the same day the video was released to the media. About 75 people gathered outside City Hall in North Charleston, led by a Black Lives Matter, a group formed after the fatal shooting of another black man in Ferguson, Missouri.

 "Eight shots in the back!" local organizer Muhiydin D'Baha hollered through a bullhorn, and the crowd yelled "In the back!" in response.

 The video recorded by an unidentified bystander shows North Charleston Patrolman Michael Thomas Slager dropping his stun gun, pulling out his handgun and firing at Walter Lamer Scott from a distance as he runs away. The 50-year-old man falls after the eighth shot, fired after a brief pause.

 The dead man's father, Walter Scott Sr. said Wednesday that the officer "looked like he was trying to kill a deer running through the woods." He also told NBC's "Today Show" that his son may have tried to flee because he owed child support and didn't want to go back to jail.

 The video is "the most horrible thing I've ever seen," said Judy Scott, the slain man's mother, on ABC's "Good Morning America."

 "I almost couldn't look at it to see my son running defenselessly, being shot. It just tore my heart to pieces," she said.

 The bystander is assisting investigators after providing the video to Scott's family and lawyers.

 Deflecting many of the questions from a hostile audience at Wednesday's news conference, Summey said state investigators have the case.

 Police initially released a statement that promised a full investigation but relied largely on the officer's description of the confrontation, which began with a traffic stop Saturday as Slager pulled Scott over for a faulty brake light.

 Slager's then-attorney David Aylor released another statement Monday saying the officer felt threatened and fired because Scott was trying to grab his stun gun.

 Aylor dropped Slager as a client after the video surfaced, and the officer, a five-year veteran with the North Charleston police, appeared without a lawyer at his first appearance Tuesday. He was denied bond and could face 30 years to life in prison if convicted of murder.

 The shooting comes amid a plunge in trust between law enforcement and minorities after the officer-involved killings of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner on Staten Island, New York. Nationwide protests intensified after grand juries declined to indict the officers in both cases.

 "We have to take a stand on stuff like this ... we can't just shake our heads at our computer screens," said Lance Braye, 23, who helped organize Wednesday's demonstration.

 Scott's family and their attorney, L. Chris Stewart, appealed to keep the protests peaceful, saying the swift murder charge shows that the justice system is working so far in this case.

 But Stewart said the video alone forced authorities to act decisively.

 "What if there was no video? What if there was no witness, or hero as I call him, to come forward?" asked Stewart, adding that the family plans to sue the police.

 The video, shot over a chain link fence and through some trees, begins after Scott has left his car. Slager follows him, reaching at the man with an object that appears to be a stun gun. As Scott pulls away, the object falls to the ground and Slager pulls out his handgun as Scott runs away.

 The final shot sends Scott falling face-down about 30 feet away. Slager then slowly walks toward him and orders Scott to put his hands behind his back, but the man doesn't move, so he pulls Scott's arms back and cuffs his hands. The officer then walks briskly back to where he fired the shots, speaking into his radio. He picks up the same object that fell to the ground before and returns to Scott's prone body, dropping the object near Scott's feet as another officer enters the scene.

 Scott had four children, was engaged and had been honorably discharged from the U.S. Coast Guard. There were no violent offenses on his record, Stewart said. He also speculated that Scott may have tried to run because he owed child support, which can lead to jail time in South Carolina until it is paid.

 The FBI and the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division are investigating as well. Proving that an officer willfully deprived an individual of his or her civil rights has historically been a tall burden for federal prosecutors, particularly when an officer uses force during a rapidly unfolding physical confrontation in which split-second decisions are made.

 The Justice Department spent months investigating the Ferguson shooting before declining to prosecute Officer Darren Wilson in that case. But it's easier to make cases against officers who use force as an act of retribution or who can make no reasonable claim that their life was in jeopardy when they took action.

 North Charleston is South Carolina's third-largest city, and its population is about half black. Its economy slumped after the Charleston Naval Base on the city's waterfront closed in the mid-1990s, but the city has bounced back with a huge investment by Boeing, which now employs about 7,500 people in the state and builds 787 aircraft in city.

 Braye accused North Charleston police of habitually harass blacks for minor offenses. He hopes the video will help people understand that some officers will lie to save themselves when they do wrong.

 "This needs to be the last case," Braye said. "All you have to do is look at the story that was told before the video came out."

 _____

 Smith reported from Charleston, South Carolina. Contributors include Tom Foreman Jr. in Charlotte, North Carolina and Eric Tucker in Washington. ||||| North Charleston has struggled since its inception with mistrust and tension between citizens and police as it tries to find a delicate balance between public safety and civil rights in a community beset with violent crime.

 Wednesday's developments City buys 150 body cameras in addition to 101 state-funded cameras already ordered. Mayor vows to start community discussion this spring about police policies as federal civil-rights probe continues. 200 people attend peaceful protest as some block traffic near City Hall for 15 minutes. Man who filmed shooting tells NBC News that Slager and Scott were struggling on ground before video started. Coroner confirms all of Scott's five bullet wounds hit him from behind. Police say Slager was carrying a .45-caliber Glock 21 and a Taser X26. Agencies release radio communications but hold on to dashboard video that could show traffic stop. Slager placed in protective custody at Charleston County jail. Solicitor Scarlett Wilson announces plans to pursue indictment in May, saying she would hold “accountable those who harm others unlawfully, regardless of profession.” High-powered Charleston attorney Andy Savage files court papers to represent Slager. The Rev. Al Sharpton says that he will visit North Charleston “very soon” and that shooting demands police reform because community “can't rely on citizens with video cameras to make sure justice is served.” S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson calls this “a difficult and emotional time for our state” U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham says shooting was “deeply troubling on many fronts.”

 The state’s third-largest city has pockets of deep, entrenched poverty and neighborhoods where gunfire has been a familiar visitor in the night. But attempts to quell the crime, which for three years landed North Charleston among the nation’s most dangerous cities, brought about cries of racial profiling and unfair treatment of minorities — particularly of young, black men.

 Read more: For complete coverage of the Walter Scott shooting, go to postandcourier.com/Walter-Scott.

 Years-long efforts to bridge that divide and smooth relations with the community took a deep hit this week with the arrest of Patrolman 1st Class Michael T. Slager, accused of gunning down an apparently unarmed, fleeing black man after a traffic stop. Slager, who is white, is charged with murder in 50-year-old Walter L. Scott’s death.

 A protest outside City Hall remained peaceful Wednesday morning, but demonstrators drowned out Mayor Keith Summey during an afternoon news conference with chants demanding justice and questioning the city’s struggle to hire minority police officers. The department is about 18 percent black in a city that is 45 percent black.

 While the FBI has opened a civil rights probe into the shooting, Summey vowed to discuss with residents whether the city’s policing tactics and policies should be changed. He also announced that the city Wednesday bought 150 body-worn cameras in light of Scott’s death that will complement the 101 cameras it had already ordered through a state grant. He didn’t say when the city would get the shipment of 251 cameras that will outfit every uniformed patrol officer.

 State Rep. David Mack, a North Charleston Democrat who is black, was a speaker a few years ago in classes on cultural sensitivity that were mandated for all new officers. It was a program designed to help them better understand policing from the perspective of those they serve. Mack thought the classes made a difference, but a video of Scott’s shooting that emerged Tuesday shows that the Police Department still has its issues, he said.

 “It’s an ongoing battle,” he said. “I think we have made progress, but this incident ... wounded the community tremendously.”

 The footage, which was shot by a passerby, spread rapidly worldwide after The Post and Courier first broke the news of the evidence that contradicted Slager’s account. Though it showed the officer shooting Scott in the back, it left some questions unanswered and sparked speculation of what happened.

 A spokesman from the State Law Enforcement Division, which is tasked with an independent investigation, said he couldn’t answer those questions because the probe wasn’t finished. SLED has dashboard camera footage from Slager’s car, which could explain why Scott’s Mercedes-Benz was pulled over but would not show anything about the shooting, the spokesman, Thom Berry, said. Berry did not respond Wednesday to a request for the video.

 Police Chief Eddie Driggers also wouldn’t clarify whether the video showed Slager picking up his Taser X26 and dropping it near Scott’s body. The officer has said that Scott had taken the device from him and tried to use it.

 Driggers also was uncertain whether his officers performed CPR on Scott.

 “I’m going to be totally honest with you,” he said of the footage, “I was sickened by what I saw.”

 After Scott is buried, the city’s mayor said he would open up police procedures for a discussion, a process he said Driggers had been working on for two years.

 “We will be ... looking for ways to develop a closer relationship with the individual communities,” Summey said. “We will look at ways to enhance the quality of service we provide to our citizens, and by that, I mean all our citizens.”

 But if history is any guide, the road to restoring trust could be an arduous path. That problem was clear during the news conference when residents interrupted Summey several times with chants.

 “How are you the mayor?” one man yelled. “Nobody respects you.”

 The conference was punctuated with chants of “the mayor gotta go” and “no justice, no peace.” Some people in the crowd were familiar with the sentiment.

 A difficult history

 Old-timers in the Police Department used to share stories of bare-knuckled brawls as outnumbered officers waded into packed and unruly roadhouses to restore order in the days after the city formed in 1975. Outmanned and hemmed in, they found it safer to subdue and ask questions later. It was a question of survival, they said.

 The department has come a long way since those days and is now a nationally accredited institution, priding itself on professional rules and policies that have withstood expert scrutiny. But questions have lingered through the years about the methods employed by the rank-and-file to keep the peace — particularly in regard to using deadly force against black residents.

 “We want the world to understand that this is not an isolated incident,” protester Muhiyidin d’Baha said at the demonstration Wednesday morning in front of City Hall. “This has been a reality that has been in the North Charleston Police Department for many, many years.”

 In October 2000, for example, protesters took to the streets after the police shooting death of Edward Snowden in a Dorchester Road video store. Snowden, a black man who was being attacked by four white men, was shot by police after they arrived and found him holding a gun. Police were cleared of wrongdoing, though the city later settled a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Snowden’s family for about $70,000.

 Racial tensions rose again after the November 2003 fatal shooting of Asberry Wylder, a black shoplifting suspect with a history of mental illness. Police shot Wylder after he plunged a knife into an officer’s protective vest during a confrontation outside a Rivers Avenue supermarket. Some witnesses said Wylder was beaten and shot a second time after he was handcuffed on the ground. The state’s probe found nothing to indicate that the police acted improperly, but that conclusion won little acceptance in the black community.

 Tensions continued to simmer as the pressure to drive down crime intensified when the city racked up 55 killings between the start of 2006 and the end of 2007. That led to Washington-based CQ Press ranking North Charleston among the Top 10 most-dangerous cities in the nation.

 Desperate to shake the distinction, city officials enacted a policy of aggressive patrolling: incessant stops of motorists for minor violations, seemingly random interviews with residents and a virtual police occupation of neighborhoods in the days just after violence occurred.

 The idea was to create constant contact with residents of the most troubled areas in the city, tamping down the opportunities for crime while establishing sources to help investigators solve cases. The strategy seemed to work. By 2010, the number of people slain had fallen to five, and the city tumbled off the upper reaches of the infamous list of perilous places to live.

 Striking a balance

 Critics, however, insisted that those gains had come with a steep cost to civil liberties, particularly for black residents who constituted the majority of those subjected to stops and field questioning. Between 2008 and early 2012, 120 complaints were lodged against the Police Department, with the majority of the complaints coming from blacks.

 Then-Police Chief Jon Zumalt tried numerous approaches to easing the tensions on this front, from the cultural sensitivity classes that Mack participated in to a program called “Sell the Stop” in which officers were trained to politely explain to residents the necessity of pulling them over. But the drumbeat of criticism continued through Zumalt’s tenure.

 Like the chief who took over for him, Zumalt said in an interview Wednesday that he was sickened by what he saw on the video of Scott’s death, which he called “heartbreaking.”

 Balancing public safety with the need to preserve civil rights is perhaps the most challenging part of police work these days, he said, and one that he confronted during his time here. He tried to involve community members and activists such as James Johnson, a local National Action Network president, in the process to help increase understanding of policing and strengthen bonds with citizens, he said.

 “You have to reduce violence and keep the community safe, but you have to do it in such a way that you don’t alienate the people you are serving,” Zumalt said. “That is the core and the most difficult thing to achieve in policing today.”

 The Scott shooting “is going to damage that relationship and make it even more difficult to achieve that balance,” Zumalt said.

 When Driggers, a veteran law enforcement officer and former police chaplain, took over after Zumalt’s retirement in early 2013, Summey said his Christian approach to policing was what the city needed. The soft-spoken chief, who has a penchant for meeting detractors with hugs, set out to win over critics and invite them into his office to share their views. He visited crime scenes, oversaw an effort to place officers in every school and started a Powder Puff football program to give teen girls something positive to do.

 But Johnson, the activist whom Driggers’ predecessor once tried to work with, said the chief had not thoroughly addressed allegations of racial profiling or dealt with a perception that the city’s officers “will stop you, lock you up and shoot you.”

 “Driggers really just took up where Zumalt left off; he may just be doing it in a different way,” Johnson said Wednesday. “What his department needs is to be rebuilt from the bottom to the top. That’s how he’s going to get that confidence from the community.”

 It remains to be seen how much goodwill and patience Driggers’ efforts will earn the city in the wake of the shooting. The chief’s voice has quivered this week, and he occasionally appeared on the verge of tears as he addressed local and national news media. He often drew on his faith.

 “I have been praying for peace, peace for this family and peace for this community,” he said Wednesday after he and the mayor visited with Scott’s loved ones. “I will continue to stand on that as I strive to protect and serve.”

 People in the neighborhoods he serves, though, are clearly shocked. And angry.

 About 200 protesters amassed Wednesday morning in front of City Hall, the first organized rally since the video came to light. Members of Black Lives Matter Charleston, a grassroots group that formed after police-involved deaths in Missouri and New York, had figured that the day might come when the national conversation on the use of deadly force hit home.

 Signs thrust into the air were emblazoned with messages of “back turned, don’t shoot” and “stop racist police terror.”

 “I’m here on behalf of every father in this country, in this nation, that’s saying I’m tired of seeing this weekly, daily,” protester Calvin Bennett said. “The good cops know the bad cops. If you’re a good cop, do something about that.”

 The rally ended with protesters blocking nearby Mall Drive for 15 minutes. Some angry motorists yelled at them from their cars. But one got out to hug and link arms with the demonstrators.

 Charleston County Sheriff Al Cannon, himself a former North Charleston police chief, said the delicate balance between civil rights and public safety is made even more difficult against the backdrop of Ferguson, Mo., and in the age of social media and the 24-hour news cycle.

 But in regard to the investigation in North Charleston, Cannon said, the process has shown to be valid. “It’s working here,” he said, “and it’s not working to satisfy anyone in particular. It’s working to satisfy justice.”

 'A miracle'

 Some local community members have lauded Summey and Driggers for acting so quickly to fire Slager and condemn his actions when the video of the killing surfaced.

 Both of them also attended the protest Wednesday. Summey said the city offered a consolation to the officer’s wife, who is in her eighth month of pregnancy, by continuing to pay for her health insurance.

 Bill Saunders, a longtime civil rights activist who spent years documenting alleged police abuses as head of the North Charleston-based Committee on Better Racial Assurance, said he was stunned by the pair’s swift condemnation and pledge to seek justice. Saunders once had so little faith in the police that he issued an alert to young black men in 2006, warning them not to drive at night lest they encounter an officer.

 “What happened right now with this police officer being charged, it really is a miracle,” he said. “And I think one of the most impressive things to come out of this all is the position the mayor and chief of police have taken.”

 David J. Thomas, a professor and former police officer who serves as a senior research fellow with the Washington, D.C.-based Police Foundation, said the public is generally willing to accept that police are human beings and subject to flaws. If goodwill exists between the chief and his community, they are more likely to give him the benefit of the doubt going forward.

 If not, tensions could continue to build, he said, and the city runs the risk of attracting people from outside the area who could ramp up the volume and intensity of the demonstrations.

 To stop that before it happens, observers and residents said prosecutors must also vigorously pursue the murder charge that Slager faces. Ninth Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson vowed to pursue a grand jury indictment, likely next month, and let the public know about every court date.

 'Moment like this'

 But investigators also must answer lingering questions.

 They must determine what Clarence Habersham, the first backup officer to show up at the shooting scene, saw when he got there.

 Slager had chased Scott to the secluded area near Remount Road and Rivers Avenue after he said he stopped Scott for a broken brake light about 9:30 a.m. Saturday. A young man who happened to be there started filming, and he told NBC News on Wednesday night that the pair were locked in a struggle on the ground.

 “They were down on the floor before I started recording,” Feidin Santana of Hanahan told NBC News. “The police had control of ... Scott. Scott was trying just to get away from the Taser. You can hear the sound of the Taser ... before I started recording.”

 The video does not show if Scott ever gained control of the Taser, but he appeared to slap something from the officer’s hands.

 Slager, who said he felt threatened because Scott had taken the device, fired eight .45-caliber bullets from his Glock 21. Five of them plunged into Scott’s body. In Slager’s radio communications that local and state agencies released Wednesday after the newspaper pointed out that they were public record, the officer said that Scott had been shot in the chest and the buttocks.

 All the bullets, though, hit Scott from behind, Charleston County Coroner Rae Wooten said in a statement.

 The video showed the officer jogging back to an object that had fallen to the ground during the struggle. Slager dropped it near the body, but the footage also showed him later picking up something and attaching it to his duty belt. Habersham, a black officer, was standing near Slager.

 In protests Wednesday, residents cried out for the police chief to answer their questions about the video, and they balked when the city’s mayor asked for quiet so he could answer journalists’ questions. “Our community member died,” they chanted, “not the media’s.”

 Ed McClain, a retired pastor who has lived in North Charleston for all of his 75 years, was in the crowd. He had been encouraged by progress in the relationship between the police and the community. Getting body cameras would be another step in the right direction, he said.

 “But then there’s a moment like this,” McClain said, “when the trust is torn away.”

 William Pugh, a junior at Academic Magnet High School, said it’s impossible to live in a world where people don’t feel safe, and Scott’s killing makes it difficult to see the police in a good light as protectors of the community.

 “Being an African American young man, I cannot even describe what it’s like to know that events like this happen,” he said. “We have to change the system. We have to do something. And we have to stop letting these events happen.”

 Christina Elmore, Brenda Rindge and Melissa Boughton contributed to this report. Reach Andrew Knapp at 937-5414 or twitter.com/offlede. ||||| The Scott family told NBC News that they were expecting a visit from the mayor, the police chief and a chaplain on Wednesday morning.

 The confrontation occurred around 9:30 a.m. ET on Saturday after Slager pulled over Scott’s car because of a broken taillight.

 The video, which was first obtained by The New York Times, picks up after the stop. Slager is seen shooting at Scott eight times as he runs away in a vacant lot. Scott drops to the ground after the last shot and Slager walks over calmly and is shown handcuffing Scott’s arms behind his back. Other police officers and later EMS tried to administer CPR but Scott died at the scene, according to an incident report. The video provided to The New York Times does not show those efforts.

 The officer said the suspect took his Taser and that he feared for his life.

 "Shots fired. Subject is down. He grabbed my Taser," Slager says in a call to dispatchers.

 The video doesn't show Scott taking Slager's stun gun. But officials say Scott was hit with the officer's Taser because one of its projectiles was still attached to him.

 The Justice Department and the South Carolina Office of the FBI are also reviewing the incident, which comes on the heels of other police-related deaths involving unarmed black males in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, Cleveland and New York's Staten Island.

 Slager was arrested less than an hour after the video, taken by a bystander, was provided to city and police officials.

 Attorney L. Chris Stewart, who is representing the Scott family, said the victim may have tried to run from the officer because he owed child support, which can get someone sent to jail in South Carolina until they pay it back. There were no violent offenses on his record, the attorney added.

 In his interview with TODAY, Walter Scott Sr. also suggested that his son ran because he owed child support.

 “I believe that he didn’t want to go to jail again,” he said. “He just ran away.”

 At a Tuesday news conference, North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey said the decision to charge the officer came after viewing the footage.

 Having to charge an officer is "not something that we like to hear or like to say but it goes to say how we work as a community: When you're wrong, you're wrong and if you make a bad decision, don't care if you're behind the shield or just a citizen on the street, you have to live by that decision," Summey said.

 Slager has been with the department for at least five years, officials said.

 North Charleston Police Chief Eddie Driggers called the incident a "tragic day" for many, but said the shooting shouldn't reflect on the department's 343 officers.

 "It is not reflective of the entire police department and the city of North Charleston," Driggers said. "One does not totally throw a blanket across the many, and I think that's true in life, so it is a tragic event."

 South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley added that the shooting, as it appears, is unacceptable. "I assure all South Carolinians that the criminal judicial process will proceed fully," she said in a statement. "This is a sad time for everyone in South Carolina, and I urge everyone to work together to help our community heal."

 At a news conference in front of the Scotts' Charleston home, his family remembered the father of four and Coast Guard veteran as a proud member of the community and said he “would never” have fought an officer over a Taser.

 “Out of my brothers, he was the most outgoing out of all of us,” Anthony Scott said. “He knew everybody. … He was well-known in the community everywhere. He was just an outgoing type of person, and loving and kind.”

 Anthony Scott said they were disturbed by initial reports that Slager said his brother grabbed the stun gun.

 “I think through the process, we have received the truth. We can’t get my brother back, and my family is in deep mourning for that,” Anthony Scott added. “But through the process, justice has been served. I don't think all police officers are bad cops, but there are some bad ones out there."

 Lawyers for the family said they are looking into filing a civil lawsuit against police. Attorney Stewart said the video will play key evidence.

 "For the first time in a long time, an officer is going to be charged," Stewart told reporters. "What happened today doesn’t happen all the time," he added. "What if there wasn't no video, what if there was no witness ... then this (murder charge against the officer) wouldn't have happened."

 The Associated Press contributed to this report. ||||| SEE YA

 David Aylor on his ex-client who’s been charged with murder after he was recorded shooting Walter Scott eight times in the back.

 The lawyer who first represented Michael Slager, the North Charleston police officer charged with murdering Walter Scott on Saturday, said he dropped his client soon after a video emerged showing Slager shooting Scott eight times as he ran away.

 Charleston attorney David Aylor told The Daily Beast that he took on Slager as a client on Saturday, the day of the shooting, and removed himself as counsel on Tuesday afternoon. Aylor said he wouldn't go into detail about his brief representation of Slager thanks to attorney-client privilege but he spoke generally about the situation. The following has been lightly edited for clarity.

 You were quoted as Officer Slager's attorney in the aftermath of this high-profile shooting but before the video came out. Now you're not his attorney anymore. What happened?

 I can't specifically state what is the reason why or what isn't the reason why I'm no longer his lawyer. All I can say is that the same day of the discovery of the video that was disclosed publicly, I withdrew as counsel immediately. Whatever factors people want to take from that and conclusions they want to make, they have the right to do that. But I can't confirm from an attorney-client standpoint what the reason is.

 When you were representing Slager, you said, “I believe once the community hears all the facts of this shooting, they’ll have a better understanding of the circumstances surrounding this investigation.”

 That was my belief at the time, that's why I made that statement.

 Now that the video is out, it seems the community has a much better understanding about what actually happened, and not necessarily in the officer's favor. What's your take on that new information?

 I think that there's been a release of information that was not public information at the time, or not discovered at the time at least to any knowledge of mine or anyone else publicly— at least the video. I can't comment on the specifics of what I think the video says. I'm not going to analyze the video, but again ... the video came out and within the hours of the video coming out, I withdrew my representation of the client.

 How did you come across the video?

 I can't say where I saw it first. I first became aware of it via the media. In fact, a reporter sent it to me via e-mail.

 These days, more and more people are carrying video recording devices on their phones and it's hard to not know if everything we do isn't being captured somehow. How do you, as an attorney, know to trust what you're saying about a client is true—and what do you do if you find out information that seems to refute it after you've made a statement?

 I'm not going to speak specifically to this case, but generally speaking as an attorney, when you're looking at a case you have to look at a number of different factors. One part is when you have a high-profile case, on behalf of your client and at the time due to their encouragement or what they're directing you to do, you make public statements based on the information you have. It's common in any type of case when you're a defense attorney that any kind of information that you're provided is limited throughout as far as what information you're given from your client compared to when you actually get to discovery or the evidence, moving all the way to the point of more additional evidence or witnesses coming out as the case progresses. So I think with any case it's always a changing situation, or it can be.

 Do you know whether Officer Slager knew someone was taping the incident?

 I can't say what my client did and didn't tell me, but I can tell you that I was not aware of the video, and I'm still not aware of who filmed the video, where the video came from, how the video got disclosed and who it was disclosed to first. As far as whether it was disclosed to authorities first or whether it went straight to the media, I don't even know the answer to that question now.

 Any other thoughts on this situation as his former attorney? |||||


Write a summary based on this article:

Rosemont authorities announced late Friday that they have closed the investigation into Kenneka Jenkins’ death and determined it to be accidental, saying there is “no evidence that indicates any other conclusion.”

 However, lawyers for Jenkins’ mother say graphic police photographs taken after Jenkins’ body was found “raise more questions than answers.”

 As part of a release of documents and videos related to the case, Rosemont officials on Friday posted on their website dozens of postmortem photographs of Jenkins taken while her body was still in the hotel freezer where she was found dead.

 Police showed the photographs to Jenkins’ family on Thursday, and Sam Adam Jr., a lawyer for Jenkins’ mother Tereasa Martin, called them “graphic and disturbing images (that) inexplicably show portions of Kenneka’s body exposed.”

 The release from Adam and Martin’s other attorney, Larry Rogers Jr., said the photos were “of a personal, private and indecent nature.”

 Jenkins, 19, was found dead in a Rosemont hotel freezer Sept. 10, about 21 hours after she went missing following a party she attended in a ninth-floor room.

 According to Rosemont police reports, she was found on her side, face down, with her left arm underneath her, her right shoe off and a small cut on her right foot.

 The photographs show that Jenkins was still wearing the jeans and jean jacket shown in surveillance videos of her walking through the hotel before her death, but the shirt beneath her jacket “was pulled up exposing her breasts,” a police report said.

 “Frankly, the photos depicting how Kenneka was found raise more questions about what happened to Kenneka Jenkins than they answer,” Rogers said in the news release.

 Scientists who have studied hypothermia have described a phenomenon known as “paradoxical undressing,” in which people freezing to death remove their clothing.

 “It is concluded that paradoxical undressing might be explained by changes in peripheral vasoconstriction (narrowing of blood vessels supplying the extremities) in the deeply hypothermic person,” scientists wrote in a 1979 journal article. “It represents the last effort of the victim and is followed almost immediately by unconsciousness and death.”

 In announcing in a press release Friday evening that they’ve closed the case, Rosemont police outlined the scope of their investigation and said they found no evidence that Jenkins was the victim of foul play — contrary to the many conspiracy theories that have sprouted on social media.

 “Our detective reported no signs of foul play throughout the whole investigation,” said a statement from Police Chief Donald Stephens III. “There is no evidence that Ms. Jenkins was forced to drink alcohol or consume any narcotics while at the hotel.”

 The statement added: “While there were many theories, rumors and much speculation floating around social media regarding the death of Ms. Jenkins, none were supported with facts. While all leads and theories were investigated by our department, what we have reported throughout the investigation and again, today, are facts.”

 Police said their investigation has generated 135 reports and involved interviews with 44 people, including 30 who were confirmed to have been in the hotel room at some point the night of the party.

 Authorities also viewed dozens of hours of surveillance video; conducted five photo line-ups; performed forensic analyses on four cellphones, including Jenkins’; and submitted three search warrants and four preservation of evidence warrants.

 The police statement said the “death and circumstances surrounding are especially sad.”

 Reached by phone Friday evening, Martin declined to comment on the photographs and the village’s decision to post them on its website. Martin referred calls to her attorneys, who could not immediately be reached.

 In a news release Thursday evening, the lawyers said the death-scene photos were first shown to the family by Rosemont police during a meeting to update the family on the death investigation.

 The lawyers also said Rosemont police had previously denied “numerous requests to review the reports, photographs and videos secured by the department.”

 “Numerous requests for any and all videos and photos showing Ms. Jenkins going into the freezer of her own volition have not been forthcoming, and quite frankly raise more questions than answers as to how and why Ms. Jenkins was found in the condition in which she was located,” the attorneys also said.

 There has been no indication from police that any surveillance video exists that directly shows Jenkins entering the freezer where she was found. But motion-sensor cameras in the kitchen indicate no one else went into the freezer area of the kitchen for days prior to Jenkins entering the kitchen, and no one entered the area after that until the time her body was discovered, according to police reports and surveillance video.

 The Cook County Medical Examiner’s office had already classified Jenkins’ death as accidental and caused by hypothermia, with alcohol intoxication listed as a contributing factor.

 Rosemont police also said in their release Friday that the hotel room where the party took place was booked with a fraudulent credit card and that they believe they have identified two perpetrators who booked the room. Police said they are “affiliated with a gang on the West Side of Chicago whose operations rely heavily on the use of fraudulent credit cards.”

 Police said that case is still ongoing.

 RELATED:

 Kenneka Jenkins' freezer-death timeline comes into focus with audio, video, police reports »

 Tribune coverage of Kenneka Jenkins' death »

 Medical examiner: Kenneka Jenkins died from exposure, and her death was an accident »

 Autopsy and toxicology report on Kenneka Jenkins' death » ||||| (CNN) Authorities have closed the investigation into the death of a young Chicago woman whose body was found in a hotel's walk-in freezer, saying it was accidental and there was no reason to suspect foul play.

 Police in Rosemont, a suburb northwest of Chicago, had been investigating the death of 19-year-old Kenneka Jenkins since her body was found September 10 after she attended a party at the Crowne Plaza Chicago O'Hare Hotel.

 "Our detectives reported no signs of foul play throughout the whole investigation," Chief Donald E. Stephens III with the Rosemont Police Department said in a statement. "There is no evidence that Ms. Jenkins was forced to drink alcohol or consume any narcotics while at the hotel."

 Investigators concluded Jenkin's death was accidental after retracing her path to the cooler that contained the freezer where her body was found, reviewing hours of surveillance video and interviewing most of the people that were at the party that night.

 "There is no evidence that indicates any other conclusion," Stephens said.

 On Friday, police released audio recordings, hours of video surveillance footage and a series of graphic photos showing Jenkins' body on the floor inside the freezer.

 An attorney for Jenkins' family said the photos were disturbing and raised more question about what happened that night, CNN affiliate WBBM-TV reported

 She was alone

 Jenkins' death sparked accusations on social media of foul play. Stephens said Friday that "none were supported by facts."

 "The death of any child is tragic; but the death and circumstances surrounding Ms. Jenkins are especially sad," the police chief said.

 Surveillance video from inside the Crowne Plaza, released by the Rosemont Public Safety Department, showed Jenkins staggering through the hotel's hallways before she disappeared.

 In the footage, Jenkins is first seen walking through the hotel with several unidentified people around 1:13 a.m. on September 9. She appears to be steady.

 But when Jenkins is next sighted exiting an elevator at 3:25 a.m., she is alone and visibly impaired, and staggers out of the elevator, briefly leaning on the wall for support before heading down the hallway.

 The footage showed Jenkins entering a kitchen at approximately 3:32 a.m. but does not show her entering the cooler and freezer, where she was found nearly 24 hours later, because no cameras show the doors directly.

 Police don't believe anyone else came in contact with Jenkins after she entered the kitchen. There is only one entrance into the kitchen and anyone who would have walked toward the freezer would have activated a surveillance camera there, Stephens said.

 Since Jenkins entered the kitchen until her body was discovered only a security guard was seen entering the area.

 "He did not get close to the freezer and was never out of sight of the camera," Stephens said.

 No drugs, signs of trauma

 The Cook County Medical Examiner's office had recently classified Jenkins' death as accidental.

 Her cause of death was hypothermia, the coroner said.

 The medical examiner explained that levels of alcohol higher than the driving limit and topiramate, a drug most commonly used to treat epilepsy and migraines, were also contributing factors.

 "When combined, the effect of either or both drugs is enhanced. Topiramate, like alcohol, can cause dizziness, impaired memory, impaired concentration, poor coordination, confusion and impaired judgment. Central nervous system depression, or impairment, combined with cold exposure can hasten the onset of hypothermia and death," the office said in a released.

 No external or internal trauma as well as "hundreds of drugs of abuse, medications and other chemical compounds" -- along with date-rape drugs -- were found on Jenkins' body, the coroner said. ||||| Rosemont PD: Kenneka Jenkins case closed, teen’s death an accident

 The Rosemont Police Department on Friday officially closed the case of Kenneka Jenkins, ruling the 19-year-old’s death was an accident, and posted online a massive trove of reports, video, and even crime scene photos of the teen’s body inside the hotel freezer where it was discovered.

 The announcement comes more than a month after the teen’s body was found Sept. 10, inside a freezer in an unused kitchen at the Crown Plaza Hotel, where Jenkins had attended a party with more than 30 other guests. In a four-page press release, Rosemont Police Chief Donald Stephens III acknowledged the speculation swirling around the case, fueled by internet conspiracies and the outrage of Jenkins’ family.

 “While there were many theories, rumors and much speculation floating around social media regarding the death of Ms. Jenkins, none were supported with facts,” Stephens’ statement read. “While all leads and theories were investigated by our department, what we have reported throughout the investigation and again, today, are the facts.”

 “At this time, the Rosemont Public Safety Department has closed the death investigation of Kenneka Jenkins and has classified this incident as an accidental death. There is no evidence that indicates any other conclusion.”

 The records were released in response to public records requests. A spokesman for the department did not immediately respond when asked if the records posted on the village website comprised every file from the investigation, but a letter from the village included in the files seems to indicate that only personal information, such as addresses were redacted.

 Jenkins’ mother called Rosemont Police early on the morning of Sept. 9 to report Jenkins hadn’t returned home. Friends said Jenkins had left the party, which was attended by more than 30 people and featured heavy drinking and drug use.

 Surveillance video from cameras around the hotel show Jenkins staggering through hallways and into the kitchen area, though the motion-activated camera in the kitchen does not show her entering the freezer. On police dispatch tapes, an officer who first went into the cooler after a hotel worker found the body the next day said Jenkins was “frozen solid.”

 Police have downplayed conjecture about foul play from the start, and the Cook County Medical Examiner has ruled the death an accident, and that Jenkins died of hypothermia. Blood tests showed Jenkins had alcohol and a drug used to treat epilepsy in her system. Stephens’ statement says the department still is investigating a man and woman who used a stolen credit card to book the hotel room, and have identified all but six party guests.

 After meeting with police officials earlier this week, lawyer for Jenkins’ family complained bitterly about the release of the information. Police had refused to release the full case file to the family, and showed relatives only a handful of photos that were of a “personal, private and indecent” nature, attorney Larry Rogers Jr., said. Police said they would release additional records to public on Friday.

 “Frankly, [the] photos depicting how [Jenkins] was found raise more questions about what happened to [her] than they answer,” attorney Larry Rogers Jr. said a statement. “The pictures are graphic and disturbing images and inexplicably show portions of [her] body exposed.”

 It was unclear whether files released Friday will end the theorizing by amateur sleuths. Not long after Rogers issued his statement, social media posts emerged questioning why a woman who was freezing to death would have removed her own clothes.

 Investigators seemed to anticipate that litigation, and conspiracy theories, might surround the case for some time. Among the investigative files released Friday was a three-dimensional, digital image of the kitchen where Jenkins’ body was found. The high-tech image of the kitchen layout, the chief explained, would provide accurate measurements of the room and “in the event this kitchen is ever remodeled or changed, the location of items and the layout will be documented.” |||||

– Authorities on Friday officially closed their investigation into the death of Kenneka Jenkins, who was found "frozen solid" in a freezer in the unused kitchen of a Chicago-area hotel Sept. 10, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. According to the Chicago Tribune, Rosemont police—after a thorough investigation that included interviews with 44 people, dozens of hours of surveillance footage, forensic analysis on multiple cellphones, and more—have determined the 19-year-old's death to be accidental, stating there is "no evidence that indicates any other conclusion." Police say none of the conspiracy theories about foul play floated on social media "were supported by facts," CNN reports. Police say there is no evidence Jenkins was forced to drink or take drugs at the party where she was last seen. Jenkins' family doesn't appear satisfied with the conclusion of authorities. Along with the closing of the investigation, police released documents related to the case on Friday. Lawyers for Jenkins' mother say the "graphic and disturbing" photos of Jenkins' body in the freezer "inexplicably show portions of Kenneka's body exposed" and "raise more questions ... than they answer." Photos of Jenkins' body in the freezer show her with her jean jacket still on but her shirt pulled up "exposing her breasts." This could be the result of what scientists call "paradoxical undressing" in which a hypothermia victim removes clothing despite freezing to death. A medical examiner had already concluded Jenkins died from hypothermia with no signs of internal or external trauma. In a statement, police called her death "especially sad."


News article:

CAIRO (AP) — At least six people were killed and 25 injured Sunday when rival militias battled for the control of the international airport in Libya's capital. Civil aviation authorities announced the airport will be closed for three days because of security concerns.

 Smoke rises on the horizon in Tripoli, Libya, early Sunday, July 13, 2014. Explosions and gunfire have been heard around the international airport in Libya's capital as airlines have canceled some international... (Associated Press)

 Gunfire from the battles echoed through Tripoli as fierce fighting raged between Libyan forces and allied militias and a powerful militia from the western city of Zintan that controls the airport, a member of a revolutionary battalion attached to Libya's army chief of staff that took part in the battle said.

 Those living in the vicinity said troops surrounded the airfield and fired rockets at buildings inside. Thick columns of black smoke rose overhead and could be seen from downtown Tripoli.

 The health ministry said six people were killed in the fighting and 25 were wounded.

 Authorities said Saturday that the airport was to have been handed over into government control. The government largely relies on the same militias to police the streets as its security forces remain in disarray.

 The powerful Zintan militia had taken control of the airport, providing security for the strategic installation, following the fall of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.

 The militias, many of them organized to fight against Gadhafi troops, remained a powerful component in the post-war Libya, filling the void left by weak police and security and cooperating with the government to provide order.

 But rivalries between militias for control and resources were also the cause for fierce fighting among them; and posed a constant challenge to the central government.

 On Sunday, the country's civil aviation authority said the airport will be shut for three days pending the security situation, advising airlines to land at other airports in Libya.

 Egypt's national carrier EgyptAir said it canceled two flights Sunday to Tripoli as hundreds of travelers remained inside the airport waiting for it to re-open. Both British Airways and Turkish Airlines also canceled flights Sunday. ||||| Heavy fighting between rival militias vying for control of Libya's main airport in Tripoli has left at least seven people dead and halted all flights.

 Explosions and anti-aircraft gunfire were heard from early Sunday morning on the airport road and other parts of the capital until the situation seemed to calm down in the late afternoon.

 The fighting was the worst in Tripoli since more than 40 people were killed in clashes between militias and armed residents in November.

 Besides the seven fatalities, another 36 people were wounded in the clashes, the Libyan Health Ministry said.

 Residents said that militia members from the northwestern region of Zintan who had controlled the airport came under fire, and local TV footage suggested that the attacking rebels were from the western city of Misrata.

 The United Nations has said it has temporarily relocated some of its international staff out of Libya after heavy fighting broke out between rival militias vying for control of Libya's main airport.

 "We can confirm a temporary relocation for security reasons," UN spokesman Farhan Haq said.

 Zintan versus Misrata

 Zintan forces, which have controlled the airport since Gaddafi's overthrow, and Misratis had been put on the state payroll in an unsuccessful attempt by the government to secure their cooperation and try to bolster the rule of law.

 Comments on pro-Misrata websites suggested that the force was freeing the airport from Zintani control to hand it over to authorities.

 The central government denounced the attackers as illegal.

 "The operation is led by civil leaders belonging to brigades and troops ... moving without orders and legal cover," the government of Prime Minister Abdulllah al-Thinni said in a statement.

 Local news channel Al Nabaa showed men in military vehicles with Misrata insignia opening fire with heavy weapons.

 Heavy smoke could be seen rising above the airport as an official said: "All domestic and international flights have been halted."

 Al Nabaa TV showed a Libyan Airlines jet and a transport aircraft engulfed in smoke while vehicles fired anti-aircraft volleys and fighters took up positions next to a field of sheep.

 Social media websites said that several rockets had hit the airport perimeter.

 Photographs on Facebook showed thick smoke at what was said to be the parking lot in front of the terminal. Families were trapped inside the building, local websites said.

 The violence comes as the country awaits the results of the June 25 parliamentary elections.

 Earlier the US warned that the conflict in Libya could be "widespread" following an acknowledgement by electoral officials that fraud had clouded the poll.

 "The United States is deeply concerned by the ongoing violence in Libya and dangerous posturing that could lead to widespread conflict there," Jen Psaki, of the US state department, said on Saturday.

 Officials and Libya's partners had hoped the vote would give a push to state building and ease political tensions.

 Security concerns

 Tripoli has seen a surge in kidnappings but has been mostly spared the kind of violence that has rocked the eastern city of Benghazi, where clashes between self-styled Islamist groups and forces loyal to a renegade general occur almost daily.

 On Thursday, the UN Support Mission in Libya announced it was pulling out dozens of staff because of security concerns.

 Libya, an OPEC member, is divided between rival militias from urban communities and tribes, as well as Islamist and more moderate forces.

 Oil production has fallen to a fraction of the 1.4 million barrels a day that Libya produced before July 2013 when a wave of protests erupted at oilfields and ports.

 The loss of oil revenues has caused a budget crisis as Libya depends on energy exports. |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?

– All flights to Libya's main international airport have been suspended while rival militias battle for control of the facility. In Tripoli's worst violence since November, at least seven people have been killed and dozens injured in battles between militia members from the Zintan region, who have controlled the airport since the fall of Moammar Gadhafi, and fighters believed to be from the city of Misrata, Al Jazeera reports. Witnesses reported hearing explosions and anti-aircraft gunfire coming from the airport early yesterday. According to witnesses, Libyan troops fighting with the Misrata militia surrounded the airfield and fired rockets at buildings inside. Civilian aviation authorities say the airport will be closed for at least three days, the AP reports. The latest violence between the militias that fill many security functions in Libya comes as the country waits for the results of last month's elections, which the US fears could lead to more fighting. The US "is deeply concerned by the ongoing violence in Libya and dangerous posturing that could lead to widespread conflict there," a State Department spokeswoman said yesterday.


Article:
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — To get you to come into McDonald's and buy new versions of its Big Mac, the chain is giving away 10,000 bottles of its trademark special sauce for people to use at home.

 The move is to celebrate the introduction of the Mac Jr. and the Grand Mac, two different-sized variations of the classic sandwich.

 The giveaway is a first in the United States.

 McDonald's introduced the Big Mac in 1968. In 1975, the special sauce got its own callout in the signature Big Mac commercial, touting the burger's components_"Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun."

 The bottles will be available Thursday at participating locations nationwide.

 Additional details on how and where customers can get their hands on a bottle are expected to be released later Wednesday. |||||

 Relaxnews

 McDonald's has bottled their iconic 'Special Sauce' in preparation for a giveaway that will hand out 10,000 free bottles of the stuff to promote the launch of their new Big Macs.

 "A new-Mac-Sandwich-sizes party needs epic party favors-like 10k bottles of Special Sauce. Tomorrow find out when/where you might get one!" McDonald's tweeted Tuesday.

 The bottles are expected to be distributed at participating restaurants across the U.S. Thursday.

 After announcing plans to both shrink and inflate their original iconic double-decker sandwich last year, the new Mac Jr. and Grand Mac launch Thursday.

 For those with smaller appetites, the Mac Jr. is a Big Mac, minus the middle layer and second beef patty.

 For bigger Mac attacks, the Grand Mac features bigger beef patties, at a weight of one-third of a pound.

 The launch comes following a dip in sales over the last quarter. In the U.S., sales dipped by 1.3 percent compared to the same period in 2015. The drop is attributed to the strong results seen from their All-Day Breakfast program which launched in 2015.

 The fast food giant is also hoping to resurrect its most iconic sandwich, particularly among Millennial consumers. According to an internal memo obtained by the Wall Street Journal last year, it's estimated that only one in five Millennials have ever tried the company's flagship product.

 Meanwhile, in response to McDonald's tweet announcing the special sauce giveaway, one cheeky follower posted a photo of Kraft's Thousand Island dressing, with the message, "Sweet got mine!!" |||||Summary:

– To get you to come into McDonald's and buy new versions of its Big Mac, the chain is giving away 10,000 bottles of its trademark special sauce for people to use at home, the AP reports. The move is to celebrate the introduction of the Mac Jr. and the Grand Mac, two different-sized variations of the classic sandwich. The giveaway is a first in the United States. The bottles will be available Thursday at participating locations nationwide, and the company tweeted details of the giveaway Wednesday. CTV reports that the launch of the bigger and smaller Macs is an effort to attract millennial consumers. A company memo leaked last year estimated that only around a fifth of millennials had ever tried a Big Mac.


News article:

Story highlights Two Americans unaccounted for, senior U.S. official says

 Obama says "scourge of terrorism" must be fought

 Algerian state news: At least 55 people, including hostages and militants, have died

 The militants targeted an eastern Algerian gas facility where many foreigners workers

 Algerian troops ended a hostage crisis at a remote gas facility Saturday with one last, bloody assault, Algerian and Western officials said, after three days of chaos and confusion left dozens dead and fanned fears of a new terror front in Africa.

 At least 23 hostages and 32 "terrorists" were killed around the sprawling facility in eastern Algeria's desert, the Algerian interior ministry said Saturday. Some 685 Algerian workers and 107 foreigners have been freed, it said.

 It is not clear just how many people are still unaccounted for. A senior U.S. official said two Americans were among that number.

 The saga closed after a "final" assault, which itself contributed to the deaths of seven hostages and 11 militants, according to Algerian state media reports.

 An Algerian Radio report did not specify the nationalities of those killed. CNN is unable to verify the state media figures on the deaths.

 Afterward, Algeria's military continued to clear mines planted by militants, the official Algerian Press Service reported, citing the country's state-owned oil and gas company.

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 "While the site is still dangerous and there may be explosives that will need to be dealt with, the terrorist incident is now over," said British Prime Minister David Cameron, citing his conversation with his Algerian counterpart.

 The militant siege caught the world's attention as it ensnared citizens from several nations and dragged on for days.

 Algerian authorities said they believe the attack was revenge for allowing France to use Algerian airspace for an offensive against Islamist militants in neighboring Mali.

 Whatever the rationale, the scale and gore of the terror has stirred world leaders to press for action beyond Algeria, especially with Islamic extremists asserting themselves more and more in recent weeks.

 "Let me be clear: There is no justification for taking innocent life in this way," Cameron said. "Our determination is stronger than ever to work with allies ... around the world to root out and defeat this terrorist scourge and those who encourage it."

 British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Algerian authorities "certainly worked very hard to try to save the lives of people from other countries. I think it's actually too early to pass judgment on (the Algerian military operation)."

 U.S. President Barack Obama said his administration would work with other countries to "combat the scourge of terrorism in the region, which has claimed too many innocent lives. This attack is another reminder of the threat posed by al Qaeda and other violent extremist groups in North Africa."

 In a statement, Obama said the United States will work with Algeria to prevent future such incidents.

 Crisis highlights pressure, potential on Algeria

 Algerian special forces moved in because the terrorists wanted to flee for Mali -- apparently to pressure France and others who have recently intervened in that country -- Algerian state TV reported Saturday.

 The Islamic extremists also planned to blow up the gas installation, a threat that initially prompted Algeria to halt its military operation. The location was rigged to explode, with mines planted throughout, according to the senior U.S. official.

 Algeria's status as Africa's largest natural gas producer, and as a major supplier of the product to Europe, heightens its importance to other nations and businesses who want to invest there. Yet that interest is coupled with pressure to make sure foreign nationals, and their business ventures, are safe.

 The targeted plant in In Amenas, which is just 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of the Libyan border, is run by Algeria's state oil company, in cooperation with foreign firms such as Norway's Statoil and Britain's BP.

 Saturday's last push there follows another one two days earlier, which spurred criticism from some countries that Algeria had unnecessarily endangered hostages' lives.

 British Defense Secretary Philip Hammond said Britain was still pressing the Algerian government for full details, while confirming the Saturday assault resulted in more deaths. He called the loss of life "appalling and unacceptable," laying blame solely on the terrorists.

 Like Cameron, Norwegian foreign ministry spokesman Svein Michelsen confirmed that the Algerian military offensive was over, but did not offer further details.

 Nations scramble to account for missing

 The overall death toll could rise, Algerian state TV reports, as authorities are still combing the area.

 Amid the uncertainty, individual nations are scrambling to find out what happened to their citizens. It is not clear how many hostages were seized by the Islamist militants in the first place.

 Five Norwegians are missing while "eight are now safe," Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said.

 Five British nationals and one UK resident are missing or feared dead in Algeria, Hague told reporters. This is in addition to one Briton, whose death was previously announced.

 Colombia's president said a citizen was presumed dead.

 The Scottish government said eight of its residents are safe.

 There are no known French hostages unaccounted for, a Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Saturday.

 Three French nationals who were at the site are safe, the foreign ministry has said. One man -- identified as Yann Desjeux -- died after telling the French newspaper Sud Ouest on Thursday that he and 34 other hostages of nine different nationalities were well-treated.

 Of the BP employees, 14 are safe, and four BP employees are still missing in Algeria, BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley said.

 At least one American, identified as Frederick Buttaccio, is among the dead, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said. The senior U.S. official told CNN that six freed Americans left Algeria and one remained.

 One Romanian lost his life, a spokeswoman for the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs told CNN on Saturday. Four other Romanians were freed.

 And there are 14 Japanese unaccounted for, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said.

 Malaysia's state-run news agency reported Thursday that two of its citizens were held captive.

 Dramatic tales of escape from terror

 When the crisis began Wednesday, militants gathered the Westerners into a group and tied them up, survivors said. The kidnappers wielded AK-47 rifles and put explosive-laden vests on some hostages, according to a U.S. State Department official.

 Some survivors described their harrowing escapes by rigging up disguises, sneaking to safety with locals, and in at least one case, running for his life with plastic explosives strapped around his neck.

 That man was Stephen McFaul, who -- according to his brother Brian -- was among a group of hostages who had been blindfolded, gagged and then packed into five Jeeps on Thursday, during Algerian forces' first offensive.

 An explosion "wiped out" four of the vehicles, while McFaul's vehicle crashed. He was able to get out and, eventually, contact his family.

 "I haven't seen my mother move as fast in all my life, and my mother smile as much, hugging each other," Brian McFaul of Belfast, Northern Ireland, said upon his family hearing his brother was safe. "... You couldn't describe the feeling."

 Al Qaeda-linked group offered prisoner-hostage exchange

 A spokesman for Moktar Belmoktar , a longtime jihadist who leads the Brigade of the Masked Ones -- a militant group associated with al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb -- reportedly offered to free U.S. hostages in exchange for two prisoners.

 Behind the group claiming responsibility for the attack and kidnappings, he is known for seizing hostages and has long been targeted by French counterterrorism forces.

 The prisoners are Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, who orchestrated the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and Aafia Siddiqui , a Pakistani woman jailed in the United States on terrorism charges, the spokesman said in an interview with a private Mauritanian news agency.

 Nuland rejected the offer, restating U.S. policy of not negotiating with terrorists. ||||| BAMAKO, Mali — The four-day hostage crisis in the Sahara reached a bloody conclusion on Saturday as the Algerian Army carried out a final assault on the gas field taken over by Islamist militants, killing most of the remaining kidnappers and raising the total of hostages killed to at least 23, Algerian officials said.

 Although the government declared an end to the militants’ siege, the authorities believed that a handful of jihadists were most likely hiding somewhere in the sprawling complex and said that troops were hunting for them.

 The details of the desert standoff and the final battle for the plant remained murky on Saturday night — as did information about which hostages died and how — with even the White House suggesting that it was unclear what had happened. In a brief statement released early Saturday night the president said his administration would “remain in close touch with the government of Algeria to gain a fuller understanding of what took place.”

 The British defense minister, Philip Hammond, called the loss of life “appalling and unacceptable” after reports that up to seven hostages were killed in the final hours of the hostage crisis, and he said that the leaders of the attack would be tracked down. The Algerian government said that 32 militants had been killed since Wednesday, although it cautioned that its casualty counts were provisional.

 Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta, who appeared with Mr. Hammond at a news conference in London, said he did not yet have reliable information about the fate of the Americans at the facility, although a senior Algerian official said two had been found “safe and sound.”

 What little information trickled out was as harrowing as what had come in the days before, when some hostages who had managed to escape told of workers being forced to wear explosives. They also said that there were several summary executions and that some workers had died in the military’s initial rescue attempt.

 On Saturday, Algerian officials reported that some bodies found by troops who rushed into the industrial complex were charred beyond recognition, making it difficult to distinguish between the captors and the captured. Two were assumed to be workers because they were handcuffed.

 Britain’s foreign secretary, William Hague, said that five Britons and one British resident had died in the final rescue attempt or were unaccounted for. He said that police forces were fanning out across Britain visiting each of the families involved.

 Most of the hundreds of workers at the plant, who come from about 25 countries, appear to have escaped sometime during the four days.

 The Algerian government has been relatively silent since the start of the crisis, releasing few details. The government faced withering international criticism for rushing ahead with its first assault on the militants on Thursday even as governments whose citizens were trapped inside the plant pleaded for more time, fearing that rescue attempts might lead to workers dying. The Algerians responded by saying they had a better understanding of how to handle militants after fighting Islamist insurgents for years.

 On Saturday, it was unclear who killed the last hostages. Initial reports from Algerian state news media said that seven workers had been executed during the army’s raid, but the senior government official and another high-level official, both of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity, later said the number killed and the cause were unknown. The early reports also said 11 militants were killed, but later information suggested that some may have blown themselves up.

 One of the Algerian officials defended the latest military assault, saying the government feared the militants were about to set off explosions at the In Amenas complex.

 The Algerian state oil company, Sonatrach, said that the attackers had evidently mined the facility with the intention of blowing it up and that the company was working to ensure the safety of the plant.

 The government official, meanwhile, said that the militants had set fire to the plant’s control tower on Friday night and that it was later extinguished by soldiers and workers. The militants also tried to blow up a pipeline, he said, leading officials to worry about the stocks of gas at the plant. “The authorities were afraid they were going to blow up the reserves,” said the official, who believed the militants had planned all along to destroy the complex.

 Reporting was contributed by Steven Erlanger and Scott Sayare from Paris, Elisabeth Bumiller and John F. Burns from London, Manny Fernandez and Clifford Krauss from Houston, and Michael R. Gordon from Washington. |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?

– The Algerian hostage standoff appears to be over after four days, but the end came with more bloodshed: The government says kidnappers executed seven hostages during this morning's "final assault." That brings the death toll to at least 32 "terrorists" and 23 hostages, including one American, report AP and CNN. No details are out yet on nationalities of the latest victims. "In principle, it's over," a government official tells the New York Times. Only a "clean-up process" remains. A Turkish official says two remaining American hostages were found "safe and sound." Algeria's state news agency reports that another 11 of the al-Qaeda-linked militants were killed in the raid, but it did not say whether any remained alive. As for that "clean-up process": The militants reportedly booby-trapped the entire gas refinery with explosives, and Algerian troops had begun the painstaking task of clearing them.