Colorado shooting victims: Store staffers, cop, photographer

Three were gunned down while putting in a day's work at a Colorado supermarket. Another was a police officer who raced in to try to rescue them and others from the attack that left 10 dead.

A picture of the victims of Monday's shooting began to emerge a day later, when the suspect in the killings was booked into jail on murder charges after being treated at a hospital.

Those who lost their lives at the King Soopers store in Boulder ranged from 20 years old to 65. They included a magazine photographer, a Medicare agent with a passion for theatre and others going about their days at a busy shopping plaza.

They were identified as Denny Stong, 20; Neven Stanisic, 23; Rikki Olds, 25; Tralona Bartkowiak, 49; police Officer Eric Talley, 51; Suzanne Fountain, 59; Teri Leiker, 51; Kevin Mahoney, 61; Lynn Murray, 62; and Jodi Waters, 65.

Leiker, Olds and Stong worked at the supermarket, said former co-worker Jordan Sailas, who never got the chance to bring his baby son into the store to meet them.

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Colorado suspect got assault weapon 6 days before shooting

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — The suspect accused of opening fire inside a crowded Colorado supermarket was a 21-year-old man who purchased an assault weapon less than a week earlier, authorities said Tuesday, a day after the attack that killed 10 people, including a police officer.

Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa bought the weapon on March 16, just six days before the attack at a King Soopers store in Boulder, according to an arrest affidavit. It was not immediately known where the gun was purchased.

Alissa, who is from the Denver suburb of Arvada, was booked into the county jail Tuesday on murder charges after being treated at a hospital. He was due to make a first court appearance Thursday.

Investigators have not established a motive, but they believe Alissa was the only shooter, Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said.

A law enforcement official briefed on the shooting said the suspect’s family told investigators they believed Alissa was suffering some type of mental illness, including delusions. Relatives described times when Alissa told them people were following or chasing him, which they said may have contributed to the violence, the official said. The official was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.

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Missteps could mar long-term credibility of AstraZeneca shot

LONDON (AP) — AstraZeneca’s repeated missteps in reporting vaccine data coupled with a blood clot scare could do lasting damage to the credibility of a shot that is the linchpin in the global strategy to stop the coronavirus pandemic, potentially even undermining vaccine confidence more broadly, experts say.

The latest stumble for the vaccine came Tuesday, when American officials issued an unusual statement expressing concern that AstraZeneca had included “outdated information” when it reported encouraging results from a U.S. trial a day earlier. That may have provided “an incomplete view of the efficacy data,” according to the statement.

AstraZeneca responded that the results, which showed its shot was about 79% effective, included information through Feb. 17 but appeared to be consistent with more up-to-date data. It promised an update within 48 hours.

An independent panel that oversees the study scolded the company in a letter Monday for cherry-picking data, according to a senior administration official. The panel wrote to AstraZeneca and U.S. health leaders that it was concerned the company chose to use data that was outdated and potentially misleading instead of the most recent findings, according to the official, who discussed the contents on the condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the matter.

“This will likely cause more vaccine hesitancy,” said Dr. Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia.

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Far-right party set to gain new influence after Israeli vote

JERUSALEM (AP) — An alliance of far-right groups including openly racist and homophobic candidates appears poised to enter Israel's parliament, possibly as an indispensable member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition, according to exit polls Tuesday.

The Religious Zionist Party includes a new incarnation of the Kahanist movement, a Jewish extremist group outlawed as terrorists by Israel, the United States and other Western countries decades ago over its incitement to violence against Arabs.

Exit polls by Israel's three main television channels projected the Religious Zionist Party will win six to seven seats, the best-ever showing by an extreme right-wing party. With Netanyahu and his opponents deadlocked after four elections in two years, he will likely need the group if he succeeds in assembling a narrow majority in the 120-member Knesset, Israel's parliament.

Its rise heralds a further shift to the right in Israel, where parties that support Jewish settlements and oppose the creation of a Palestinian state already dominate the political scene. A solidly right-wing government would likely find itself on a collision course with U.S. President Joe Biden's administration, which has pressed for the revival of peace efforts.

The Religious Zionist Party is led by Bezalel Smotrich, a longtime activist and former transport minister who has organized anti-gay protests and recently compared gay marriage to incest. In 2016, he tweeted in support of segregating Jewish and Arab women in maternity wards.

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EXPLAINER: How states are seeking to loosen controls on guns

Mass shootings in Georgia and Colorado that left at least 18 people dead since last week are reigniting calls from gun control advocates for tighter restrictions on buying firearms and ammunition. But with Democrats in control of the federal government, gun rights advocates have been persuading Republican-run state legislatures to go the other way, making it easier to obtain and carry guns.

How are the politics of gun legislation playing out in the United States this year? Here's the breakdown.

PROSPECTS MIXED FOR LEGISLATION

This month, the Democrat-controlled U.S. House of Representatives adopted measures to expand background checks to all gun purchases and expand the time to to vet people flagged in a nationwide background check system.

But to pass in the Senate, the support of every Democrat would be needed. And that's not a sure thing.

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White House: North Korea conducted short-range missile test

WASHINGTON (AP) — North Korea fired short-range missiles this past weekend, just days after the sister of Kim Jong Un threatened the United States and South Korea for holding joint military exercises.

The missile tests were confirmed by two senior Biden administration officials who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity. They come as North Korea has ignored offers from the new administration to resume negotiations, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken last week pressed China to use its “tremendous influence” to convince North Korea to abandon its nuclear program.

The officials, however, sought to downplay the significance of the missile tests, noting that they are not covered by U.N. Security Council resolutions meant to deter North Korea from pursuing a nuclear program.

Biden himself told reporters the missile tests were not a provocation. “There’s no new wrinkle in what they did," he said.

The Biden administration has been open about its desire to engage the North in negotiations even as the regime has batted away calls for the two nations to talk. In North Korea’s first comments directed at the Biden administration, the North Korean leader Kim's powerful sister earlier this month warned the United States to “ refrain from causing a stink” if it wants to “sleep in peace” for the next four years.

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Biden's disciplined agenda rollout tested by the unexpected

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has taken tremendous pride in methodically unveiling its agenda, particularly the $1.9 trillion pandemic relief measure the president hopes to trumpet over the next several weeks. But a growing list of unforeseen challenges is beginning to scramble the White House's plans.

In less than a week, two mass shootings have overshadowed President Joe Biden's “Help is Here” tour at which he planned to herald the ways his administration is helping Americans recovering from the pandemic. The White House has also struggled to respond to the growth in unaccompanied minors crossing the U.S.-Mexico border or blunt a nationwide effort by Republican legislatures to tighten election laws.

Biden's meticulous approach to the presidency is intended to serve as a stark departure from the chaos of his predecessor, Donald Trump. But the rapid developments over the past week are a reminder that even the most disciplined administration can only control so much.

“Every president and their staff make plans but every day the plans get blown up by reality," said Ari Fleischer, who was press secretary to George W. Bush when that administration's priorities were suddenly swamped by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. "Outside events intervene and force you to play defence or improvise or change your plans nearly every day. If you can’t juggle, you don’t belong in the White House.”

The juggle is intensifying at a particularly critical moment for Biden. The most valuable asset of presidents is their time, especially in their opening months in office, when the concerns of future elections are most distant. There were signs on Tuesday that the patience of Biden's diverse coalition may be fraying.

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Girl's solo journey to US border shows risks parents take

MISSION, Texas (AP) — The Honduran girl, 7 years old and surrounded by strangers in the pre-dawn darkness, was determined to keep pace with the other migrants headed for the U.S. border.

Her father, she told an Associated Press journalist, had travelled with her by bus for 22 days across Mexico. Then, he went back to their homeland -- but not before he placed her in the hands of a young man who was to help her cross the river into Texas.

“He just said to go on my own and take care of myself,” she said.

What happened to the man who was to be her guide is unclear, but the pony-tailed girl met up with a group and pressed on, vigorously swinging her arms to keep up as they trekked north through the Rio Grande Valley on Sunday under a half-moon. Temperatures had dipped into the mid-50s; the girl wore a yellow jacket decorated with cartoonish drawings of trains, and a black mask to protect her from COVID-19.

The AP is not using the girl’s name. It does not normally name children without permission from their parents, and the identity of her father could not be obtained.

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The 15 jurors selected for the trial of Derek Chauvin

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Fifteen jurors have been selected for the case against Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer charged in George Floyd's death.

Twelve jurors and two alternates will actually hear the evidence, but a 15th person was chosen in case one of the other panelists is unable to serve when opening statements begin Monday. That 15th person will be dismissed at the start of trial if the rest of the jury remains intact.

The panel includes six men and nine women; nine of the jurors are white, four are Black, and two are multiracial, according to the court. They include a chemist, a nurse, a social worker and a grandmother.

Here is a closer look at the panel, in the order in which jurors were selected. They are identified by juror number only; the judge has ordered their names withheld until after the trial due to the high-profile nature of the case. Their races and approximate ages were provided by the court.

JUROR NO. 2

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Part of Wright brothers' 1st airplane on NASA's Mars chopper

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A piece of the Wright brothers’ first airplane is on Mars.

NASA’s experimental Martian helicopter holds a small swatch of fabric from the 1903 Wright Flyer, the space agency revealed Tuesday. The helicopter, named Ingenuity, hitched a ride to the red planet with the Perseverance rover, arriving last month.

Ingenuity will attempt the first powered, controlled flight on another planet no sooner than April 8. It will mark a "Wright brothers' moment," noted Bobby Braun, director for planetary science at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

The Carillon Historical Park in Dayton, Ohio, the Wrights' hometown, donated the postage-size piece of muslin from the plane's bottom left wing, at NASA's request.

The swatch made the 300 million-mile journey to Mars with the blessing of the Wright brothers' great-grandniece and great-grandnephew, said park curator Steve Lucht.

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