In Other News: 2 charged in assault of Capitol officer who died after riot; Dozens arrested in Clayton County after street racing call

Published 2:55 pm Monday, March 15, 2021

Editor’s note: “In Other News” is a list of state, national and global headlines compiled by Daily Citizen-News staff from Associated Press-provided stories. Click on the headlines below to read the full stories.

2 charged in assault of Capitol officer who died after riot

WASHINGTON — U.S. officials have arrested and charged two men with assaulting U.S. Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick with bear spray during the Jan. 6 riot, but they do not know yet whether it caused the officer’s death. George Tanios, 39, of Morgantown, West Virginia, and Julian Khater, 32, of Pennsylvania, were arrested Sunday. They were expected to appear in federal court Monday. The idea that Sicknick died after being sprayed by a chemical irritant has emerged in recent weeks as a new theory in the case. The arrests are the closest federal prosecutors have come to identifying and charging anyone associated with the deaths that happened during and after the riot. Five people died, including a woman who was shot by a police officer inside the Capitol. But many rioters are facing charges of injuring police officers, who were attacked with bats, sprayed with irritants, punched and kicked, and rammed with metal gates meant to keep the insurrectionists from the Capitol.

South emerges as flashpoint of brewing redistricting battle

The partisan showdown over redistricting has hardly begun, but already both sides agree on one thing: It largely comes down to the South. The states from North Carolina to Texas are set to be premier battlegrounds for the once-a-decade fight over redrawing political boundaries. That’s thanks to a population boom, mostly one-party rule and a new legal landscape that removes federal oversight and delays civil rights challenges. It’s a collision of factors likely to tilt the scales in the GOP’s favor with dramatic impact: Experts note the new maps in the South alone could knock Democrats out of power in the U.S. House next year — and perhaps well beyond.

‘Mank’ leads Oscar nominations in a year of record diversity

NEW YORK — In a year in which the pandemic shuttered movie theaters for months, Academy Awards nominations went to two female filmmakers for the first time and a historically diverse slate of actors Monday but, ultimately, David Fincher’s “Mank” — a very traditional contender about Hollywood itself — took the lead. Fincher’s “Mank,” a black-and-white, period drama about “Citizen Kane” screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz, easily topped nominations for the 93rd Academy Awards — delayed two months by the coronavirus pandemic — with 10 nominations, including best picture, best director, acting nods for Gary Oldman and Amanda Seyfried, and a host of others for its lavish craft. The other nominations were spread among a wide variety of contenders.

Dozens arrested in Clayton County after street racing call

MORROW — Authorities in Clayton County responding to a call of street racers laying drag in a retail parking lot arrested dozens of people. Clayton County sheriff’s deputies and county police officers responded to the call early Sunday morning and blocked all entrances and exits to a Sam’s Club parking lot, according to a statement from the sheriff’s office. They used spike strips to keep drivers from leaving the parking lot and then went from car to car to arrest people, the statement says. The sheriff’s office says 88 people were arrested and were being held in the Clayton County jail.