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WASHINGTON (AP) —
The Republican-led House has passed a multibillion-dollar defense policy bill that faces a veto threat from President Barack Obama.
Thursday's vote was 270 to 156.
The $612 billion defense policy bill authorizes an increase in funding that Obama requested, but he's unhappy with the way lawmakers did it.
The House increased defense spending by padding a separate war-fighting account with an extra $38.3 billion. That account — for overseas contingency operations — is not subject to the budget limits.
Obama and congressional Democrats say the bill breaks through spending caps when it comes to defense at a time when funding for domestic agencies is restricted.
Republicans say the bill authorizes money for national security amid global threats, ensuring money for ships, aircraft and military personnel.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) —
A grand jury has indicted an Oklahoma sheriff on a charge of refusing to perform his official duties in an investigation related to a volunteer deputy and longtime friend who said he mistook his handgun for a stun gun when he fatally shot an unarmed man.
Tulsa County Sheriff Stanley Glanz decided quickly to resign after he was indicted during a court hearing Wednesday on two misdemeanor counts, one accusing him of not promptly releasing documents in the internal investigation involving deputy Robert Bates. Bates' training and the reserve deputy program came into question after Bates, a former insurance executive, shot 44-year-old Eric Harris during an April sting operation.
The second charge accuses Glanz of willful violation of the law in an unrelated incident involving a stipend he received for a vehicle.
Glanz, who plans to step down before a Nov. 10 hearing in the case, said in a statement that he had always tried to be transparent and make good decisions during his 27 years as sheriff. He said he told grand jurors he would resign if they concluded that was best, which they did in a report released during the hearing.
"I know that my decisions have caused some to criticize me both publicly and privately," he said in a two-page statement released late Wednesday. "As sheriff, I take responsibility for all decisions made by me or in my name, but I assure you they were all made in good faith."
Glanz, who didn't attend the hearing, plans to plead not guilty, his attorney Scott Wood said.
The grand jury was called after thousands of people signed a petition calling for an investigation into Glanz's office following the death of Harris. Bates is accused of shooting Harris while Harris was restrained by a sheriff's deputy. Video from the scene captured Bates apologizing for shooting Harris, who was being detained on suspicion that he tried to sell guns to an undercover officer.
Bates — who has pleaded not guilty to second-degree manslaughter in the case — has since left the agency.
Bates had donated thousands of dollars in cash, cars and equipment to the sheriff's office. His close ties to Glanz and the agency raised questions about the reserve deputy program and whether Bates and others received special treatment in return for the gifts.
Harris' brother, Andre Harris, declined to comment after the court hearing Wednesday.
Local civil rights organizer Marq Lewis said the indictment marked a win for residents.
"We got justice today," said Lewis, who leads We the People Oklahoma, the group that organized the grand jury petition drive. "This is a statement to never bet against the citizens, the people of Tulsa County."
Wednesday's court hearing was called just hours after grand jurors said they had completed their investigation. Grand jurors met behind closed doors for nine weeks and interviewed more than 30 witnesses, including Glanz.
The documents were given to District Judge Rebecca Nightingale earlier in the day in five sealed envelopes. Some documents remain sealed.
The grand jury also made eight recommendations, including that the sheriff's office improve its training and documentation, including better accountability of field training hours. It also suggested that the office's internal affairs department be more autonomous.
The recommendations appeared to address a leaked 2009 memo that alleged top sheriff's office officials knew Bates was inadequately trained but pressured other officers to look away.
Among the witnesses who testified before the grand jury was a corporal in the internal affairs division, Warren Crittenden, who said he was pressured to sign off on memos saying Bates was qualified for duty.
Crittenden told investigators in the 2009 memo that he feared he'd be transferred if he didn't OK paperwork stating that Bates had completed his training at 328 hours, which violated policy requiring 480 hours of training, according to the report.
The grand jury also heard from sheriff's corporal Bill Adams, who called the memo "very accurate," and said that Glanz could have done more to address its findings.
Both Crittenden and Adams also have left the agency.
MIAMI (AP) —
Powerful Hurricane Joaquin bore down Thursday on the lightly populated islands of the central and eastern Bahamas and forecasters said it could grow more intense while following a path that would near the U.S. East Coast by the weekend.
Some minor flooding and storm surge were reported, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or significant damage as the storm reached the island chain, said Capt. Stephen Russell, the director of the Bahamas National Emergency Management Agency.
Islands such as San Salvador, Cat Island and Rum Cay were expected to experience the most significant effects before the storm begins an expected shift toward the north, forecasters said
Joaquin was a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph (195 kph) and hurricane strength winds extending 35 miles (55 kilometers) from the eye, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said. As of 8 a.m. EDT, the center of the storm was about 10 miles (15 kilometers) north of Samana Cays, Bahamas, and moving west-southwest at 5 mph (7 kph).
The storm was predicted to turn to the north and northwest toward the United States late Thursday or Friday, but forecasters were still gathering data to determine how it might affect the U.S.
"There's still a distinct possibility that his could make landfall somewhere in the U.S.," said Dennis Feltgen, a meteorologist and hurricane center spokesman.
On Eleuthera, a narrow strip to the north of Cat Island, people removed stray coconuts and other debris from their yards and put up storm shutters in blustery winds, said Chris Gosling, who runs a volunteer ambulance service on the island. Islanders have learned from past storms not to take chances.
"People don't panic too much. There's nothing you can do about it. If it comes, it comes, and you do what you can," said Gosling, who has lived on Eleuthera for 27 years. "If the forecast is right we will get some wind and rain and it will go back out to sea."
The Hurricane Center said parts of the Bahamas could see storm surge raising sea levels 5 to 8 feet (as much as 2.4 meters) above normal, with 10 to 15 inches (250 to 380 millimeters) of rain falling on the central Bahamas.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center's long-term forecast showed the storm could near the U.S. East Coast along North Carolina and Virginia on Sunday.
"Residents of the Carolinas north should be paying attention and monitoring the storm. There's no question," said Eric Blake, a hurricane specialist with the center. "If your hurricane plans got a little dusty because of the light hurricane season, now is a good time to update them."