Birmingham, Alabama, leaders plead for information on mass shooting

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Officials in Birmingham, Alabama, are pleading with members of the public for information leading to arrests in a weekend mass shooting that killed four people and injured more than a dozen others. Officials are offering rewards totaling $100,000 for information after Saturday’s shooting. Police have described it as a targeted “hit” by multiple shooters who opened fire outside a nightspot in Birmingham’s Five Points South district. The shooting is Birmingham’s third quadruple homicide of the year and has put a spotlight on a city once best known for its role in the civil rights movement but more recently plagued by gun violence.

Gunman who killed 10 at a Colorado supermarket found guilty of murder

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — A mentally ill man who killed 10 people at a Colorado supermarket in 2021 has been found guilty of murder and faces life in prison. Jurors reached their verdict Monday in the trial of Ahmad Alissa. His attorneys did not dispute that Alissa, who has schizophrenia, fatally shot 10 people including a police officer in the college town of Boulder. But he pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, with the defense arguing he couldn’t tell right from wrong at the time of the attack. In addition to 10 counts of first-degree murder, the jury found Alissa guilty on 38 charges of attempted murder, one count of assault, and six counts of possessing illegal, large-capacity magazines.

FBI finds violent crime declined in 2023

WASHINGTON (AP) — Violent crime in the US dropped again in 2023, according to FBI statistics that show a continued trend downward after a coronavirus pandemic-era crime spike. The report released Monday shows overall violent crime ticked down an estimated 3% in 2023 from the year before. Murders and non-negligent manslaughter dropped nearly 12%. Violent crime has become a talking point on the campaign trail, with former President Donald Trump falsely claiming during the recent presidential debate that crime is “through the roof” under President Joe Biden’s administration. Even amid the 2020 surge, violent crime is down dramatically from the 1990s.

Biden administration seeks to ban Chinese, Russian tech in US autonomous vehicles

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. Commerce Department is seeking a ban on the sale of connected and autonomous vehicles in the U.S. that are equipped with Chinese and Russian software and hardware with the stated goal of protecting national security and U.S. drivers. Commerce officials described the rule announced Monday as proactive but necessary given that all the bells and whistles on cars like microphones, cameras and Bluetooth can reveal a range of personal information about car owners. Security concerns around the extensive software-driven functions in Chinese vehicles have arisen in Europe, where Chinese electric cars have rapidly gained market share.