95.1 The Bee

The Atlanta Police Department confirmed that two people were killed and another was wounded in two shootings in the Midtown area of Atlanta on Monday.

Atlanta’s interim Police Chief Darin Schierbaum told reporters that a suspect was taken into custody hours later at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport after police received information she had transported herself there. Police recovered the handgun believed to have been used in the shootings at the airport, Schierbaum said, and the airport’s security was “never compromised.” Schierbaum didn’t provide details about a possible motive, but investigators believe the victims were likely targeted. The chief said:  “We do not believe these were random acts of violence.”

Officers responded to a report of a shooting at approximately 1:45 p.m. and found two people wounded. While responding to that scene, officers received a call that a person had been shot nearby; officers found another wounded victim, who was taken to a hospital and died, the department said. The condition of the surviving victim wasn’t immediately known.

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On Sunday, a federal appeals court temporarily blocked an order requiring Sen. Lindsey Graham to testify about his role in an effort to alter Georgia’s 2020 presidential election results.

In the two-page ruling issued by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, the subpoena was blocked after a federal district judge in Atlanta rejected the effort by Graham to avoid testimony before a special grand jury, on the grounds that he is protected by the speech and debate clause of the U.S. Constitution. The appeals court ordered Graham’s attorneys and prosecutors for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to expand their arguments and present them to U.S. District Court Judge Leigh Martin May.

Prosecutors have sought Graham’s testimony regarding a pair of phone calls he made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which he allegedly asked if about “examining certain absentee ballots cast in Georgia in order to explore the possibility of a more favorable outcome” for then-President Donald Trump and whether the secretary of state “had the power to toss all mail ballots” in counties with poor signature match rates. Graham’s lawyers argued that the calls were a “legislative act” and part of his congressional fact-finding duties and therefore protected under the speech and debate clause.

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Indiana State University confirmed that three students were killed in a single-vehicle crash early on Sunday morning.  In a statement, the university said all five people in the vehicle were believed to be ISU students, including several football players, adding that police are working to positively identify the victims who were killed in the crash. ISU President Dr. Deborah J. Curtis said: “This is a terrible tragedy; as we are waiting on additional details from authorities investigating this accident, our hearts go out to the families and friends of the students involved.”  The university added that counseling services would be available for students, faculty and staff.

The Vigo County Sheriff’s Office said that deputies responded to a scene in Riley in which a vehicle carrying five people crashed into a tree and caught fire at 1:34 a.m. Sunday. Riley is about 11 miles southwest of Terrr Haute, where the university is located in southern Indiana.

The sheriff’s office said “unfortunately, the driver and two other occupants were pronounced deceased on the scene,” adding that two of the other passengers were freed from the vehicle and transported to be treated for serious injuries.

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