What you need to know: Monday
It’s Monday, April 20 and here is your day ahead:
In local news…
WEATHER: Windy, cooler and scattered showers today. Highs will be in the lower 50s. Full forecast
1. MADISON SHOOTINGS
4 shootings in 12 hours: Madison police are still investigating the motives and circumstances surrounding four incidents of shots fired throughout the city Saturday morning. The first shooting happened around 1 a.m. at 603 State St. when a 25-year-old woman was hit by gunfire inside State Street Brats, officials said. The second incident happened just after 1 a.m. in the 3700 block of East Karstens Drive. Following that shooting, police were also called to incidents at Rockefeller Lane and Mineral Point Road. Police have no said if they believe the shootings are connected. More on this story
2. TONY ROBINSON
Life celebration: Dozens of people spent their Sunday afternoon at James Madison Park – not protesting, not preaching, but celebrating the life of their friend Tony Robinson. It’s been a month now since Madison police officer Matthew Kenny shot and killed the 19-year-old. People were asked to leave messages for Tony on a piece of cloth or with chalk on the sidewalk. The event also included music, as well as an open mic for people to share their thoughts, poems and prayers. Meanwhile, Dane County DA Ismael Ozanne is reviewing all the reports on the case. He says he will give at least 48 hours notice before he releases his decision on whether Kenny will face criminal charges. More on this story
3. MATT KENSETH
Return to Victory Row: Wisconsin native and NASCAR racer Matt Kenseth returned to a place he hasn’t been for a while last night: Victory Row. Kenseth won the rain-soaked Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. He led the race for 47 laps. After a rain delay, they went green, white, checkered and Kenseth was able to separate from the field to win his first race since September 2013. More on this story
4. BREWERS
Rough start: Things aren’t going too well for the Brewers. The team lost its fifth game in a row yesterday. Manager Ron Roenicke insists it’s way too early to panic. Still, something needs to be done with the Brewers off to the worst start in club history after another uninspired performance in a 5-2 loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday.The Brewers are now last in the Majors in runs scored this year. The team’s season record sits at 2-10. More on this story
5. MADISON LIVABILITY
Best neighborhoods: A Madison neighborhood had landed at the top of a new list ranking the best neighborhoods in America. The Mifflin West neighborhood is one of the best spots in the country to live, according to AARP’s Livability Index, a new online tool being launched this morning. The ranking is based on factors such as housing, health, environment and neighborhood engagement. Other top places included the Upper West Side of Manhattan and Down Cross in Boston.
In national news…
1. FREDDIE GRAY
Many questions, few answers: Exactly one week after he was taken into police custody in Baltimore, Freddie Gray died yesterday under fuzzy circumstances. The 27-year-old was healthy when police tackled him — though there was no evidence he had committed a crime, says his lawyer. Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake is doing a lot of the asking about how police acted, so answers may be forthcoming at a planned press conference today. More on this story
2. MIGRANT DROWNINGSLost at sea: They had no chance to swim for it. Many migrants on a ship that capsized in the Mediterranean Sea this weekend were locked behind closed doors, a witness said. Altogether hundreds of migrants were on board the multi-level boat when it turned over, according to some of the 50 people who survived. Rescuers have recovered two dozen bodies. The rest are missing at sea — a fate that keeps repeating itself, as refugees flee the cruelty of conflict in Libya in hopes of a safer life in Europe. More on this story
3. TERROR INVESTIGATION
6 arrested in 2 states: A news conference is planned this morning to provide details into an FBI terror probe. The FBI has arrested at least six men in what officials allege is an ISIS-inspired terror plot. Details were scant Sunday night, but federal law enforcement officials told CNN the men were arrested in Minnesota and California as part of a year-long FBI investigation. There was never a direct threat to the public, the sources said. In recent months, investigators have tracked on what they believe is a terror recruitment network focused on the Somali community in the Minneapolis area. More on this story
4. ISIS ATTACKS
Convert, pay, or die: ISIS beheaded Christians in Libya in a video released yesterday. The victims — in two groups — knelt in orange jump suits on a beach. They are thought to have been Ethiopian Christians. There may have been a way out for them, the narrator said — pay money. There is a provision in strict interpretations of Sharia for Christians to live under Islamic rule, if they pay a tax. The video gave an example: Christians in Mosul, Iraq, were given the choice to convert or pay. More on this story
5. BOMBING ANNIVERSARIES
Oklahoma City and Boston: In the shadow of two gruesome anniversaries, two cities are saying: We are resilient. Yesterday, Oklahoma City commemorated the victims of the country’s worst domestic terror act that killed 168 people 20 years ago, when anti-government extremists set off a bomb. Victims’ names were read aloud, and former President Bill Clinton thanked residents for moving forward without forgetting. “You have inspired us with the power of your renewal,” he said. More on this story
In Boston, 30,000 runners will charge down streets two years after terrorists’ bombs killed three people and injured 260 more. More than two dozen of those who were injured will run in the race a day before the sentencing phase begins for convicted bomber Dzhokar Tsarnaev. More on this story
