National Roundup

Iowa
Trial reset for southeast Iowa man charged with wife’s death
BURLINGTON, Iowa (AP) — A trial has been rescheduled for a rural Burlington man who deputies found in a harvested cornfield, not far from the body of his wife and their burning vehicle.

Des Moines County court records say 58-year-old Bradley Wischmeier Sr. has pleaded not guilty to vehicular homicide while under the influence and to driving under the influence, second offense.

Deputies sent April 17 to the field not far from the home he shared with his wife, 50-year-old Lisa Wischmeier, found him lying around 20 yards (18 meters) from the blazing vehicle.
Court records say Bradley Wischmeier told deputies that he’d been driving crazily around the field until the vehicle overheated and caught fire.

His trial date has changed over weeks of legal wrangling but was set Monday to begin Dec. 11.

California
Suspect in ­beatings probed in case of ­missing Texans
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A man arrested on suspicion of beating a Southern California homeless man into unconsciousness and suspected in three fatal beatings is also being investigated in the disappearance of two Texas relatives.

Houston police Lt. Humberto Lopez tells the Los Angeles Times that 47-year-old Ramon Escobar is a person of interest in the disappearances last month of 60-year-old Dina Escobar and her brother, 65-year-old Rogelio Escobar.

Dina Escobar’s burned van was found in Galveston a few days after she went looking for her missing brother.

Lopez says Ramon Escobar is their nephew and police want to talk to him.

The Southern California beatings occurred in Los Angeles and suburban Santa Monica, where Ramon Escobar was arrested Monday after a homeless man was severely beaten.

Ohio
Lawsuit blaming schools for ­bullying, suicide can proceed
CINCINNATI (AP) — A wrongful death lawsuit accusing an Ohio school district of denying and covering up bullying of an 8-year-old boy who killed himself will be allowed to proceed.

A federal judge on Monday denied Cincinnati Public Schools’ request to dismiss the lawsuit filed by Gabriel Taye’s parents who say he killed himself after being bullied at school.

Attorneys say Gabriel’s mother didn’t know he was bullied until police described a scene outside a boys’ bathroom where attorneys say Gabriel was knocked unconscious. He hanged himself two days later at home in January 2017.

Prosecutors investigated and didn’t file charges.

The school district denies the allegations and says Gabriel never told staff he was bullied or assaulted.

District spokeswoman Lauren Worley said Tuesday the district is reviewing the decision and contemplating options.

Iowa
Trial delayed for couple charged in 4-year-old’s death
WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — A trial has been delayed for two people charged in the death of a 4-year-old girl in Waterloo.

The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that 34-year-old Chad Little and 33-year-old Kristi Buss had been scheduled to go on trial Oct. 16. But a judge said Monday at a hearing that an undisclosed medical issue likely means Buss’ defense won’t be ready for trial next month and that a new defense attorney must be appointed. No new date was set.

Prosecutors say Little abused Buss’ two children, and she didn’t stop the abuse that led to Gracie Buss’ death from blunt force injuries in May 2015.

Little’s pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder and child endangerment resulting in death. She’s charged with child endangerment resulting in death.

Washington, D.C.
Lawsuits ­challenging downsizing of monuments to stay in D.C.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Lawsuits brought by conservation, tribal and paleontological groups challenging the constitutionality of President Donald Trump’s decision to shrink two Utah national monuments will remain in a court in Washington, D.C., after a judge on Monday denied the U.S. government’s request to move the cases to Salt Lake City.

Government officials were also ordered to give two days of notice to the groups suing before any ground disturbances, such as mining, occur within the boundaries of the original monuments, according to a decision issued by U.S. District Judge Tanya Chut­kan pertaining to five lawsuits over the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments.

She didn’t elaborate on why she decided to keep the cases in Washington, D.C.

The Justice Department declined comment, said spokes­man Wyn Hornbuckle. The agency’s lawyers argued in January that the interest in the cases in Utah outweighed the decision by the groups to sue in Washington, D.C.

Conservation groups applauded a decision they believe keeps the cases where they belong and moves them closer to a review of the root of the case: Whether Trump exceeded his authority. Past presidents have trimmed national monuments 18 times, but there’s never been a court ruling about whether the Antiquities Act allows that action.

In December, Trump downsized the Bears Ears National Monument by about 85 percent and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument by nearly half, following a review of 27 national monuments by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke.

Trump said he was scaling back the two monuments to reverse federal overreach and had acted within his authority. He earned cheers from Republican leaders in Utah who lobbied him to undo protections by Democratic presidents that they considered overly broad.

Conservation and tribal groups described the Trump decision as the largest elimination of protected land in American history. They argue that shrinking the monuments jeopardized protections for irreplaceable archaeological sites and important lands. Outdoor retail company Patagonia also sued.

Heidi McIntosh, managing attorney with the conservation group Earthjustice, said she’s looking forward to making the case for why the reductions shouldn’t be allowed now that the venue decision has been made. She said the order calling on the government to give notice of land disturbances is important because while some mining requires permission, other exploratory work such as taking samples can be done without approvals.

“It makes sure that these are irreplaceable resources like the fossils you can find at Grand Staircase are protected while the lawsuit is pending,” McIntosh said.