School resource officer sued for allegedly handcuffing children with ADHD

A Kentucky sheriff's deputy now faces a federal lawsuit for handcuffing elementary school children who were acting out as a result of their hyperactivity disorder and other disabilities, the American Civil Liberties Union said.

The ACLU is suing Kenton County sheriff's Deputy Kevin Sumner, who works as a school resource officer at Latonia Elementary School in Covington. Sumner is accused of handcuffing an 8-year-old boy and a 9-year-old girl, who both have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Cell phone video obtained by the ACLU captured one incident in which Sumner talks to a boy handcuffed in a chair. The boy is so small that he's handcuffed not around the wrists, but around his biceps.

"You don't get to swing at me like that," the deputy says as the boy cries. "You can do what we've asked you to, or you can suffer the consequences."

"Ow, that hurts!" the boy cries.

The deputy tells the boy what he'll need to do to get unshackled.

"If you want the handcuffs off, you're going to have to behave and ask me nicely," he said. "And if you're behaving, I'll take them off, but as long as you're acting up, you're not going to get them off."

The handcuffs were removed after about 15 minutes, the ACLU said, citing school records.

The ACLU said the girl was twice handcuffed behind her back by her biceps and was also in pain.

"Both children were being punished for behavior related to their disabilities," the ACLU said in a statement.

All three incidents happened last fall.

Lawsuit calls for training, seeks damages

The group is suing on behalf of the two children, claiming Sumner violated the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The suit seeks a change in policies by the Kenton County Sheriff's Office and additional training for school resource officers in dealing with young children and children with special needs. It also seeks an unspecified amount of monetary damages against Sumner.

"Shackling children is not OK. It is traumatizing, and in this case it is also illegal," said Susan Mizner, disability counsel for the ACLU. "Using law enforcement to discipline students with disabilities only serves to traumatize children. It makes behavioral issues worse and interferes with the school's role in developing appropriate educational and behavioral plans for them."

CNN has not reached Sumner or anyone representing him for comment.

Sumner's attorney, Robert Sanders, told the Lexington Herald-Leader that Sumner put the children in handcuffs because "they were placing themselves and other people in danger of harm and that's what the book says to do."

"Kevin Sumner is one of the best and most highly trained school resource officers in Kentucky," Sanders told the newspaper. "He's a teacher who left that profession to become a police officer. He's totally devoted to kids and schools and education."

According to an investigative report cited in the lawsuit, Sumner said the boy "swung his arm and attempted to strike him with his elbow," but the deputy blocked the boy's elbow with his hand.

Kenton County Sheriff Chuck Korzenborn is also named in the suit, accused of failing to properly train and supervise Sumner.

"Kentucky's school personnel are prohibited from using restraints, especially mechanical restraints, to punish children or as a way to force behavior compliance," Kim Tandy, executive director of the Children's Law Center, said in a statement. "These regulations include school resource officers. These are not situations where law enforcement action was necessary."

The Kenton County Sheriff's Office declined to comment to CNN.

In a statement, Covington Independent Public Schools said it will not comment on the lawsuit, per district policy.

"However, the school district has fully cooperated with the children's legal counsel, as well as the Sheriff's Office in looking into the complaints and we will continue to do so," the statement said.

The school district added that school resource officers "are assigned in the schools to maintain the safety of students and staff" and "act in accordance with their training as law enforcement officers." But they "are not called upon by school district staff to punish or discipline a student who engages in a school-related offense."

The boy's mother said her son was traumatized from being handcuffed.

"It is heartbreaking to watch my little boy suffer because of this experience," she said, according to the ACLU.

"It's hard for him to sleep. He has anxiety, and he is scared of seeing the officer in the school. School should be a safe place for children. It should be a place they look forward to going to. Instead, this has turned into a continuing nightmare for my son."

Italian police arrest 11 suspected of carrying messages for Mafia boss

Using coded messages and meeting in isolated rural spots, a network of supporters has helped alleged Mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro -- on the lam for over two decades -- run his criminal empire.

But Italian authorities say they have struck a blow against the secret network, with the arrests in Sicily of 11 people they accuse of being Mafia members.

Among them are those with no criminal records and little to suggest a connection with organized crime, including a shepherd, the owner of a dairy farm, a truck driver and a surveyor.

According to police in the Sicilian capital of Palermo and the anti-mafia department, these suspects were part of a "men of honor" structure that since 2012 had allowed Messina Denaro to relay his orders and stay in charge.

They'd meet clandestinely in remote countryside locations to hand over the boss' letters, or "pizzini," using carefully coded language when they spoke to avoid detection, a police statement said.

Bank accounts scrutinized

The pizzini -- little pieces of paper wrapped in tape and destroyed after reading -- were delivered only every three months in a bid to escape the attention of investigators and prevent them tracking the origin of the notes, police said.

Police interceptions revealed that the "postmen" for the boss used a kind of coded farmer's language to conceal their meanings, referring to "sheep to shear," "vegetables to harvest," or "ricotta cheese" that needed to be collected.

The mail exchanges were carried out in open countryside because the noise made police wiretapping more difficult.

But despite such precautions, the net appears to be closing in on Messina Denaro.

Another 18 people were seized as part of the same police operation.

Other financial investigations are underway in Swiss banks regarding bank accounts that investigators suspect have been used to finance Messina Denaro's life on the lam.

At a news conference Monday in Palermo, Procurator Teresa Principato said investigations into Messina Denaro continue and are now focused on finding whoever has been shielding him since he went on the run in 1993.

"It's clear that he has very, very important protections," Principato said. If he wasn't protected at a high level, she added, "it wouldn't be possible for him to be still be a fugitive after so many years" during which the Cosa Nostra's sometimes deadly operations have continued.

Italian columnist and mafia expert Francesco La Licata wrote Tuesday in the national daily La Stampa that Messina Denaro is the last of the Mafia bosses on the run for whom "it's worth the hunt," in terms of the huge "human and economic resources" needed.

Suspects in their 70s

Those arrested include 77-year-old farmer Vito Gondola, who had previous convictions, the police statement said. He's accused of being the Mafia head in the Mazzara del Vallo district and having had a pivotal role in the delivery of Messina Denaro's messages, coordinating times and methods of delivery.

Others detained are 77-year-old Pietro Giambalvo, allegedly a member of the Mafia clan of Santa Ninfa who met with Gondola, and Leonardo Agueci, a 27-year-old accountant with no criminal record who's described by police as a loyal person used to relay communications between bosses.

Police accounts of the notes passed between Messina Denaro and his alleged network may ring a bell with Mafia watchers.

In 2006, investigators swooped on then-Mafia boss Bernardo Provenzano -- on the run since 1963 -- capturing him without a struggle near his Sicilian hometown, the village of Corleone, the same made famous by author Mario Puzo in "The Godfather."

Then aged 73, Provenzano was accused by authorities of having run the Cosa Nostra with an iron fist since taking charge. His modus operandi? Orders passed to underlings through precise, tightly-folded paper notes.

Prime Minister: Let's capture the top boss

The latest moves against those with suspected Mafia connections come amid an apparent determination to crack down on organized crime in Italy.

In a post on his official Facebook page, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi thanked all those involved for "the blow inflicted to the Mafia organization" through the arrests.

"Let's now move on to finally capture the super boss on the run. Italy is here, all together and united, against organized crime," he said.

In March, Italian President Sergio Mattarella told CNN's Christiane Amanpour how his own brother had been murdered at the hands of the Mafia more than three decades ago.

"In all these years I've always tried to emphasize and to promote the need to combat the Mafia," he said. "Because it is a cancer which is oppressive and which stifles everybody's freedom and reduces the possibility for the areas in which it's present to prosper and to develop."

Speaking in Turin in June, Pope Francis also urged his audience to fight back against organized crime and corruption.

"We say 'no' to corruption that is so widespread that it seems to be an attitude, normal behavior," he said. "But not in words, rather in deeds. We say 'no' to Mafia collusion, fraud, bribes, and the like."

Shanghai man's lower leg amputated after getting trapped in escalator

A Shanghai man's lower leg has been amputated after becoming trapped in a mall escalator, the third serious escalator-related accident in China in a week.

The 35-year-old man, surnamed Zhang, was a cleaner at the Cloud Nine shopping mall in Shanghai, state media said.

Video surveillance footage from Saturday evening shows him placing a cloth near the top of the escalator and stepping on it to clean the escalator equipment before one of the escalator's metal floor panels give way, trapping his left lower leg.

Firefighters eventually rescued the man and he was sent to hospital where his leg was amputated from the calf down.

"The doctor said in order to prevent (the) situation from getting worse, they amputated his left calf," a family member of the victim told Xinhua.

An investigation into the accident is still underway but the latest state media reports say the victim violated operation regulations by not shutting the escalator down first before cleaning it.

It is the third escalator incident in China this past week that has resulted in a serious injury or fatality.

Mall tragedy

Last Wednesday, a similar incident resulted in the death of a young mother. Thirty-year-old Xiang Liujuan fell through an escalator metal panel to her death in Jingzhou, a city located in central China, although she was able to push her two-year-old son to safety.

Two days before that in the southwestern province of Guangxi, a toddler's left hand and arm were caught in a gap of an escalator after he tripped and fell at the bottom, firefighters told local media. He suffered multiple injuries, including a fractured arm, and was hospitalized.

Despite the recent spate of incidents -- which has sparked numerous videos on social media of people tiptoeing on escalators or riding the handrails -- government statistics show that there were just 49 escalator or elevator-related accidents last year.

As a result, 37 people died, a relatively low figure for a country with a population of 1.3 billion. Authorities say most of the deaths were caused by improper use and only eight cases were caused by equipment problems.

Jimmy Carter undergoes liver surgery

Former President Jimmy Carter had a "small mass" removed from his liver during surgery Monday, his office said.

The surgery at Emory University Hospital "proceeded without issues, and the prognosis is excellent for a full recovery," according to a statement from the Carter Center, the Atlanta not-for-profit the former president opened after leaving the White House.

Carter, 90, is the second-oldest living president but has led an active post-presidency, recently releasing a new autobiography, "A Full Life," and promoting it in media appearances.

The former President has experienced some health concerns before. He cut a trip short to Guyana in May because he "was not feeling well."

Jury unanimously agrees to consider death sentence for James Holmes

James Holmes could still face the death penalty after a jury unanimously agreed on Monday that aggravating factors outweigh the mitigating factors for all of the murder charges for which he was convicted.

That means that a third and final phase of sentencing will happen to determine whether he gets sentenced to death or life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Holmes killed 12 people and injured 70 in a Colorado movie theater in 2012. He was convicted of 24 counts of murder in the first degree -- two for each victim -- in July.

Jurors began deliberating Thursday on the second phase of how to proceed with sentencing. Phase three is expected to start on Tuesday.

Prosecutors had argued that the jury should continue to death penalty proceedings which would be a final, third phase under Colorado law. Holmes' attorneys urged the jury to give Holmes a life sentence and end the months-long trial.

His attorneys have said that his schizophrenia mitigated the capital crimes for which he was convicted.

Holmes had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity and when the jury declared his guilt he showed no reaction.

By virtue of his insanity plea, Holmes never denied he was responsible for the slayings.

Three dozen witnesses have testified during this sentencing phase, including James Holmes' parents and sister. Relatives of those killed inside the theater will be allowed to testify in the third phase.

Holmes, 27, is a former neuroscience doctoral student.

Infamous Chowchilla school bus kidnapper paroled

Nearly 40 years after receiving a life sentence for his role in the largest mass abduction in U.S. history, James Schoenfeld -- one of the three infamous Chowchilla school bus kidnappers -- will walk out of a California prison this week a free man.

The California Parole Board moved to grant the 63-year-old his freedom in April, at Schoenfeld's 20th parole hearing since his 1977 conviction on 27 counts of kidnapping, according to Luis Patino, a spokesman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Gov. Jerry Brown -- who was in his first term as governor at the time of the chilling kidnappings -- had 120 days to decide whether he'd intervene by sending the case back to the parole board, but when that deadline came and went late last week, Schoenfeld's release became imminent.

No ordinary hijacking

On July 15, 1976, 26 Dairyland Elementary School students were returning home after a day of summer school in Chowchilla -- an inland farming community some 40 miles north of Fresno, California -- when their bus was commandeered by Schoenfeld, his younger brother Richard, and a friend, Fred Woods.

But the armed gunmen, who wore nylon stocking masks, didn't just hunker down afterward and make ransom demands -- this was no ordinary hijacking.

The captors -- men in their 20s from well-to-do Bay Area families -- made the entire bus and all of their hostages disappear for days.

According to reports, it was early evening when the trio stormed the bus and took it to a nearby drainage ditch where they hid it in a thicket of bamboo. The 27 hostages -- 26 students and bus driver Ed Ray -- were then divided into two vans and driven for more than 11 hours to a sand and gravel quarry owned by Woods' family.

The captives were forced to descend below the rocks and gravel into an underground bunker fashioned out of the trailer of a moving truck that the kidnappers then entombed in dirt, according to the Fresno Bee.

The cell was about 8 feet by 16 feet and was crudely ventilated, but was stocked with water, snacks, a flashlight and mattresses, according to media reports.

Ray, who passed away at age 91 in 2012, said "there was a lot of crying and begging for mama,"according to a New York Times obituary. "(The children) kept hollering and saying, 'Why did they do this to us?' I'd like to know, too," he said shortly after the ordeal.

Daring escape

Although the kidnapping itself was executed with terrifying precision, the plot, it seemed, was never fully conceived, because the three captors were bested by Ray and the children -- aged between 5 and 14 years old -- before ransom demands were even made.

After several hours in the bunker, Ray and the older children began stacking the mattresses in a way that enabled them to access the roof of the truck. Once there, they were able to tunnel their way above ground. The entire escape took place as the Schoenfelds and Woods napped,according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

The students eventually returned to their families on July 17, 1976 along with Ray, who enjoyed a hero's welcome.

A legacy of nightmares

The Chowchilla kidnapping is a frightening scenario that is perhaps unfathomable for most students, parents and teachers in an era of hyperconnectivity, where cell phones and wifi-equipped school buses mean students can communicate just as easily with the world outside as they can with person sitting right next to them.

But it was 1976, well before such technological luxuries existed.

Although none of the 26 children were physically harmed by the Schoenfelds or by Woods during the affair, the trauma they endured still persists for many of the victims, who are now in their 40s and 50s.

Jennifer Hyde is one of them. She said she was nine years old when her childhood ended on that bus in Chowchilla.

"You couldn't just go on and have a normal childhood when you faced a life-threatening situation like that. You just can't go on and be carefree," she told CNN in 2013.

Hyde said she still sleeps with a nightlight on, and won't ride a subway or go anywhere underground.

While Hyde remains a prisoner of fear, James Schoenfeld will join his brother Richard -- who was paroled in 2012 -- in freedom no later than Wednesday, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Fred Woods will then be the last of the Chowchilla kidnappers behind bars. The 63-year-old will have his 15th parole hearing on November 19, according to Patino.

Memphis police officer killed during traffic stop; one person in custody

Memphis police took one person into custody Sunday in connection with the shooting death of a police officer the night before, CNN affiliates WMC and WREGreported.

The Memphis Police Department has not confirmed any arrests or other developments in the case, and did not immediately return CNN's calls for comment.

Officer Sean Bolton, 33, was shot multiple times during a traffic stop Saturday night by a person who was in the car he pulled over, police said.

Bolton's killer fled, sparking an overnight manhunt, according to Memphis police spokeswoman Karen Rudolph.

A civilian used the officer's radio to notify police about the shooting, she said.

Bolton, who joined the force in October 2010, was taken to hospital in critical condition. He later died.

This is the third time a Memphis police officer has been killed in the past four years, Memphis Police Director Toney Armstrong said.

"It doesn't get any easier. This is a very difficult time, not only for me as director, but for all the officers you see standing behind me," he told reporters early Sunday morning.

"And (it's) a difficult time for our city as well. So I ask that you give us the respect that we need ... and the space that we need to grieve, and the time that we need to prepare to lay our brother to rest."

The shooting follows a series of incidents across the country in which police have been accused of using excessive force during traffic stops.

Former University of Cincinnati Police Officer Ray Tensing faces charges of murder and voluntary manslaughter for shooting Samuel DuBose in the headduring a traffic stop July 19. DuBose's death reignited a familiar chant across the country: "Black lives matter."

It's unclear what led to Bolton's shooting in Memphis, but the police chief said it highlights the risks police officers face every day.

"We say so often ... do black lives matter? And at the end of the day, we have to ask ourselves, do all lives matter -- regardless of race, creed, color, economic status, what profession that person holds? All lives matter," Armstrong said.

"This is just a reminder of how dangerous this job is."

On closer look, researchers propose new species: African golden wolf

The golden jackals found in Africa, Europe the Middle East and Asia have long been considered the same species, thanks to their physical features and behavior.

Apparently, looks can be deceiving.

Extensive DNA analysis, backed up by previous studies, shows that the population consists of two species of genetically distinct lineage, one of which was previously unknown to scientists,according to a report published this week.

The slender, short-muzzled Eurasian golden jackal with reddish-brown fur that we've always known goes by Canis aureus. Even though they resemble Canis aureus, those found in Africa have more genetically in common with gray wolves, leading researchers to propose a new scientific name: the African golden wolf, or Canis anthus.

The discovery marks the first new canid species in Africa in 150 years, according to theSmithsonian Conservation Biology Institute. A canid is a member of Canidae, the biological family for dogs, wolves and other such mammals.

A team of researchers, led by SCBI scientist Klaus-Peter Koepfli, published their findings Thursday in Current Biology.

The team said the discovery was "surprising" given the absence of gray wolves in Africa and the difference in observable physical and biochemical characteristics between the two species.

To test the distinct-species hypothesis and understand the evolutionary history that would produce this result, researchers analyzed extensive genomic data, including mitochondrial genome sequences and whole-genome nuclear sequences, in African and Eurasian golden jackals and gray wolves.

Their research provided "consistent and robust evidence" that the African gray wolves and Eurasian golden jackals have been distinct for more than 1 million years, the report said, despite similarities in their body size and cranial structure.

Zuckerberg 'miscarriage' story prompts outpouring of emotions

Zuckerberg's announcement that Chan is now pregnant with a baby girl prompted thousands of congratulatory Facebook (FB, Tech30) messages on Friday, and some of them were extraordinarily personal, with women's stories of other miscarriages and the silence that often accompanies heartbreaking loss.

"My husband and I are going through the same thing," a user named Bethany wrote. "We just had a miscarriage in May...so it's nice to know I'm not alone."

A user named Jennifer wrote of her miscarriages, "The pain is so intense and the sense of grief is real. Thank you for letting other couples know that they are not alone."

The Facebook founder and CEO posted a picture and short essay to his personal Facebook page on Friday afternoon. He has 25 million followers, so the news spread very quickly.

"Most people don't discuss miscarriages because you worry your problems will distance you or reflect upon you -- as if you're defective or did something to cause this. So you struggle on your own," he wrote.

But then he struck an optimistic note: "In today's open and connected world, discussing these issues doesn't distance us; it brings us together. It creates understanding and tolerance, and it gives us hope."

It seemed that many of his followers connected with that idea right away.

The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, a nonprofit group, immediately tweeted its congratulations and said it was great to see Zuckerberg and Chan "raising awareness about how many people are affected by miscarriage."

CNN correspondent Kyra Phillips, whose book "The Whole Life Fertility Plan" came out earlier this year, said on "CNN Newsroom" that Zuckerberg and Chan's news will assure other families that "it's not just me; other people are dealing with this."

Too often, she said, "There's a stigma. Women feel ashamed. Men feel ashamed. They don't want to talk about it. They think something's wrong with them."

These emotions were evident in the ever-expanding comments thread below Zuckerberg's essay on Friday. While Facebook includes commenters' real names, many users perceive the site to be a quasi-private space to share personal experiences and stories. (For that reason, we're only including the first names of the users quoted here.)

"Hand raised," Stephanie wrote, describing how fertility issues affect many families.

"It is lonely," Michelle wrote, agreeing with Zuckerberg's description. "We had a miscarriage and then were unable to conceive for two more years. Now we are blessed with three kids."

Yul added her thanks to Zuckerberg and Chan for sharing something that's ordinarily very private: "My wife and I went through a similar experience, and didn't realize how many of our friends had gone through the same thing until we finally started talking openly about it."

RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association also used Zuckerberg's invention to share the news on Friday and thank the family for raising awareness.

"You are not alone!" the group wrote. "And congratulations on the exciting news!"

Colombian military plane crash kills 11

A Colombian military plane has crashed, killing all 11 people on board, according to the nation's air force.

The CASA-235 reported an engine failure before crashing in Agustin Codazzi, about 370 miles (600 km) north of Bogota, officials said.

President Juan Manuel Santos wrote in a tweet, "We are sorry for this terrible accident . . . Our condolences to their families."

The Colombian Air Force said it joins the defense minister and chief of the armed forces in expressing sorrow to families and friends of the "heroes of the homeland."

The commander of the air force, Gen. Carlos Bueno, said that a team is being sent to investigate.