WKSU News: Third expert: Police shooting of Tamir Rice was justified

Friday, November 13, 2015 Third expert: Police shooting of Tamir Rice was justified Top headlines: Voice recorder recovered from plane crash in Akron; Former Ohio Senator switches endorsement from Clinton to Sanders by WKSU's AMANDA RABINOWITZ and MICHAEL BRATTON	Morning Edition Host Amanda Rabinowitz

Morning headlines for Friday, November 13, 2015:

Third expert says police shooting of Tamir Rice was justified

Voice recorder recovered from plane crash in Akron

Former Ohio Senator switches endorsement from Clinton to Sanders

Akron man accused of soliciting killings of service members

Committee formed to hire Ohio's next superintendent

Ohio Supreme Court upholds long-term labels for sex offenders

Cleveland man sentenced in hit-skip death of jogger

City of Cleveland upgrades winter weather equipment

Third expert says police shooting of Tamir Rice was justified
A third expert on police use of force concludes that a Cleveland policeman was justified in fatally shooting Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old who was carrying a pellet gun. The report by a retired Florida police officer was released Thursday by the Cuyahoga County prosecutor's office. It comes as a grand jury hears evidence on whether patrolman Timothy Loehmann should be charged criminally for killing Rice outside a recreation center last November. The Florida ex-officer says Loehmann perceived a threat when he fired and his actions were reasonable given the circumstances. Two other use-of-force experts hired by prosecutors also concluded that the shooting was justified. Attorneys for Rice's family have said the release of the reports is improper and have called for a special prosecutor to take over the case.

Voice recorder recovered from plane crash in Akron
The National Transportation Safety Board says a cockpit voice recorder on the small jet that crashed into an Akron building and killed nine people on board captured the pilot and co-pilot discussing weather and landing conditions and the sound of impact. An NTSB official said during a briefing Thursday the recorder recovered from the wreckage in Ellet contained 30 minutes of poor-quality audio. Federal investigators have removed both engines from the wreckage that will be sent to the manufacturer, Honeywell, for analysis. Investigators also have recovered the landing gear. Both pilots had the Federal Aviation Administration's highest level of certification. NTSB investigators are expected to remain at the crash site for several more days.

Former Ohio Senator switches endorsement from Clinton to Sanders
A prominent Northeast Ohio Democrat is switching her presidential endorsement of Hillary Clinton to Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Nina Turner is a former state Senator from Cleveland. Turner told Cleveland.com that she’s backing Sanders and will introduce him at a rally Monday at Cleveland State University. She cited his positions on voting rights and wage issues. Sanders, Hillary Clinton, and Martin O’Malley will debate Saturday in Iowa.

Akron man accused of soliciting killings of service members
An Akron man who prosecutors say professed online support for the Islamic State has been charged with soliciting the killings of U.S. service members. Federal prosecutors say 25-year-old Terrence McNeil reposted names and addresses of members of the military and called for online followers to take the "final step" and kill them. McNeil appeared Thursday in federal court. In announcing the case, federal authorities maintained that McNeil's actions went far beyond First Amendment freedom-of-speech rights. The Justice Department has prosecuted dozens of Islamic State supporters in the last year, mostly for providing material support to the terrorist organization.

Committee formed to hire Ohio's next superintendent
An eight member committee has been formed to hire Ohio’s next schools superintendent. The committee has five members chosen by Gov. John Kasich. It also includes one elected Ohio Board of Education member and the chairs of the House and Senate educations committee. After a year that included the resignation of the state’s head of charter schools over a grade scrubbing scandal, Superintendent Richard Ross will retire at the end of December.

Ohio Supreme Court upholds long-term labels for sex offenders
The Ohio Supreme Court has upheld the sex-offender label given a man convicted after a consensual affair with a 15-year-old girl when he was 21. The court's 5-2 decision Thursday rejected the man's argument that the label amounts to cruel and unusual punishment because the classification is a significantly harsher punishment than the offense warranted. Travis Blankenship pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual conduct with a minor in 2012, served 12 days in jail and was classified as a second-degree sex offender. Court records say the girl confirmed the affair was consensual and a psychologist said Blankenship did not show sex-offender characteristics.

Cleveland man sentenced in hit-skip death of jogger
A judge has sentenced a Cleveland man to 11 years in prison for the hit-skip death of a jogger just minutes after the driver fled from police during a traffic stop. Forty-five-year-old Derick Ward was sentenced Thursday in Cleveland after earlier pleading guilty to charges including aggravated vehicular homicide. Ward was charged in the death of James Caffrey, a fifth-grade teacher in the Shaker Heights school district who was struck while jogging in that city.

City of Cleveland upgrades winter weather equipment
Officials in Cleveland say upgraded equipment puts them in a better situation to handle the weather this winter. City officials said Thursday they spent $6 million this year on vehicles for the streets division. Those include 31 snowplow trucks and five pickup trucks with plows. They say the division's snow removal fleet is now at 75 vehicles, up from 58 last year. Staffing won't increase from last year. Maintenance issues nearly crippled the city's snow removal fleet last winter during back-to-back storms.