AUTHORITIES PROBE FATAL SHOOTING BY TURLOCK COP: TURLOCK (AP) — The Stanislaus County District Attorney's Office is investigating the fatal shooting of a man by a Turlock officer who was responding to a report of "suspicious subjects."
Turlock Police Officer Mayra Lewis says the shooting happened when police were investigating the report in a neighborhood just east of Highway 99 around 11:30 a.m. Monday.
Lewis says the officer shot a man who "presented a firearm" to police.
The man was taken to a nearby hospital and pronounced dead. Police did not reveal the victim's name or age.
Lewis says the officer was placed on paid administrative leave while prosecutors investigate.
Police say Monday's incident is Turlock's first officer-involved shooting since 2005.
GSA EXECUTIVE ASSERTS RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT: WASHINGTON (AP) — The General Services Administration inspector general said Monday that he's investigating possible bribery and kickbacks in the agency, as a central figure in a GSA spending scandal asserted his right to remain silent at a congressional hearing.
Inspector general Brian Miller, responding to a question at the hearing, said, "We do have other ongoing investigations, including all sorts of improprieties, including bribes, including possible kickbacks."
Jeffrey Neely, who asserted his Fifth Amendment privilege, has been placed on leave as a regional executive in Western states.
Neely, summoned before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, could face a criminal investigation by the Justice Department — where his case was referred by the inspector general.
Neely was largely responsible for an $823,000 Las Vegas conference in 2010 that was the focus of Miller's report. Three other congressional committees also are looking at the conference spending and a culture of waste at the agency in charge of federal buildings and supplies.
DEFENDANT ASKS FOR NEW JUDGE IN US SHOOTING: SANFORD, Florida (AP) — The neighborhood watch volunteer charged with killing an unarmed black teenager in Florida asked a judge in the case to step down Monday after she revealed a potential conflict of interest.
George Zimmerman's attorney, Mark O'Mara, filed the request and said Circuit Judge Jessica Recksiedler revealed the potential conflict last week.
Zimmerman was charged last week with second-degree murder in Trayvon Martin's Feb. 26 death. The lack of an arrest in the shooting inspired weeks of protests nationwide.
Recksiedler's potential conflict involves her husband, who works with attorney Mark NeJame. Zimmerman's family first approached NeJame about representing Zimmerman. He declined and referred them to O'Mara.
RYAN O'NEAL SAYS HE HAS STAGE 2 PROSTATE CANCER: LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ryan O'Neal says the prognosis is positive for his recovery from recently diagnosed Stage 2 prostate cancer.
The 70-year-old actor said in a statement released through his publicist on Monday that he was "shocked and stunned by the news" but feels fortunate the disease was caught early. He said his doctors expect him to make a full recovery.
Higher stage numbers mean more extensive disease, with Stage 4 being the highest, according to the National Cancer Institute.
O'Neal said he is grateful for the support of his friends and family. He also advocates regular exams because early detection is the best defense against prostate cancer.
The actor's memoir about his romance with Farrah Fawcett, "Both of Us: My Life With Farrah," will be published on May 1.
SD MAN'S LAWSUIT SAYS CIRCUMCISION 'ROBBED' HIM: SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A South Dakota prison inmate is suing the hospital where he was circumcised as a newborn, saying he only recently became aware that he'd undergone the procedure and that it robbed him of his sexual prowess.
Dean Cochrun, 28, is asking for $1,000 in compensatory and punitive damages. He also asks in the lawsuit that his foreskin be restored "in the hopes I could feel whole again," though he acknowledged that he didn't expect such a restoration to be anything more than aesthetic.
Cochrun, who is imprisoned in Sioux Falls on a kidnapping conviction, filed the federal lawsuit Friday against Sanford Hospital. Cochrun claims that an "unknown doctor" at the then-named Sioux Valley Hospital misled his mother to believe that the procedure was medically necessary. Cochrun argues that the procedure was unnecessary, unethical and without medical benefit.
"I was recently made aware of the fact that I had been (circumcised) and that ... I was robbed of sensitivity during sexual intercourse as well as the sense of security and well-being I am entitled to in my person," he argued in the lawsuit, adding that neither he nor his partners would "have that sensitivity during sexual intercourse and have a normal sex life."
Cochrun isn't represented by a lawyer in the lawsuit, which includes a letter from Sanford officials responding to a letter requesting that his foreskin be replaced. Patient relations representative DyAnn Smith replied that Sanford would not pay for the procedure.
TEXAS TEEN FACING MURDER CHARGES IN VAN CRASH: PALMVIEW, Texas (AP) — A 15-year-old South Texas boy charged with nine counts of murder after he crashed a minivan packed with illegal immigrants, killing nine of them, cried and expressed remorse before a judge Monday, police said.
The boy, who is not being identified because he is a juvenile, appeared at a probable cause hearing at a juvenile detention facility. He was also charged with 17 counts of smuggling of a person causing serious bodily injury or death, and one count of evading.
Border Patrol agents pulled over the van last Tuesday night about 10 miles west of McAllen. As it stopped, one person jumped from the vehicle and ran. When agents pursued him the van sped off. It crashed just a few blocks away scattering a parking lot with bodies, backpacks and water bottles. The driver escaped, but was arrested two days later at his home.
