Wednesday morning news: March 28, 2018

No charges in Sterling shooting » The state of Louisiana will not file criminal charges against two white Baton Rouge police officers involved in the fatal shooting of a black man outside a convenience store in 20-16. State attorney general Jeff Landry made the announcement on Tuesday. 

AUDIO: This investigation included an examination and a reexamination of all evidence provided by the federal government, including witness statements, photographs, video evidence, original and enhanced. 

In the end, Landry said, the evidence did not warrant criminal charges.

But family members of the man killed, 37-year-old Alton Sterling, insist the police officer who shot him, Blane Salamoni is guilty.

AUDIO: The way they killed him was in cold blood. You know it, I know it. But yes, the system has failed us. Yes, we are disappointed. But as a family, we’re gonna stay strong, and we’re gonna keep each other prayed up.

Sterling was selling homemade CDs outside a convenience store when police arrived. Dispatchers told the responding officers that a man was threatening another man with a gun.

One of the officers initially used a stun gun while the other tackled Sterling. Both officers eventually drew their weapons. Only one of the officers fired.

Yesterday’s announcement came nearly a year after the Justice Department announced it would not pursue federal charges in the case.

No mistrial for Pulse widow » The widow of the Pulse nightclub gunman failed Monday to convince a federal judge in Florida to drop the charges against her. WORLD Radio’s Kristen Flavin reports.

KRISTEN FLAVIN, REPORTER: Noor Salman’s defense attorneys argued, unsuccessfully … that the case against her should be thrown out or declared a mistrial.

That followed news that her father-in-law, Seddique Mateen, worked as an FBI informant for 11 years. Attorneys say they just learned that on Saturday … and that Salman has been defending a case – quote “without a complete set of facts and evidence that the government was required to disclose.”

But U.S. District Judge Paul Byron said that revelation does not affect whether Salman could have aided and abetted her husband.

Omar Mateen opened fire inside Orlando’s Pulse nightclub in June of 2016, killing 49 people.

Prosecutors claim Salman knew about her husband’s plan but kept quiet. Closing arguments in the trial are expected today.

Reporting for WORLD Radio, I’m Kristen Flavin.

Stephanie Clifford files suit » The pornographic film performer who said she had a 2006 affair with Donald Trump is suing the president’s personal attorney. Stephanie Clifford, who goes by the stage name Stormy Daniels filed a defamation suit against President Trump’s longtime lawyer Michael Cohen this week. Clifford claims Cohen accused her of being a liar when he issued a statement in February about a $130,000 payment he made to her before the 2016 election.

Clifford has already started a legal battle to break the nondisclosure agreement she signed in October 2016, claiming it’s invalid because Trump didn’t sign it. Monday’s suit came one day after CBS’ 60 Minutes broadcast an interview with Clifford. In that interview, she reiterated claims she had an affair with Trump.

White House spokesman Raj Shah responded to the claims this week.

AUDIO » The president strongly, clearly and has consistently denied these underlying claims, and the only person who’s been inconsistent is the one making these claims.

Maryland shooter update » The teen who shot his former girlfriend at a Maryland high school last week died of a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office investigators determined 17-year-old Austin Rollins shot himself as the school resource officer confronted him.

The officer also fired a shot, hitting the gun in Rollins’ hand.

Before shooting himself, Rollins shot 16-year-old Jaelynn Willey. She died last week after doctors took her off life support.

Linda Brown » Desegregation pioneer Linda Brown has died. WORLD Radio’s Sarah Schweinsberg has more.

SARAH SCHWEINSBERG, REPORTER: Linda Brown will be remembered as the person at the center of a landmark Supreme Court case to desegregate public schools.

Her father, Oliver Brown, tried to enroll her in a nearby public school in Topeka, Kansas, but was told Linda had to attend a school miles away. The NAACP sued on the family’s behalf, and the case joined with several other plaintiffs.

Attorney Thurgood Marshall—who went on to become the country’s first African-American Supreme Court justice—argued the case for the plaintiffs. In May of 1954, the high court ruled unanimously that school segregation was unconstitutional.

As an adult, Brown later co-founded a non-profit group which pushed for educational equality. Linda Brown was 75 years old.

Reporting for WORLD Radio, I’m Sarah Schweinsberg.

Frank Page resigns » The CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee abruptly resigned on Tuesday. The Baptist Press reports Frank Page stepped down citing what he called “a morally inappropriate relationship in the recent past.”

Executive Committee Chairman Stephen Rummage said in a statement that his “heart is broken for Dr. Page, his family and everyone affected.” And he called for prayers for all involved.

The SBC’s executive committee coordinates all of the denomination’s ministries. Rummage said the committee is working on a transition plan, and will soon conduct a search for Page’s replacement.

From 2006 to 2008, Page served as the president of the Southern Baptist Convention — the nation’s largest Protestant denomination.

I’m Jim Henry. Straight ahead on Washington Wednesday: Kent Covington breaks down the winners and losers of the spending bill. This is The World and Everything in It.

(AP Photo/John Raoux) In this Nov. 30, 2016 file photo, artwork and signatures cover a fence around the Pulse nightclub, scene of a mass shooting, in Orlando, Fla. 

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