Midday Roundup: Russian missile pieces found at jetliner crash site

Smoking gun? A team investigating the July 2014 crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over Ukraine has identified parts from a Russian missile system in the debris field. The pieces of the Buk surface-to-air system could help determine who brought down the plane, which crashed with 298 people on board. Russian-backed rebels have denied any involvement in the accident, although analysts speculated early on that a Buk missile might be responsible. Russia blames Ukrainian government forces for the crash. The area where the plane came down was controlled by the rebels, but investigators say they can’t yet make a causal link between the missile fragments and the accident. The team investigating the crash includes analysts from the Netherlands, Ukraine, Malaysia, Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Russia. They are expected to release a final report in October.

Ferguson flashpoint. Protesters filled the streets of Ferguson, Mo., for another night as part of ongoing demonstrations marking the one-year anniversary of the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown. On Sunday night, police shot an 18-year-old protester who allegedly opened fire on them with a stolen handgun. He remains in critical condition and has been charged with 10 counts of assaulting law enforcement, shooting at a vehicle, and armed criminal action. Last night, protesters threw rocks and frozen water bottles at police, but no one was seriously injured. Police reported no instances of looting or other violence, although they arrested 23 protesters. Local officials declared a state of emergency on Monday after the first night of looting and violence. “The recent acts of violence will not be tolerated in a community that has worked so tirelessly over the last year to rebuild and become stronger,” St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger said.

Dirty water. A devastating disaster has contaminated a river in Colorado and another in New Mexico, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking the blame. Millions of gallons of toxic sludge spilled last week from an abandoned Colorado gold mine into the Animas River, turning the normally pristine blue current the color of mustard. The spill happened after an EPA cleanup crew breached a debris dam inside the mine. “I’m here on my property, and I cannot shower. I cannot cook. I cannot do anything with the water from my water well,” said Rosemary Hart, who lives along the river. Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper issued a disaster declaration yesterday as the tainted water, tinged with arsenic, lead, and copper flowed downstream into the San Juan River. The sight of the river left New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez at a loss for words: “The magnitude of it was—it’s—you can’t even describe it.” Martinez has vowed to hold the federal government accountable for the cleanup.

Papal pronouncement? Pope Francis might soon be asked to address decisions by Catholic schools and institutions to employ or deny employment to persons in homosexual relationships. The issue has stirred debate in Philadelphia since a Catholic elementary school dismissed a teacher in a same-sex marriage. Margie Winters said she was open with school officials about her 2007 marriage to another woman, but believes a parent’s complaint to the archdiocese forced the school’s hand. Archbishop Charles Chaput says Catholic schools must uphold church teachings. Winters plans to ask the pope for a moratorium on such firings if she gets to meet with him next month when he travels to Philadelphia for the World Meeting of Families. In a statement last week, the pope urged American Catholics to defend man-woman marriage against what he called “powerful cultural forces.”

WORLD Radio’s Mary Reichard and Steve Coleman contributed to this report.