Army sergeant to appear before a military judge on charges that he shot 5 people at Georgia base

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By RUSS BYNUM

FORT STEWART, Ga. (AP) — An Army sergeant charged with attempted murder in the shootings of five people at a Georgia base last summer faces arraignment Friday before a military judge.

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Sgt. Quornelius Radford, 28, is scheduled to appear in a courtroom at Fort Stewart a week after Army prosecutors referred his case to a general court-martial, which handles cases involving the most serious crimes under military law.

Officials say Radford opened fire with a personal handgun Aug. 6 on members of his supply unit at Fort Stewart in southeast Georgia, injuring four soldiers and a civilian worker who was Radford’s romantic partner, before fellow soldiers were able to disarm and restrain him until military police arrived. The Army initially said all five victims were soldiers.

A week after the shootings, Army prosecutors charged Radford with six counts of attempted murder and assault, with the sixth victim being a person the shooter fired at and missed. They also charged him with domestic violence. That charge was added because the injured civilian worker was Radford’s “intimate partner,” Michelle McCaskill, a spokesperson for the Army prosecutors’ office, told The Associated Press.

The Army has not released the victims’ names and Fort Stewart officials have declined to comment on what led to the shooting.

Under military law, attempted murder carries a potential penalty of life imprisonment.

Since the shootings, Radford has been held in pretrial confinement at a Navy brig in Charleston, South Carolina. His military attorney, Lt. Col. Dylan Mack, said last week that his office does not comment on pending cases.

The largest Army post east of the Mississippi River, Fort Stewart is home to thousands of soldiers assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division. It is located about 40 miles (64 kilometers) southwest of Savannah.

Radford has been serving as a supply sergeant in the division’s 2nd Armored Brigade. Army records show he enlisted in 2018.

Soldiers in Radford’s unit said they followed the sound of gunfire into the hallways of an office building where they found hazy gun smoke in the air and wounded victims on the floor and in nearby offices.

Brig. Gen. John Lubas, the 3rd Infantry’s commander, credited soldiers with saving lives by immediately rendering first aid, in some cases using their bare hands to staunch bleeding gunshot wounds.

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll visited Fort Stewart the day after the shootings to award Meritorious Service Medals to six soldiers who helped restrain the gunman and treat the victims.

Wisconsin Republicans demand Judge Dugan resign or face impeachment after felony conviction

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By TODD RICHMOND and SCOTT BAUER

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Republicans threatened Friday to impeach embattled judge Hannah Dugan if she doesn’t resign immediately after she was convicted of obstruction for helping an immigrant evade federal officers, saying her time serving the people of the state is over.

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Federal prosecutors in April accused the judge of distracting federal officers trying to arrest a Mexican immigrant and leading him out of her courtroom through a private door. A jury convicted her of felony obstruction late Thursday after a four-day trial.

Dugan faces up to five years in prison when she’s sentenced. No sentencing date has been set.

The Wisconsin Constitution bars convicted felons from holding public office. The state Judicial Commission, which disciplines state judges, and Milwaukee County Chief Judge Carl Ashley have not responded to questions Friday about when Dugan’s office will officially become vacant.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Majority Leader Tyler August, both Republicans, on Friday morning threatened to impeach Dugan if she doesn’t immediately resign. They cited a legal opinion issued by then-Attorney General Bronson La Follette in 1976 that a state senator lost his seat the moment he was convicted of a felony.

“Wisconsinites deserve to know their judiciary is impartial and that justice is blind,” Vos and August said. “Judge Hannah Dugan is neither, and her privilege of serving the people of Wisconsin has come to an end.”

Dugan’s defense team has not responded to a message seeking comment.

The case against Dugan played out against a background of political turmoil over President Donald Trump’s sweeping immigration crackdown. Democrats insisted the administration was trying to make an example of Dugan to blunt judicial opposition to the operation. Trump’s administration branded Dugan an activist judge and posted photos of her being led away in handcuffs.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, posted Friday that “NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW.”

“No one can obstruct law enforcement as they carry out their basic duties,” she said in a social media post. “This Department of Justice will not waver as our agents and law enforcement partners continue to make America Safe Again.”

Dugan never took the stand. Steve Biskupic, her lead attorney, later said he was disappointed with the ruling and didn’t understand how the jury could have reached a split verdict since the elements of both charges were so similar. Her team is expected to appeal the verdict.

A coalition of 13 advocacy groups, including Common Cause Wisconsin and the League of Women Voters Wisconsin, said “higher courts must carefully review the serious constitutional questions this case raises about due process, judicial authority, and federal overreach.”

The Democracy Defenders Fund, a group that says it works to defend “the foundations of our democracy,” sent a fundraising email shortly after the verdicts were handed down Thursday night to help cover Dugan’s legal expenses.

“This case is far from over,” the group’s executive chair, Norm Eisen, said in the email. “Higher courts will have the opportunity to determine whether this prosecution crossed the lines that protect the judiciary from executive overreach.”

On April 18, immigration officers went to the Milwaukee County courthouse after learning 31-year-old Eduardo Flores-Ruiz had reentered the country illegally and was scheduled to appear before Dugan for a hearing in a state battery case.

Dugan confronted agents outside her courtroom and directed them to Ashley’s office. After they had left led Flores-Ruiz and his attorney out a private jury door. Agents spotted Flores-Ruiz in the corridor, followed him outside and arrested him after a foot chase. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced in November he had been deported.

Stocks rise on Wall Street and pull closer to weekly gains as AI stocks climb

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By DAMIAN J. TROISE

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rose in morning trading on Wall Street Friday and further trimmed losses from earlier in the week for several major indexes.

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The S&P 500 jumped 0.7%, adding to gains made on Thursday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 259 points, or 0.5%, as of 11:06 a.m. Eastern. The Nasdaq jumped 0.9% and is now slightly higher for the week.

Technology stocks with an focus on artificial intelligence once again led the market. Nvidia jumped 2.6% and Broadcom rose 1.4%.

Oracle rose 6.7% on news that it, along with two other investors, had signed agreements to form a new TikTok U.S. joint venture. Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX each get a 15% share in the popular social video platform, ensuring that it can continue operating in the U.S.

Company earnings and how companies are performing amid tariffs and inflation were a key focus for Wall Street.

Nike slumped 8.7%, as the impact from tariffs overshadowed an otherwise strong quarterly profit report. Frozen potato maker Lamb Weston fell 23.8%, despite also beating Wall Street’s profit and revenue forecasts.

Winnebago Industries jumped 12.3% after turning in profits and revenue for its latest quarter that easily beat analysts’ estimates.

Homebuilders dropped following a report showing that home sales slowed from a year earlier for the first time since May. Lennar lost 2.3% and KB Home fell 8.3%.

A survey from the University of Michigan showed that consumer sentiment in December improved slightly from November, but is deeply diminished from a year ago.

“Despite some signs of improvement to close out the year, sentiment remains nearly 30% below December 2024, as pocketbook issues continue to dominate consumer views of the economy,” wrote Surveys of Consumers Director, Joanne Hsu.

Consumer confidence has been weakening throughout the year as persistent inflation squeezes consumers. The job market is also slowing while retail sales weaken. Business and consumers are also worrying about the continued impact of a wide-ranging U.S.-led trade war that has targeted key partners including China and Canada.

The latest inflation update on Thursday revealed a surprise cooling of prices in November. The Labor Department reported that its consumer price index rose 2.7%. But economists quickly warned that those numbers were suspect because they’d been delayed and likely distorted by the 43-day federal shutdown.

Inflation is still above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. The central bank cut its benchmark interest rate at its most recent meeting. It has been concerned about the slowing job market hurting the economy. But cutting interest rates could add more fuel to inflation, which could also stunt economic growth.

The Fed has maintained a cautious stance about interest rate policy heading into 2026 and Wall Street is mostly betting that it will hold steady on rates at its next meeting in January.

Treasury yields rose in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.13% from 4.11% late Thursday.

Japanese stocks rose after the Bank of Japan raised its benchmark interest rate to its highest level in 30 years. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 gained 1%, leading the rise across Asia’s key markets. Markets in Europe also gained ground.

AP Business Writer Matt Ott contributed.

Ford recalls more than 270,000 electric and hybrid vehicles due to roll-away risk

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Ford is recalling more than 270,000 electric and hybrid vehicles in the U.S. because of a parking function problem that could lead to them rolling away.

The Detroit automaker said that the recall includes certain 2022-2026 F-150 Lightning BEV, 2024-2026 Mustang Mach-E, and 2025-2026 Maverick vehicles. At issue is the integrated park module, which may fail to lock into the park position when the driver shifts into park.

Ford said that it will implement a park module software update for free.

Vehicle owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332 for additional information.

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