An accomplice’s panic attacks may have foiled two convicts’ jailbreak plans. Washington might send another 500 U.S. troops to Iraq. And journalists evacuated a White House media briefing after a bomb threat.
The shooting at a congressional baseball practice reminds us of something we too often forget: We are one country, and we’re all in this together. Here’s what you need to know to Get Up to Speed and Out the Door. You can also get “5 Things You Need to Know Today” delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up here.
PRISON ESCAPE
Accomplice breakdown? Panic attacks may have foiled the last leg of their meticulous jail break. Now, residents say, convicted killers Richard Matt and David Sweat have been wandering through backyards and fields on foot. A female accomplice was supposed to pick them up, investigators think. But Joyce Mitchell, a prison tailor, checked herself into a hospital for panic attacks right after the convicts saw the light of day, a source close to the investigation said. She may have changed her mind. Mitchell hasn’t been charged.
GERMANY ASSAULTS
Bad advice: Germans were shocked by New Year’s Eve sex assaults and muggings in a number of cities. Groups of men of Arab or North African descent preyed upon women out celebrating the holiday. More than 100 complaints were filed in Cologne, while dozens of other attacks were reported in Hamburg and Stuttgart. The whole thing has reignited the debate over Germany’s open embrace of migrants. And Cologne’s mayor is in hot water after advising yesterday that women protect themselves by holding strange men at “an arm’s length.” Pfui!
EBOLA
Still no ‘boots:’ The additional 500 U.S. troops President Obama is thinking of sending to Iraq would do pretty much the same things the 3,050 U.S. troops in Iraq are doing. They wouldn’ battle ISIS themselves. Instead, they would train more Iraqis for the task, while they run security and give air support. Whether or not the troops deploy may depend on the Iraqi government, which is expected to add military training sites – including one in Anbar province, which is next to Baghdad and under ISIS siege.
DC THREATS
New inquiry: Andreas Lubitz’s medical and psychological problems may have been worse than previously thought. Lubitz – the co-pilot of Germanwings Flight 9525 who deliberately crashed a plane into the French Alps – feared he was going blind and saw dozens of doctors in the five years leading up to the crash. This new information comes from a French prosecutor who’s opening a criminal investigation into the March 24 crash.
FREDDY GRAY CASE
Judge’s ruling: A municipal court judge in Cleveland reviewed the facts in the Tamir Rice case and believes there’s probable cause to bring charges against the officers involved in his death. So does that mean charges will be filed soon? No. The judge’s ruling is nonbinding and not an indictment. Prosecutors will still decide how to proceed, and the county prosecutor wants the case to go a grand jury.