US News Roundup: Ohio shooter in court, prison bureau after Epstein death and more

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Ohio man, one of three alleged thwarted mass shooters, denies charges in court

An alleged self-described white nationalist, one of three men in the United States accused of planning mass shootings in a week, pleaded not guilty on Monday to charges that he threatened to attack a Jewish community center, the court clerk said. At an arraignment in Struthers, Ohio, where he faced charges of aggravated menacing and online harassment, James Reardon entered his plea by video link from a county jail in Youngstown, 10 miles (16 km) away, Municipal Court Clerk Lorraine Sciortino said by telephone.

Planned Parenthood opts out of U.S. subsidies in fight over abortion referrals

Planned Parenthood said on Monday it was withdrawing from a federal program subsidizing reproductive healthcare for low-income women after the Trump administration banned participants in the program from referring women to abortion providers. Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the United States, said its move was spurred by a federal appeals court decision last month clearing the administration's way to restrict Title X grants under new policy critics have branded a "gag rule."

New York police fire officer who placed Eric Garner in deadly chokehold

The white New York City police officer who used a deadly chokehold on Eric Garner during a 2014 arrest was fired on Monday, five years after a video of the encounter fueled nationwide protests against police brutality. Daniel Pantaleo, 34, was fired two weeks after a department judge found him guilty of reckless assault for using a banned chokehold while trying to arrest Garner, an unarmed black man, on suspicion of selling loose, untaxed cigarettes.

U.S. attorney general shakes up prison bureau after Epstein death

U.S. Attorney General William Barr on Monday shook up the leadership at the federal Bureau of Prisons, removing its acting chief following the suicide of financier Jeffrey Epstein in a New York City jail. Kathleen Hawk Sawyer, a veteran of the Bureau of Prisons, will return to the agency to serve as its director, Barr said. He named another former agency official, Thomas Kane, to serve as her deputy.

Teva to launch generic version of EpiPen for young children

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd said on Tuesday its generic version of Mylan's EpiPen for young children will be available in most retail pharmacies at a price of $300 for a 2-pack. Israel-based Teva, the world's largest generic drugmaker, is already selling the product for adults, after getting U.S. approval for its copy of EpiPen in August following several years of delay.

Arizona man gets life sentence for killing, burying couple

An Arizona man was sentenced on Monday to life in prison for killing a couple and burying them in his backyard in a 6-foot-deep grave he dug with a borrowed backhoe, his lawyer said. Jose Valenzuela, 42, was spared the death penalty under a plea deal with prosecutors in the 2015 murders of Tina and Michael Careccia, each killed by a single shot to the head during an altercation at the shooter's home.

California tightens restrictions on police use of lethal force

California police officers will be allowed to use lethal force only when "necessary" in response to a threat, instead of the existing standard of "reasonable", under a new law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday. Under the stricter standards, officers must believe they have no other choice to "defend against an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury to the officer or another person," an abstract of the law published online says.

New York officer fired, but tensions still high where Eric Garner died

Hassan Johnson was getting his head shaved on Monday at the same barbershop Eric Garner used to visit. Five years after Garner's death in a confrontation with police in the Tompkinsville neighborhood of Staten Island, relations between law enforcement and the community have improved nominally at best, Johnson said, if only because they could not grow much worse.

Alaska governor reverses course on controversial budget cuts

Alaska's governor signed a budget bill on Monday rolling back most of the deep, highly controversial spending cuts he imposed weeks ago on the University of Alaska but rebuffed a renewed bid by lawmakers to restore funding he slashed from health programs. The partial funding restoration marked the latest in a pitched budget battle between Governor Mike Dunleavy, a Republican serving his first year in office, and a bipartisan coalition in the Republican-dominated state legislature.

Three more women sue Epstein's estate over alleged abuse

Three more women on Tuesday sued the estate of Jeffrey Epstein, saying they were recruited to provide massages for the financier and then sexually abused. The lawsuits, filed in Manhattan federal court, bring the total number of civil cases against Epstein's estate since his apparent suicide in jail on Aug. 10 to at least five.

Also Read: UPDATE 2-New York police officer fired for deadly 2014 chokehold on Eric Garner