Nation briefs 8/4/2015

Bland's family sues state trooper

HOUSTON -- The family of a black woman found dead in a Texas jail three days after a confrontation with a white state trooper filed a wrongful-death lawsuit Tuesday against the officer and other officials, saying it was a last resort after being unable to get enough information about the case. Sandra Bland, a Chicago-area woman, died by what authorities say was suicide in her Waller County jail cell July 13. Her family and others questioned that and criticized the trooper who stopped her for failing to signal a lane change. "The bottom line is she never should have been inside the jail cell. Period," Bland's mother, Geneva Reed-Veal, said at a news conference. Reed-Veal, her Bible within reach, said she was confident Bland "knew enough about Jesus" she wouldn't hang herself, and her feelings as a mother say her daughter didn't. But "anything is possible," she said.

Two men fire at soldiers; none hurt

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Authorities are searching for two men who fired gunshots from a vehicle at soldiers at a military facility in Mississippi, although no one was reported wounded, a sheriff said Tuesday. Perry County Sheriff Jimmy Dale Smith said the soldiers were training at Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center near Hattiesburg. Mississippi's National Guard said soldiers training at Camp Shelby reported hearing shots fired at 11:45 a.m. along Peret Tower Road, near the training facility. The facility is secure, and all personnel were accounted for and unharmed, the guard said in a news release. Lt. Col. Christian Patterson said the shots were fired from a fringe road that runs along the eastern side of the base.

Archdiocese settles abuse cases for $21M

MADISON, Wis. -- The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee said Tuesday it will pay $21 million to more than 300 victims of clergy abuse in a settlement that would end a four-year bankruptcy proceeding. The proposed deal, which will be part of a reorganization plan submitted to a bankruptcy court later this month, was to be reviewed by a judge overseeing the case at a Nov. 9 hearing. Archbishop Jerome Listeki called the settlement a "new Pentecost." "Today, we turn the page on a terrible part of our history, and we embark on a new road lined with hope, forgiveness and love," Listecki said in a statement.

Drone drops drugs into prison yard

MANSFIELD, Ohio -- A drone dropped a package of drugs into a prison yard while inmates were outside, sparking a fight, prison officials said. The package was dropped July 29 at the Mansfield Correctional Institution. It contained almost a quarter of an ounce of heroin, over 2 ounces of marijuana and more than 5 ounces of tobacco, JoEllen Smith, a spokeswoman for the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, said. According to the department, video footage showed the drone over recreation yards before a fight began. An investigation determined the drone dropped a package intended for an inmate on the north recreation yard, and it then was thrown over a fence to the south recreation yard.

-- From wire reports