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Air Force official who served as branch chief for Sexual Assault Prevention program arrested on sexual assault charges – Barbara Starr reports
(CNN) - An Air Force officer who served as a branch chief for the service's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response program was arrested and charged with sexual battery over the weekend.
Lt. Col. Jeffrey Krusinski, 41, has been removed from current duty, an Air Force official said Monday. The official declined to be named because it is an ongoing law enforcement matter.
Krusinski was placed in charge of a section of the service's sexual assault prevention and response program in February, running a five-person office, the Air Force official said.
He was arrested just after midnight Saturday in Arlington, Virginia, and is accused of grabbing a woman's breasts and buttocks, Arlington County police said. Police said the woman fought off her assailant when he tried to grab her again before she called authorities. ...
Krusinski's arrest comes as the Pentagon has been under closer scrutiny from Congress over its handling of sexual assault cases in the uniformed services.
READ MORE: Hagel: 'Outrage, disgust' as Air Force leader charged with sexual battery
Zoraida Sambolin gets an early look at the New York International Auto Show, opening tomorrow
The New York International Auto Show gets rolling tomorrow. Over the next 10 days, about a million people will get a chance to see all the latest models, everything from exotic cars to concept cars and more.
About 60 new automobiles will be introduced and Zoraida Sambolin had a chance to get an early test drive of sorts through the show.
Chicago teachers protest school district's plan to shutter 54 schools – Pamela Brown reports
Anger raged in the streets of Chicago last night as hundreds of public school teachers and their supporters protested the school district's consolidation plan that will close 54 schools at the end of this school year. The head of the teachers' union calls it a safety issue, saying that children should go to school where they live, not in a different neighborhood.
Pamela Brown has more on the protest and the consolidation plan. “The demonstration was non-violent. But more than 100 protesters were escorted away by police,” Brown reports. “The Chicago public school system still has to hold three meetings for each school it plans to close before the Board of Education votes on the plan in late May.”
MYB: Cyprus banks open with strict limits
For the first time in nearly two weeks, banks in Cyprus will open for business Thursday, but there are strict limits on what residents can do with their cash. Christine Romans is minding your business with the effects of the situation in Cyprus on U.S. stock futures and world markets.
Data shows that the U.S. economy is recovering. "The U.S. is going in the right direction. Cyprus tells us and reminds us that Europe is going in the wrong direction," Romans says. That can hold back investors and stock. "Cyprus is a reminder to be cautious."
MYB: China is No. 2 for box office haul worldwide, Americans with debt now have more of it
Christine Romans is minding your business with the good, the bad and the ugly in U.S. stock futures and world markets. Stocks continue to hang on word from Cyprus. "Lawmakers there have to come up with a plan to raise money by Monday or else the European Central Bank will stop providing Cyprus with emergency cash," Romans reports.
And a mixed bag for who has debt in America. “Fewer Americans have debt,” Christine Romans says. Sixty-nine percent of people are in debt, compared to 74% in 2000. A major reason for this is that “people are laying off their credit cards. But for those who do have debt, they have a lot more of it—$70,000 compared with $52,000 in 2000. People over 65 saw their debt level double, because seniors are less likely to own their house outright and more likely to have unsecured debt, like student loans and medical bills.
Meanwhile, China is now the world’s second movie theater box office, second to the United States, Romans says. “The Motion Picture Association says ten movie screens are being built in China every day.”
FAA to announce cuts to nearly 200 air traffic towers today – Rene Marsh reports
It’s a big day today for the FAA. The agency will announce which air traffic control towers will be shut down. Dozens across the country will be locked up and left because of the forced budget cuts.
CNN’S Rene Marsh is at one of the airports that will be impacted in Frederick, Maryland with more details. “Frederick is one of 238 towers at small and medium airports the FAA may close because of forced spending cuts,” Marsh reports. Marsh speaks to Mamie Ambrose, a Navy Veteran who has been clearing pilots for take off and landing for the past 11 years. “While airports will remain open, she says closing towers affects safety.”
CNN Trends: Kate Upton says she'd 'love to' be teen's prom date
Christine Romans and Zoraida Sambolin tell you what’s trending on the web today. And it’s a date!
Supermodel Kate Upton says she'd "love to go" to prom with 17-year-old Jake Davidson. The LA high school senior asked the supermodel to prom in a YouTube video that went viral. Jake was doing a live TV interview yesterday when Upton called in and said if her schedule permits, she'd love to be his prom date.
Who killed Colo. prison chief and why? Jim Spellman reports on the manhunt
The manhunt for a killer continues in Colorado this morning. Police are searching for leads as to who gunned down the chief of the state's corrections department and a possible motive for the murder.
The family of 58 year-old Tom Clements says they lost a devoted husband and father. He was shot in cold blood Tuesday night as he opened the front door to his home outside of Denver. Authorities have not identified a suspect or a motive but want to talk to a woman who may have been seen walking in the area. Investigators are also looking for the driver of car seen in Clements' neighborhood the night of the murder. Jim Spellman is live in Denver with the latest on the search.
“So far, there are few leads, only a car seen idling nearby around the time of the shooting,” Spellman reports. “The same witness who saw the car idling near the crime scene, minutes later saw it driving…towards Interstate 25. Near the on-ramp to the interstate, there are numerous cameras. Police are checking them to see if they spot the car.”
Fmr. Ambassador Holliday: President Obama's meeting with Palestinian President Abbas 'a significant visit'
Today, President Obama is in the West Bank city of Ramallah for the second leg of his historic Middle East visit. He is meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to discuss the possibility of reviving peace talks in the region. The president has said he is prepared to listen, and hasn't come with a peace plan. The two leaders will talk at a working lunch and will then address the media.
But the trip is already marred by violence. Two rockets fired from Gaza landed in the southern Israel city of Sderot hours earlier, while the president was about 60 miles away in Jerusalem. There are reports of property damage but no injuries.
Stuart Holliday, president and CEO of the Meridian International Center and fmr. former U.S. Ambassador special political affairs to the UN Security Council, weighs in on Obama’s meeting with Abbas today and how the attacks may have affected it. Holliday says the rocket attacks are a reminder that the Palestinian Authority does not control Gaza and that the Palestinian government is divided, highlighting "the weakness that we face in terms of the talks restarting."
Holliday calls the president's trip a significant visit, but notes that the Palestinians are very skeptical about what the president hopes to accomplish. “I think it's a mixed bag,” Holliday says. “But I do believe that they would view the president's visit, and the look for any opportunity to get these talks restarted. And of course, they've been on the sidelines, waiting for what they see as a critical issue, for these settlements to halt. Whereas Israelis have said, look, ‘we're ready to talk at any point as long as you don't put preconditions on these talks.’”
President Obama meets with Palestinian President Abbas hours after rockets from Gaza land in southern Israel
Today, President Obama is in the West Bank city of Ramallah for the second leg of his historic Middle East visit. He arrived from Jerusalem this morning, making a 10-mile trip between two Middle East cities that are worlds apart.
The trip is already marred by violence. Two rockets fired from Gaza landed in the southern Israel city of Sderot earlier, underscoring the urgency of the visit. It happened just a few hours ago while the president was still in Jerusalem, about 60 miles away. There are reports of property damage, but no injuries.
The president is in Ramallah to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The two leaders will talk at a working lunch and will then address the media.
Later today, President Obama returns to Jerusalem for a state dinner in his honor hosted by Israeli President Shimon Peres.
Chief White House Correspondent Jessica Yellin is live from Ramallah with the latest on how the rockets may have affected what the president hopes to accomplish today.
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