CHICAGO (AP) — The Trump administration is poised to carry out five more executions before Joe Biden’s inauguration, starting with a former Texas street-gang member for the June, 1999 slaying of a young religious couple from Iowa. President Donald Trump has overseen the resumption of federal executions after a 17-year hiatus.

Forty-year-old Brandon Bernard would become the ninth federal inmate executed this year. He was 18 when he and five other teenagers abducted and robbed Christian youth ministers Todd and Stacie Bagley, who were on their way from a Sunday service in Killeen, Texas. Before moving to Iowa, Todd had been stationed at Fort Hood, where the couple attended Grace Christian Church and worked with the youth group. The couple had visited Killen to be with friends and were abducted at gunpoint while outside a convenience store, using a payphone.

If it goes ahead, Bernard would be a rare execution of a person in his teens when the crime occurred. It also would be a rare federal execution during a presidential transition. Another person involved in the murder, Christopher Vialva was executed for killing the Bagley’s this past September. His execution by lethal injections followed the announcement by US attorney general William Barr in 2019, that federal executions would be allowed to resume.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:30 a.m. CST

ARMSTRONG, Iowa (AP) — An administrative judge has approved a $76,000 penalty against an Iowa cattle feedlot for violating the Clean Water Act. The judge ruled that Tony and Joshua Brown, who operate Riverview Cattle in Armstrong, discharged pollutants from their cattle feedlot on 41 days into the East Fork of the Des Moines River. The Environmental Protection Agency said the business did not obtain a federally required permit for the discharges. The cattle company contended the pollutants never reached the river. Administrative Judge Christine Donelian Coughlin agreed with the EPA and found the feedlot liable for Clean Water Act violations.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Fire officials in northeastern Iowa say one person has died and five others were injured in a townhouse fire in Waterloo. Officials say the fire was reported early Tuesday morning, and firefighters arrived to flames coming from the home and several people trapped in and around the home. The Courier reports that six people — three adults and three children — were taken to a hospital, and one adult later died. Officials said five of those who were injured were removed from the burning house by firefighters. Officials have not released the names of the victims or the cause of the fire.

JOHNSTON, Iowa (AP) — University of Iowa Health Care officials say the group’s hospitals expect to get their first shipment of a coronavirus vaccine as early as next week and that they plan to begin giving it to employees who work in COVID-19 units within 24 hours of receiving it. Suresh Gunasekaran, the CEO of the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, said Wednesday that he expects the UIHC subsidiary to get 1,000 doses next week. The hospital plans to give its first doses to some of the roughly 2,000 doctors, nurses and others who work in COVID-19 units. He says he expects to learn on a week-by-week basis how many doses the hospital will receive, so it’s unclear when the first group to receive doses will get a second and be fully vaccinated.

FORT MADISON – The Iowa Department of Public Corrections reports three correctional officers were assaulted by an inmate at the Iowa State Penitentiary, Wednesday.

The three officers were attempting to escort an inmate to the infirmary for medical attention when the inmate unexpectedly began attacking the officers with closed-fist strikes. While the three officers were attempting to restrain the inmate, another officer in the unit called for additional assistance and used O.C. spray to assist in gaining control of the inmate, and resolved the incident.

The three officers were taken by department vehicle to receive treatment at the local hospital. They have since been treated and released. The inmate was found to have not suffered any major injuries.

The incident remains under investigation.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller is part of the executive team leading a lawsuit against Facebook. Attorneys general from Iowa, 45 other states and the District of Columbia are accusing the social media giant of operating as a monopoly.  “While being on Facebook is free in terms of paying a charge, it’s not totally free,” Miller says. “What they get is this enormous amount of data from us as we participate and that’s incredibly valuable to Facebook.”

The lawsuit alleges Facebook’s purchase of potential rivals like Instagram and WhatsApp deprived users of the benefit of competition. Bryce Pashler is an assistant state attorney general who’s been working on the lawsuit.  “It’s of profound importance to everyone in America who uses Facebook or has family or friends who use Facebook,” he says. Miller says he’s grown concerned about concentration in many industries and he says Facebook has acquired tremendous power over Americans’ lives through its business behavior.

“In any area where there’s not competition, there tends to be less service,” Miller says, adding the lawsuit addresses privacy concerns about how Facebook uses the data it collects from users. Pashler says the lawsuit addresses Facebook’s alleged predatory conduct and its harvesting of users data, to pump up its advertising revenues.  “You share the most intimate details of your life with your friends and family,” Pashler says. “That’s the real loss for people and I think that they felt that with Facebook.”

Pashler says the lawsuit also seeks to address how advertising from small businesses are positioned on the platform. “To make sure that their conent’s not appearing next to objectionable content,” he says, “and so that they have transparency into the metrics that they can use to know that their advertising actually works.” The Federal Trade Commission is also suing Facebook on similar grounds. Miller says he and other attorney general have been working with the Trump Administration on this case and the two lawsuits will be consolidated.

Facebook’s legal counsel cites the government’s approval of Facebook’s purchase of Instagram and WhatsApp years ago — and argues the lawsuits send a chilling message to businesses that no sale is ever final. Facebook has more than two-and-a-half BILLION users and is valued at 800 BILLION dollars.

(Radio Iowa) – The U.S. House has approved a bill designed to adjust federal flood control regulations, something southwest Iowans sought after historic flood levels hit the region in 2019. Congresswoman Cimdy Axne, a Democrat from Des Moines, is a co-sponsor of the Water Resources Development Act. She says it addresses the plight of communities like Hamburg, which the Army Corps forced to remove reinforcements added to a levee in 2011, then Hamburg got swamped by floodwaters last year.

“Nearly a decade ago when Hamburg was told to either come up with $5.6 million or tear down a temporary levee that provided protection, they had to tear it down,” Axne says. “That type of language is not going to be in there any more. We’re going to make sure that reasonable things happen to keep them safe.” The bill directs the Army Corps of Engineers to complete its comprehensive study of the lower Missouri River basin. Axne says the bill includes provisions addressing flooding concerns in eastern and central Iowa as well.

“It increased adjustments for the federal cost share of inland waterways projects to develop some of the critical infrastructure that’s needed on the Mississippi,” Axne says. “We addressed issues in Des Moines with the Birdland Levee.” The bill would provide nearly 10 BILLION dollars to the Army Corps of Engineers for 46 projects nationwide. The bill now goes to the full Senate. Its possible the measure may be added to larger spending package congress must pass to keep the federal government operating.

Noting that the current policy regarding face coverings in the Atlantic School District appears to be working quite well and has limited the need to quarantine students and staff, the School Board, Wednesday night, voted unanimously to keep the policy in-place through the end of the semester, which is December 22nd. (Watch a recording of the meeting, here) Next week, Governor Reynolds is expected to come out with an updated public health proclamation, but it’s too early to know what her plans are. To be safe, the Board opted to continue with the current policy. They will meet next Thursday at 6-p.m. to discuss any changes the Governor may make with regard to face masks, and act accordingly for a policy to take the district into the second semester at that time.

The current policy, which was renewed for the third time since it was implemented, states “Face coverings will continue to be required when social distancing is not possible.” During Wednesday’s meeting, Board member Josh McLaren said after listening to what the Governor said Wednesday morning, and following comments made by Washington Elementary Principal Stacey Hornung and Schuler Prinicipal James Northwick, “Kids gotta be in school. It’s obvious.” Some of the kids who are remote learning, it was pointed out, are keeping up with their classmates who are learning in-person, while others aren’t.

Hornung said earlier in the meeting, that if a mask mandate wasn’t in effect, there would have been two or three classrooms that would have had to have gone home and learn remotely. McLaren said “To me, nothing showing me that there’s any reason to take that away [the mask policy], because I think as soon as we take it away…and what we’re doing is working I just fear that if we take it away that we’re gonna be quarantining or we’re gonna be going hybrid or going remote, and I think that’s a fault to our kids.”

Board member Laura McLean said she’s grateful kids can be in school. Board member Kristy Pellet said she too is grateful to the staff and everyone who made in-person learning possible in the district, by ensuring masks are being worn when social distancing isn’t possible.

Atlantic Police Chief Dave Erickson, Wednesday night, said that his officers responded to the Atlantic WalMart Store for a reported bomb threat. The call came in to the store around 4:50-p.m., with the person stating that a device was placed inside the store. The store manager immediately evacuated the building and contacted the Cass County Communications Center.

The Atlantic Police Department, Cass County Sheriff’s Office and Atlantic Fire Department all arrived at the scene and performed a security sweep of the building. After the sweep was performed, it was believed that the building was safe and shoppers were allowed back inside.

Through investigation, our department does not believe that this was a credible threat. Officers will continue to investigate the situation as information becomes available. There was an arrest made during the investigation, but Erickson said they don’t believe that the person was connected to the threat made.