promoearn: He claimed to be a missing boy. He wasn't.

Thursday, April 4, 2019

He claimed to be a missing boy. He wasn't.

Thursday, April 4

He claimed to be a missing boy. He wasn't.

From Timmothy Pitzen to Boeing acknowledging crashes, here's Thursday's top news.

Today, a missing child case takes a bizarre turn, and Boeing apologizes for the 300-plus lives lost in recent 737 crashes. It's Ashley with the news you'll want to know.

But first, watch what you eat: A new study found that one in five people are eating themselves to an early death.

This man is not Timmothy Pitzen

FBI agents identified a person who claimed to be Timmothy Pitzen, a boy who vanished in Illinois eight years ago. DNA test results revealed Thursday that the person found Wednesday by police in Kentucky is actually Brian Michael Rini, 23, from Medina, Ohio, whose name came up in a DNA database. It was not known late Thursday where Rini was held or what charges he could face. The man told authorities Wednesday that he was Pitzen and claimed to have escaped from two men holding him captive.

Here's what we know:

•	Rini was charged in 2015 with making false alarms involving a law enforcement agency, according to a police report published in The Medina Post.
•	Who is the Timmothy Pitzen? Timmothy disappeared in May 2011 at age 6. His mother was found dead in Illinois after taking her own life. A suicide note said, "You will never find him."

Boeing on plane crashes: 'We own it'

Airplane maker Boeing's CEO acknowledged for the first time that the planes' new maneuvering system was responsible for two crashes that killed almost 350 people. "We at Boeing are sorry for the lives lost in the recent 737 accidents," CEO Dennis Muilenburg said Thursday in a video statement. A preliminary report made it apparent that the maneuvering system activated "in response to erroneous angle of attack information" in both flights. The report indicated the crew of an Ethiopian Airlines jet that crashed last month performed all procedures recommended by the aerospace giant but failed to gain control of the doomed aircraft. "It's our responsibility to eliminate this risk," Muilenburg said. "We own it, and we know how to do it."

Murder 'on a regular basis' in Alabama's prisons, report finds

Alabama prison conditions are so bad that the Justice Department says they probably violate the Constitution's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. Inmates are routinely subjected to horrifying violence and sexual abuse within "a broken system" where people are murdered "on a regular basis," federal investigators found. Illegal drugs and weapons were rampant, cellblocks were overcrowded and the few poorly trained officers on duty appeared powerless to establish any semblance of control. In three cases, investigators said prison officials overlooked apparent murders and guards turned a blind eye to inmates who were raped.

"One of the homemade knives recovered from inmates by officers in Alabama's prisons was the size of a 'small sword,' the Justice Department said in a report. The department said Alabama's inmates had easy access to homemade weapons." [Via MerlinFTP Drop]

None, U.S Department of Justice

Real quick

•	Nipsey Hussle: The man suspected of killing him was charged with murder.
•	A near-400-pound pet pig named Princess wandered from her pen. A neighbor slaughtered her.
•	Gypsy Rose Blanchard may sue Hulu over "The Act," a show based on her life.
•	The richest man in the world's divorce is final.

A huge immigration raid: 280 arrested.

More than 280 employees at a Texas company were arrested by federal immigration officials in the largest worksite operation in more than a decade, Immigration and Customs Enforcement said. ICE's Homeland Security Investigations unit executed criminal search warrants Wednesday at CVE Technology Group and four related businesses. The agency began the investigation in January after receiving multiple tips that the company may have knowingly hired undocumented immigrants, many of whom allegedly used fraudulent identification documents.

ICE agents enter a business in Allen, Texas, on April 3, 2019.

ICE

The border won't close after all

President Donald Trump says he doubts he'll close the border with Mexico, backtracking on his threat to seal off the southern border as early as this week. Trump said Thursday he would give Mexico a year to halt the flow of illegal drugs coming into the USA. If the drugs don't stop, the United States will impose tariffs on Mexican autos, he said. Trump's remarks are the latest signal that the administration is toning down its rhetoric after days of relentlessly attacking Mexico over illegal border crossings. Did the threat of pricey avocados play a role?

You elected them to write new laws. They let corporations do it.

State lawmakers across the USA introduce thousands of bills each year dreamed up and written by corporations, industry groups and think tanks. Disguised as the work of lawmakers, these "model" bills get copied in state capitol after state capitol, quietly advancing the agenda of those who write them. A two-year USA TODAY Network investigation found more than 10,000 cookie-cutter model bills introduced across all 50 states. More than 2,100 of those bills became law.

•	How model bills work and why you should care
•	Used car dealers didn't want to fix deadly defects, so they wrote a law to avoid it
•	What's the solution for model bills? Reveal who wrote them, critics say

Corporations and special-interest groups write model legislation that has been turned into law thousands of times across the country.

Andrea Brunty, The Arizona Republic

This is a compilation of stories from across the USA TODAY Network. Want this snappy news roundup in your inbox every night? Sign up for "The Short List" newsletter here.