![Man accused of trying to stab flight attendant, open door mid-flight deemed not competent to stand trial, judge rules](https://assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2023/05/13/a42b15cd-48fd-42e7-b65e-098d8df6d6d9/thumbnail/1200x630/dae610cdb2ec60d8eac3f9a4b57857d6/ap23104625125423.jpg?v=867e41af7e860d9286e5bd7e91ee0db8)
Man accused of trying to stab flight attendant, open door mid-flight deemed not competent to stand trial, judge rules
CBSN
A man accused of trying to stab a flight attendant and open a plane door mid-flight has been found incompetent to stand trial.
In a competency hearing held Wednesday, a forensic evaluation was presented showing Francisco Severo Torres "does not understand the nature and consequences of the proceeding against him and is unable to assist in his defense," court documents said.
U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Judith G. Dein found that Torres was not competent to stand trial at the time and said he needed further treatment, noting Torres himself "personally objects and asserts he is competent to stand trial," the documents show.
![](/newspic/picid-6252001-20250206040405.jpg)
More employees of the Environmental Protection Agency were informed Wednesday that their jobs appear in doubt. Senior leadership at the EPA held an all-staff meeting to tell individuals that President Trump's executive order, "Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing," which was responsible for the closure of the agency's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion office, will likely lead to the shuttering of the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights as well.
![](/newspic/picid-6252001-20250206003957.jpg)
In her first hours as attorney general, Pam Bondi issued a broad slate of directives that included a Justice Department review of the prosecutions of President Trump, a reorientation of department work to focus on harsher punishments, actions punishing so-called "sanctuary" cities and an end to diversity initiatives at the department.
![](/newspic/picid-6252001-20250205185317.jpg)
The quick-fire volley of tariffs between the U.S. and China in recent days has heightened global fears of a new trade war between the world's two largest economies. Yet while experts think the battle is likely to escalate, they also say the early skirmishes offer hope for an agreement on trade and other key issues that could head off a larger conflict.