Rome

DETROIT (AP) — The city of Detroit reached tentative agreements to preserve pensions for retired police office and firefighters but cut monthly payments for other former employees, key deals that could accelerate the largest public bankruptcy in U.S. history, officials said Tuesday.

Negotiators for the general pension fund, which pays benefits to retirees who didn't work in public safety, agreed to a 4.5 percent cut and the elimination of cost-of-living payments, fund spokeswoman Tina Bassett said.

Despite the cuts, it's a vast improvement over the drastic 26 percent reduction that had been proposed by Detroit emergency manager Kevyn Orr, who is guiding the city through the bankruptcy process.

"This was the best possible agreement we could make," Bassett told The Associated Press.

Hours earlier, a group representing retired police and firefighters said it had reached its own deal to preserve pension benefits but slightly trim cost-of-living payments.

Together, the agreements would cover more than 20,000 Detroit retired workers. Those retirees, as well as thousands of active employees who qualify for a future pension, will get an opportunity to vote as creditors in the bankruptcy in the weeks ahead. Judge Steven Rhodes also needs to review the deal as part of Detroit's broader plan to emerge from bankruptcy by fall.

Orr's spokesman, Bill Nowling, declined to comment on the announced deal with the general pension fund.

Earlier Tuesday, Nowling said Detroit believes it can afford the deal with retired police and firefighters partly because their pension fund's financial performance has improved along with Wall Street markets.

"Sooner or later reality sinks in," Don Taylor, president of the Retired Detroit Police and Fire Fighters Association, told The Detroit News. "The city's in bankruptcy so you have to do the best you can for the majority of your members."

Association attorney Ryan Plecha said preserving the pension benefits was the "crown jewel."

Both pension deals are contingent on Detroit getting $816 million from foundations, philanthropists and the state of Michigan. Lawmakers still haven't approved the state's $350 million share, which has been endorsed by Gov. Rick Snyder.

The pot of money would prevent the sale of city-owned art and be earmarked solely for retirees who draw benefits from the two pension funds.

The average annual pension for police and fire retirees now is $32,000, while most other retired city workers get $19,000 to $20,000.

"Judge Rhodes will not approve a plan that over-promises," bankruptcy expert Doug Bernstein said. "They are definitely going to have to back up their numbers."

Detroit filed for bankruptcy last July, citing $18 billion in unmanageable long-term liabilities.

The city last week settled with holders of $388 million in bonds, agreeing to pay 74 cents for each dollar owed. Separately, the judge signed off on an $85 million agreement that releases Detroit from a disastrous debt deal made years ago that carried high rates of interest.

___

Follow Ed White at http://twitter.com/edwhiteap

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — The son of a Calgary police officer was charged in the fatal stabbing of five people at a house party that the law enforcement officials called the worst mass slaying in the western Canadian city's history.

Matthew Douglas de Grood, a recent graduate of the University of Calgary, picked up a large knife shortly after arriving at the party and stabbed the victims one by one shortly after 1 a.m. Tuesday, said police Chief Rick Hanson.

De Grood, 22, was charged with five counts of murder late Tuesday.

"This is the worst murder — mass murder — in Calgary's history," Hanson said at a news conference Tuesday. "We have never seen five people killed by an individual at one scene. The scene was horrific."

The Calgary attack came nearly a week after a teenage boy in the U.S. stabbed and wounded 21 students at his high school outside Pittsburgh.

Hanson said the motive for the Calgary attack was unknown. He said the suspect's father and mother are devastated.

"They are now feeling so much sorrow," he said. "Those young people are dead and they are absolutely devastated."

Hanson said the identities of the five victims —four men and a woman — will be released when autopsies are completed. He said their ages range from 22 to 27 and they were all "good kids."

Neither the victims nor the suspect had any prior involvement with police, Hanson said.

The University of Calgary said de Grood graduated in 2013 with a bachelor's degree majoring in psychology and a minor in law and society.

Hanson said about 20 people were at the party celebrating the last days of classes at a home in the northwest residential neighborhood of Brentwood, near the campus. He said the suspect was invited to the party and showed up after working his shift at a grocery store and was welcomed inside.

He said it appears that no one at the party had been sleeping when the attack took place shortly after 1 a.m. Tuesday, but that everyone was taken by surprise.

Hanson said the suspect "targeted the victims one by one, stabbing them several times."

"Was there anything that precipitated the event? Was there something that anyone had done that anyone could have taken as an insult or an affront to this individual? To the best of our knowledge right now, there's nothing to indicate anything like that happened," Hanson said.

Hanson said the suspect allegedly brought a weapon, or "instrument," from work to the party, but grabbed a large knife from inside the house.

Three men were found dead at the home after someone at the party called the emergency dispatcher. A man and a woman died at a hospital.

Police said de Grood was arrested with the help of the police canine unit about 40 minutes after the stabbings and was taken to a hospital for treatment for dog bites.

Hanson said there's nothing to indicate the suspect was drunk or had been doing drugs.

He said police are interviewing witnesses.

The blue-sided house where the stabbings occurred is on a quiet, tree-lined residential street. It was surrounded with yellow police tape as medical examiner staff brought three bodies out on stretchers.

Neighbor Doug Jones said about a dozen students had been drinking beer around a fire pit in the backyard earlier in the night, but they weren't rowdy. He said they were talking about politics and the stock market. They took the party inside at about 9 p.m. and he heard nothing after that.

Other residents in the area said the house party stemmed from the student union's annual Bermuda Shorts Day, which was held Monday. The event is an annual outdoor party on campus featuring live music and beer gardens to celebrate the end of classes.

On Twitter, many students wrote about how they starting drinking Monday morning and, when the campus event ended in the afternoon, they continued at parties elsewhere.

On Tuesday, about 500 students and faculty members attended a late afternoon vigil at the University of Calgary.

With a candle projected on a giant screen, university president Elizabeth Cannon called for a moment of silence.

"The world lost five bright, promising, beautiful young people," she said. "We are still coming to grips with this tragedy and what transpired. We don't know all the details and we don't know the full impact on our University of Calgary community."

Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi called it tragic and urged people to support one another.

"Our community has been dealt a grievous blow. We've lost five young people, five good young people who did nothing wrong. Who like all of us had dreams and hopes and were building their lives," Nenshi said.