Charlottesville shrouds divisive Confederate statues in black cloth
August 23rd, 20170 CHARLOTTESVILLE- To applause from spectators, workers in Charlottesville, Virginia, covered two statues of Confederate generals with black tarpaulins on Wednesday in honor of the woman who was killed during a rally by white nationalists in the liberal-leaning college town. City councilors voted unanimously to cover the monuments...
Charlottesville to cover Confederate statues after chaotic meeting
August 22nd, 20170 CHARLOTTESVILLE- City council members in Charlottesville, Virginia, voted unanimously on Tuesday to cover two statues of Confederate war generals in black fabric after ejecting spectators from a chaotic council meeting as residents demanded answers over how a recent white nationalist rally turned deadly. Many activists and local...
Militant allies: U.S. forces to stay in Syria for decades
August 20th, 20170 AIN ISSA, SYRIA — Washington's main Syrian ally in the fight against ISIS says the U.S. military will remain in northern Syria long after the jihadists are defeated, predicting enduring ties with the Kurdish-dominated region. The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of militias dominated by the Kurdish YPG,...
Boston march against hate speech avoids Charlottesville chaos
August 20th, 20170 Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Boston on Saturday to protest a "free speech" rally featuring far-right speakers a week after a woman was killed at a Virginia white-supremacist demonstration. Rally organizers had invited several far-right speakers who were confined to a small pen that police set up in the historic...
White supremacist rally stopped in Virginia after factions clash
August 12th, 20170 CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - White supremacists clashed with counter-demonstrators in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Saturday, prompting the governor to declare an emergency and stop a rally to protest the planned removal of a Confederate general from a public park. Fighting broke out in the city's downtown before noon when hundreds of...
Trump vows to ‘win’ against opioid epidemic, offers no new steps
August 9th, 20170 BRIDGEWATER, N.J. - President Trump promised to win the fight against a U.S. epidemic of opioid drug use, but offered no new steps to do so and did not act on a recommendation made by a presidential commission that he declare a national emergency. Trump spoke at an event he had billed as a "major briefing" on the opioid crisis during a...
Minnesota governor calls mosque bombing ‘act of terrorism’
August 7th, 20170 St. Paul ― Minnesota's governor called the bombing of a mosque outside Minneapolis the previous day "an act of terrorism" during a visit to the site on Sunday. Police in Bloomington, Minnesota, were called on Saturday at 5:05 a.m. local time about an explosion at the Dar Al Farooq mosque, after a bomb was thrown through the window of...
Trump declares major disaster in Michigan following severe flooding in June
August 4th, 20170 MICHIGAN — On August 2, President Trump approved a major disaster declaration for Michigan, which makes federal disaster funding available to the areas harmed by severe storms and flooding from June 22 to June 27. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced the availability of assistance, which will aid Bay, Gladwin,...
New U.S. student loan system to be in place in 2019: Education Department
August 2nd, 20170 WASHINGTON- A whole new student loan servicing and processing system will be up and running in 2019, the U.S. Education Department said on Tuesday, as it formally unveiled its plan to overhaul the current $1.3 trillion program. The department, led by Secretary Betsy DeVos, announced its intention to change student-loan servicing in May...
Under Trump, more churches offer sanctuary but few seek refuge
August 1st, 20170 NEW YORK - The number of American churches declaring themselves sanctuaries for illegal immigrants has more than doubled since President Donald Trump was elected, but only a dozen people are known to be taking refuge there to avoid deportation. Since Trump's victory in November, about 400 churches have declared themselves sanctuaries,...
Saudi Arabia seeks to end U.S. lawsuits over Sept. 11 attacks
August 1st, 20170 NEW YORK — Saudi Arabia on Tuesday asked a U.S. judge to dismiss 25 lawsuits claiming that it helped plan the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and should pay damages to victims. In a filing in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, Saudi Arabia said the plaintiffs cannot show that the kingdom or any affiliated charities were behind the attacks. It...
Palestinian architect creates transition guide for refugees
July 29th, 20170 SEATTLE— Palestinian American architect Rania Qawasma was planning her thesis proposal halfway through her distance learning master’s program in sustainable design at Boston Architectural College (BAC) when she realized she needed to omit her original idea after spending a day with and listening to the concerns of resettled Syrian...
Massachusetts immigrant ruling could guide other states
July 27th, 20170 BOSTON-- A ruling by Massachusetts' top court could influence other state courts to rule that police cannot detain illegal immigrants solely to give federal authorities time to take them into custody, state Attorney General Maura Healey said on Wednesday. Healey, a Democrat who has been part of a loose coalition of state officials...
Former Fiat Chrysler executive charged in U.S. in payoff scheme
July 27th, 20170 WASHINGTON-- A former Fiat Chrysler vice president was indicted on Wednesday for making $1.2 million in improper payments to a former union vice president and his wife, authorities said. The UAW said it had hired independent outside counsel to conduct an internal investigation into the allegations. Alphons Iacobelli, 57, a former...
Senate plans vote on ‘skinny’ healthcare bill in marathon session
July 27th, 20170 WASHINGTON-- U.S. Senate Republicans on Thursday hurtled toward a late-night showdown over a stripped-down bill to unravel Obamacare after failing to pass broader legislation to cap their seven-year quest to gut a law that brought healthcare coverage to millions. While Republican leaders hoped their so-called skinny bill can......
Trump to ban transgender U.S. military personnel, reversing Obama
July 27th, 20170 WASHINGTON-- President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would ban transgender people from the U.S. military, a move appealing to some in his conservative political base but creating uncertainty about the fate of thousands of transgender service members. The surprise announcement by Trump, who as a presidential candidate last year...
Boy Scouts of America apologizes for Trump’s ‘political rhetoric’
July 27th, 20170 NEW YORK-- The head of the Boy Scouts of America apologized to members of the youth organization on Thursday for the "political rhetoric that was inserted" into its national gathering this week by U.S. President Donald Trump. "I want to extend my sincere apologies to those in our Scouting family who were offended by the political......
Poll: Americans want U.S. goods, but not willing to pay more
July 27th, 20170 HARRISBURG, PA — Americans say they love U.S.-made goods. They are less enthusiastic, however, about paying a premium for them. At the AMES Companies Inc factory here, the wheelbarrows coming off the assembly line once every six seconds cost the company more to make in the United States than abroad, but U.S. retailers generally will...
Trump seeks crackdown on ‘Made in America’ fakes
July 19th, 20170 WASHINGTON- President Trump is looking for ways to defend American-made products by certifying legitimate U.S. goods and aggressively going after imported products unfairly sporting the "Made in America" label, the White House said on Tuesday. Trump, who campaigned on reviving the U.S. manufacturing sector, vowed on Monday that his...
State Department: Number of terrorist attacks globally dropped in 2016
July 19th, 20170 WASHINGTON ― The number of terrorist attacks worldwide and deaths from such attacks dropped in 2016 for the second straight year, driven by decreases in Afghanistan, Syria, Nigeria, Pakistan and Yemen, the State Department said on Wednesday. The total number of terrorist attacks in 2016 dropped 9 percent compared to 2015, while...
Grandmas, grandpas from travel ban states now welcome
July 18th, 20170 WASHINGTON - Grandparents of U.S. citizens from six Muslim-majority countries are now eligible to receive U.S. visas, according to a State Department memo seen by Reuters that reflects the latest court ruling on U.S. President Donald Trump's travel ban. The memo, or cable, from U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was sent to all U.S.......
U.S. provides visas for up to 15,000 temporary workers
July 17th, 20170 WASHINGTON- The U.S. government is allowing 15,000 additional visas for temporary seasonal workers to help American businesses in danger of suffering irreparable harm because of a shortage of such labor, the Department of Homeland Security said on Monday. U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly found after consulting with Labor...
Huge activist turnout confronts hate speech against Arab American students
July 14th, 20170 PALOS TWP., IL — On Monday, July 10, residents of this Chicago suburb rallied before a township meeting in support of the resignation of Township Trustee member Sharon Brannigan due to the discovery of hate speech targeting Arab American and Muslim students in the community. "We saw her singling out our children," said Itedal......
Kid Rock hints online he will run for U.S. Senate
July 13th, 20170 DETROIT- Recording star Kid Rock, an outspoken supporter of Republican President Donald Trump, hinted in website and social media messages on Wednesday that he intends to run for the U.S. Senate in 2018, promising a "major announcement" to come soon. The 46-year-old Michigan native drew attention on Twitter and his Facebook page to a...
After passenger dragged, Chicago says police will handle airport incidents
July 12th, 20170 CHICAGO- Months after an online video of a United Airlines passenger being dragged from a plane went viral and sparked global outrage, Chicago aviation officials on Wednesday said future airport disturbances will be handled by city police, not aviation security officers. The forced removal of a passenger on April 9 to make room for......
