| Feud over Mississippi flag moves to federal appeals court Posted: 07 Mar 2017 01:07 PM PST ![Feud over Mississippi flag moves to federal appeals court]( "Feud over Mississippi flag moves to federal appeals court") A battle over a Confederate symbol on Mississippi's flag has raged for generations, igniting divisions and reopening wounds of the state's darker history with slavery and segregation. Now, the ideological battle becomes a legal one, making its way before a federal appeals court. The 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans was slated to hear arguments Tuesday that stem from a 2016 lawsuit filed by Carlos Moore, an African-American attorney.
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| 'She really has a knack': 5-year-old is youngest spelling bee contestant ever Posted: 07 Mar 2017 12:55 PM PST !['She really has a knack': 5-year-old is youngest spelling bee contestant ever]( "'She really has a knack': 5-year-old is youngest spelling bee contestant ever") On Saturday, 5-year-old Edith Fuller spelled her way into the history books when she became the youngest speller ever to advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee, a competition open to any child who hasn't yet finished eighth grade. To make it to the national bee, she defeated students from all over northeast Oklahoma at the Oral Roberts Global Learning Center in Tulsa. Edith described her straightforward strategy for spelling success to local network KJRH.
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| Why did Chance the Rapper give $1 million to Chicago public schools? Posted: 07 Mar 2017 12:37 PM PST ![Why did Chance the Rapper give $1 million to Chicago public schools?]( "Why did Chance the Rapper give $1 million to Chicago public schools?") Rihanna, the pop singer who accepted Harvard University's Humanitarian of the Year award last Tuesday, is apparently not the only artist dedicated to philanthropy work. Amid an ongoing funding battle, Chance the Rapper announced on Monday that he would donate $1 million to the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) system. "I'm challenging major companies in Chicago and across the United States to donate and to take action.
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| Appeals court rules that Confederate monuments can come down in New Orleans Posted: 07 Mar 2017 12:30 PM PST ![Appeals court rules that Confederate monuments can come down in New Orleans]( "Appeals court rules that Confederate monuments can come down in New Orleans") A federal appeals court has ruled that the city of New Orleans can take down three Confederate monuments that have stood in the city for more than a century. In December 2015, the city council voted to remove four monuments, including statues of Confederate figures Robert E. Lee, P.G.T. Beauregard, and Jefferson Davis, immediately triggering backlash and death threats against the contractors hired to do the job. A lawsuit filed by three historic preservation organizations and a Sons of the Confederacy group sought to halt their removal, but the suit was overturned on Monday.
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| Can House's Obamacare replacement survive a divided GOP? Posted: 07 Mar 2017 09:52 AM PST ![Can House's Obamacare replacement survive a divided GOP?]( "Can House's Obamacare replacement survive a divided GOP?") After seven years of promising to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Republicans are finally at the point of reckoning – unveiling a replacement plan on Monday that upends Obamacare, but will also greatly test President Trump's ability to unify Republicans behind it. The plan, put forward by House Republicans, generally follows GOP principles. It effectively repeals much-maligned individual and employer insurance mandates, which Republicans see as interference in personal health-care choices and markets.
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| At heart of Washington drama, a presidential odd couple Posted: 07 Mar 2017 08:01 AM PST ![At heart of Washington drama, a presidential odd couple]( "At heart of Washington drama, a presidential odd couple") President Trump's performance is being judged, foremost, against that of his predecessor. The most bizarre moment of all came Saturday, with Mr. Trump's eye-popping – and unsubstantiated – tweet-storm alleging that President Obama wiretapped Trump's office during the 2016 campaign. Mr. Obama and members of his administration have denied the charge.
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| Ohio town to charge overdose survivors with 'inducing panic' Posted: 07 Mar 2017 06:46 AM PST ![Ohio town to charge overdose survivors with 'inducing panic']( "Ohio town to charge overdose survivors with 'inducing panic'") Washington Court House, a town seated about halfway between the larger cities of Columbus and Cincinnati, rolled out the new strategy last month. While the strategy may seem unconventional and the punishment harsh, authorities say they hope to help those suffering from opioid addiction, not just disrupt their lives or stow them behind bars and away from other members of the community. "It gives us the ability to keep an eye on them, to offer them assistance and to know who has overdosed," City Attorney Mark Pitsick told reporters, according to a local ABC affiliate.
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| In liberal Boston, College Republicans see club membership triple Posted: 07 Mar 2017 05:59 AM PST ![In liberal Boston, College Republicans see club membership triple]( "In liberal Boston, College Republicans see club membership triple") Perhaps it was only inevitable that in America's most Democratic state, Nilo Asgari's elephant sticker would get her in trouble. Amid the intense fervor of the 2016 election, the Boston University student was eating lunch when a fellow student spotted the Republican emblem on her phone case and accosted her. "He came up and started yelling at me," says Ms. Asgari.
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| Trump's streamlined travel ban still faces headwinds Posted: 06 Mar 2017 03:29 PM PST ![Trump's streamlined travel ban still faces headwinds]( "Trump's streamlined travel ban still faces headwinds") It might be called the kinder, gentler travel ban – but don't expect the revised version of President Trump's executive order aimed at keeping Islamist terrorists out of the country to quell opposition and end legal challenges. The new order Mr. Trump signed at the White House Monday now targets six Muslim-majority countries – Iraq was dropped from the list of seven countries in the original order signed Jan. 27 – and still suspends the resettlement of refugees for 120 days.
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