NEWS OF THE DAY
From Across the Nation
King/Lee holiday: Arkansas’ governor signed legislation ending the state’s practice of commemorating Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee on the same holiday as slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Tuesday signed the bill he championed in the Legislature. The change means only two states — Alabama and Mississippi — still honor the two men on the same day. Arkansas’ new law sets aside the second Saturday in October to honor Lee with a state memorial day, not a holiday, which will be marked with a gubernatorial proclamation.
Dog breeds: Labrador retrievers extended their record dog popularity run last year in the top spot, leading the New York City-based American Kennel Club’s new rankings Tuesday for a 26th straight year. The rest of the top 10, in order: German shepherds, golden retrievers, bulldogs, beagles, French bulldogs, poodles, Rottweilers, Yorkshire terriers and boxers.
Fox News pundit: Fox News Channel has pulled legal analyst Andrew Napolitano from the air after disavowing his on-air claim that British intelligence officials had helped former President Barack Obama spy on Donald Trump. A person with knowledge of the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity because it was a personnel matter said Napolitano has been benched and won’t be appearing on the air in the near future. Fox had no immediate comment.
False arrest: The Supreme Court on Tuesday gave an Illinois man a new chance to sue the city of Joliet and its police officers who arrested him on trumped-up charges and kept him in jail for nearly seven weeks. The 6-2 ruling ordered the federal appeals court in Chicago to reconsider a lawsuit filed by Elijah Manuel. Police arrested him in 2011 and falsely claimed he was in possession of the illegal drug known as ecstasy. The police persuaded a prosecutor that Manuel had illegal drugs and the prosecutor took the case to a grand jury and obtained an indictment. When prosecutors finally saw a police lab report showing that the pills Manuel had were vitamins, the indictment was dismissed. Manuel sued, but lower courts said his claim of unlawful arrest was too late and that he could not sue for unlawful detention under the Fourth Amendment, which bars unreasonable searches and seizures.
NASA funding: President Trump signed a bill into law Tuesday that updates NASA’s mission to add exploration of Mars and authorizes $19.5 billion in spending for the U.S. space agency for the current budget year. It’s the first time in seven years that there has been an authorization bill for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, also known as NASA, said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, a chief sponsor of the bill. Cruz joined several astronauts and other lawmakers in the Oval Office to watch Trump sign the bill.
Chronicle News Services