NEWS OF THE DAY
From Across the Nation
_1 Officer acquitted: Eighteen people were arrested during a protest of the acquittal of a suburban Minneapolis police officer who fatally shot a black driver, authorities said Saturday. Minnesota State Police spokeswoman Lt. Tiffani Nielson said officers began arresting protesters at 12:30 a.m. after issuing warnings for them to get off a highway in St. Paul. Protesters rallied outside the state Capitol on Friday night after a jury acquitted St. Anthony police Officer Jeronimo Yanez of manslaughter in the fatal shooting last summer of Philando Castile during a traffic stop. The protesters began marching through the streets, with hundreds splintering off and blocking the freeway for about two hours.
_2 Severe storms: Residents in eastern Nebraska and western Iowa were cleaning up Saturday after severe thunderstorms — some producing hurricaneforce winds — shattered homes, tore down trees and left thousands without power. The National Weather Service said storms Friday night blasted Omaha and surrounding areas with heavy rain, hail and wind gusts of nearly 90 mph. No serious injuries were reported. Some homes in Bellevue were torn apart, and Offutt Air Force Base just south of the city requested that only essential personnel report to the base Saturday as crews worked to clean up damaged homes and downed trees.
_3 Play disrupted: A production of Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” in New York City with a Trump-like character who is assassinated had a boisterous new scene this weekend: an activist who stormed the stage, yelling, “Do you want Trump to be assassinated?” Laura Loomer was arrested Friday evening during the play and was charged with criminal trespass and disorderly conduct. “I’m out of jail, but I’m not apologetic,” the conservative activist wrote on Twitter. “Thanks to everyone who is supporting me & condemning political violence.” Sunday is the last performance of the play, which is part of the free Shakespeare in the Park series in the Delacorte Theater.
_4 Camp David visit: Nearly five months into his presidency, President Trump flew for the first time Saturday to Camp David, the government-owned retreat in Maryland’s Catoctin Mountains. A frequent weekend traveler, Trump has favored his palatial residences in Florida and New Jersey over the wooded hideaway used by many presidents for a break from Washington. Trump’s wife, Melania, their son, Barron, and the first lady’s parents, Viktor and Amalija Knavs, joined the president for an overnight stay.
_5 Church massacre: The architect who designed the Sept. 11 Memorial in New York City has been chosen to create a memorial to honor the nine worshipers who died in a racist attack on a church in Charleston, S.C. The planners announced their choice of Michael Arad on Saturday, the second anniversary of the slayings at Emanuel AME church. Dylann Roof has been sentenced to the death penalty for hate crimes for killing the black churchgoers.