NEWS OF THE DAY

From Across the Nation

‘No thanks, no giving’: Members of Native American tribes from around New England gathered in the town where the Pilgrims settled for a solemn National Day of Mourning observance. Thursday’s noon gathering in downtown Plymouth, Mass., recalled the disease, racism and oppression that European settlers brought. It’s the 48th year that the United American Indians of New England have organized the event on Thanksgiving Day. Moonanum James, a co-leader of the group, said native people have no reason to celebrate the arrival of the Pilgrims in 1620. James said: “Today we say ‘no thanks, no giving.’ ”

Civil rights probes: The Education Department wants to narrow the scope of civil rights investigations at schools, focusing on individual complaints rather than systemic problems, according to a document obtained by the Associated Press. Under the Obama administration, when a student complained of discrimination in a particular class or school, the education agency would examine the case but also look at whether the incident was part of a broader, systemic problem that needed to be fixed. Proposed revisions to the department’s civil rights procedures, distributed last week among civil rights officials at the department, remove the word “systemic” from the guidelines.

Oil spill: TransCanada Corp. says it has recovered more than 24,000 gallons of oil from the site of a pipeline leak discovered last week in South Dakota. The company said 24,450 gallons of oil had been recovered as of Wednesday. TransCanada’s Keystone pipeline leaked an estimated 210,000 gallons of oil on agricultural land in Marshall County, South Dakota.

Lead poisoning: Despite having one of the toughest bans on lead fishing tackle, loons are still dying from ingesting weights and lures in New Hampshire. The 2016 law prohibits the sale and use of lead tackle as part of an effort to revive the state’s loon population. But a Loon Preservation Committee biologist says eight loons have died this year from lead poisoning, up from two last year. The biologist says the rise in loon deaths shows the challenge of educating anglers about the law and stopping fishermen from using old lead tackle. New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York and Maine have passed or amended laws that limit or ban lead in fishing gear.

Fur trappers: Fur trappers are asking a federal judge to throw out a lawsuit from wildlife advocates who want to block the export of bobcat pelts from the U.S. Attorneys for trapping organizations said the lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service infringes on the authority of state and tribal governments to manage their wildlife. The pelts typically are used to make fur garments and accessories. Russia, China, Canada and Greece are top destinations, according to a trapping industry representative and government reports.

Chronicle News Services