NEWS OF THE DAY
1 Ballot lawsuit: President Trump’s reelection campaign and Republican Party groups are suing a third Iowa county, seeking to invalidate thousands of absentee ballot request forms that have been returned by voters. The lawsuit against Woodbury County’s top elections official, made public this week, expands the GOP’s efforts to make it harder for voters and local officials to handle absentee ballot requests during the pandemic. The Trump campaign and GOP groups filed lawsuits last week against elections officials in Linn and Johnson counties. More than 70,000 people have requested ballots in those counties.
2 Lost hiker: Authorities say a hiker has survived after being stranded in a forest near Santa Fe, N.M. for 14 days. The lost hiker was rescued Sunday after he called out to another hiker on the Windsor Trail. Santa Fe Fire Department Captain Nathan Garcia says the lost hiker is in his 50s and has chronic back pain and hurt it again while out hiking, making him unable to stand or walk. Garcia says rescuers brought up his body temperature with a fire when they found him, and gave him food and water. He’d been without food for over a week. His name was not released.
3 Senator charged: A Virginia state senator has been charged with damaging a Confederate monument in Portsmouth during June protests that also led to a demonstrator being critically injured when a statue was torn down, authorities said this week. Sen. Louise Lucas faces charges of conspiracy to commit a felony and injury to a monument in excess of $1,000, Portsmouth Police Chief Angela Greene said. Lucas is a longtime Democratic legislator and a key power broker in the state Senate, joining the chamber in 1992. The ACLU said the charges constitute a stark overreach by police because they were not approved by the local prosecutor’s office.
4 Transgender ruling: A federal judge blocked the Trump administration this week from enforcing a new regulation that would roll back health care protections for transgender people. Finalized days after the Supreme Court barred sex discrimination against LGBT individuals on the job, the regulation from the federal Department of Health and Human Services was to have taken effect Tuesday. Monday’s preliminary injunction from U.S. District Court Judge Frederic Block in Brooklyn bars the administration from enforcing the regulation until the case can be heard in court and decided. In a tweet, Trump called the decision “horrible & politically charged” and compared it to a shotgun blast in the faces of conservative Republicans.
5 Boy’s handcuffing: A Michigan city and a business group have agreed to pay $40,000 to settle a lawsuit over the handcuffing of a 7yearold boy at an afterschool program in 2015. The boy, who has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, had kicked a cart and was running on bleachers when Flint police were called. His hands were cuffed behind his back and remained that way for more than an hour because the officer didn’t have a key, according to the lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan on behalf of the boy.
Chronicle News Services