Census Bureau seeks teacher ‘ambassadors’ for accurate count

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The U.S. Census is seeking Illinois school teachers to spread the word about an accurate census count in 2020. The Illinois State Board of Education said that the Census Bureau’s Statistics in Schools program invited pre-k through 12th grade teachers to serve as “ambassadors” to educate students about the importance of an accurate population count and take that information home to families. All teachers may take advantage of free classroom activities offered by the census.

BATON ROUGE, La. – Police in Louisiana said the founder of an African American history museum was found dead in the truck of a car. Baton Rouge police Sgt. L’jean Mckneely said Saturday that investigators are waiting for a coroner to determine a cause of death for 75-year-old Sadie Roberts-joseph. He said her body was found Friday afternoon. Roberts-joseph was the founder and curator of the Baton Rouge African American Museum, which features African art, exhibits on growing cotton and black inventors.

BAGHDAD – The European Union supports an Iraqi proposal to hold a regional conference amid rising tensions between the United States and Iran. Iraq is an ally of the rival nations, which are on a collision course as the Iran nuclear deal threatens to unravel. Iraq offered to mediate between Tehran and Washington, while Iran pressed European parties to the nuclear agreement to offset the effects of U.S. sanctions. Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini said the priority is to avoid escalation and any miscalculations.

MOSCOW – An unidentified assailant fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a Ukrainian television station in the capital, Kiev, damaging the building. No one was hurt in the attack Saturday. Authorities classified the attack as an act of terrorism. The target was the Ukraine 112 television station, a network considered by some to be pro-russian. On Thursday, Ukraine’s prosecutor general threatened legal action if the network airs a new Oliver Stone documentary that features an interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin.