Nation & World Glance
Students return to Florida school where 17 were killed
PARKLAND, Fla. — Students at a Florida high school where 17 of their classmates and staff members were killed returned Sunday to gather their belongings thrown down in panic during the school shooting nearly two weeks ago.
Thousands of students joined their parents in walking past the three-story building at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School where the Feb. 14 massacre took place. It is now cordoned off by a chain link fence that was covered with banners from other schools showing their support.
“Just seeing the building was scary,” freshman Francesca Lozano said as she exited the school with her mom. Still, she was happy to see her friends. “That made it a lot better.”
Seventeen people dressed in white costumes as angels stood by a makeshift memorial outside the school before moving near the entrance. Organizer Terry Decarlo said the costumes are sent to mass shootings and disasters so the survivors “know angels are looking over them and protecting them.” Many of Sunday’s angels were survivors of the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando where 49 people died, Decarlo said.
The school reopens Wednesday and administrators said families would get phone calls about details later. Sunday was a day to ease into the return.
Trump to attend Rev. Billy Graham’s funeral on Friday
WASHINGTON — The White House says President Donald Trump will attend Friday’s funeral for the Rev. Billy Graham.
The evangelist and spiritual adviser to numerous presidents died last week at his North Carolina home. Graham was 99.
Before the funeral, Graham will be afforded the rare tribute of lying in honor in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on Wednesday and Thursday. He is to be buried Friday on the grounds of his namesake library in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Trump said last week that Graham was a “great man” who had a “great family” and was “for us” — meaning Trump’s campaign — from the beginning.
5 dead after tornado, flooding from central U.S. storms
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The death toll rose to at least five on Sunday after severe thunderstorms swept through the central U.S., spawning a tornado that flattened homes, gale force winds and widespread flooding from the Upper Midwest to Appalachia.
The system that stretched from Texas to the Canadian Maritime provinces had prompted several emergency declarations even before the dangerous storms arrived.
In southwestern Michigan, the body of a 48-yearold man was found floating in floodwaters Sunday in Kalamazoo, city Public Safety Lt. David Thomas said. Police were withholding the release of his name until notifying relatives.
Thomas said the death didn’t appear suspicious but the cause wasn’t known. An autopsy was planned as early as Monday. Kalamazoo has hard hit by flooding from last week’s heavy rains and melting snow.
In Kentucky, authorities said three people died. Two bodies were recovered from submerged vehicles in separate incidents Saturday.
Trump to discuss Fla. school shooting with governors
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Sunday that the deadly mass shooting at a Florida high school is the top issue he wants to discuss with the nation’s governors.
Under pressure to act to stem gun violence on school grounds, Trump planned to solicit input from the state chief executives during meetings Monday at the White House. The governors are in Washington for their annual winter meeting.
But socializing was the focus Sunday night as Trump and first lady Melania Trump hosted the governors for an annual black-tie ball.
4 critically injured by explosion and fire in UK
LONDON — Four people were hospitalized in critical condition following an explosion that left a building in the English city of Leicester in flames Sunday, local emergency agencies said.
Leicestershire Police initially asked the public to stay away from the road where the explosion happened just after 7 p.m. while first responders tended to what was described as a “major incident.”
The department said on its website about three hours later there was no indication the emergency was terrorist-related. It asked the news media and everyone else not to speculate about the cause.
The incident on a crowded street that leads into Leicester’s city center was being treated as a searchand-rescue operation, the Fire and Rescue Service said.
Calif. Democratic Party won’t endorse Dianne Feinstein
SAN DIEGO — U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein failed to win the official endorsement of the California Democratic Party as she seeks her fifth term, another sign that the party is divided over how best to battle Republicans in Washington.
Democratic activists were more eager to back her primary challenger, state Senate leader Kevin de Leon, who is touting himself as a fresh face with stronger progressive credentials.
However, he too failed to earn the 60 percent support needed to win the endorsement Saturday at Democrats’ annual convention. That means neither candidate will get the party’s seal of approval or extra campaign cash leading into the June primary.
With Democrats still licking their wounds from the 2016 election, some of the party’s biggest stars, including U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris and U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, urged unity ahead of the midterm elections. They reminded more than 3,000 activists gathered this weekend that President Donald Trump is their common enemy.
Though party activists rebuked Feinstein, she has millions of dollars to run a successful campaign and polling has shown she enjoys wide support among Democratic voters and independents, a critical piece of the electorate in a race without any well-known Republicans.