Anti-abortion candidate riles some Dems
OMAHA, Neb. — Democrats desperate for fresh faces cast 37-year-old Heath Mello as a pragmatic, nextgeneration leader who could win in the Nebraska heartland. Yet his anti-abortion stance has become a flashpoint for the national party.
If Mr. Mello prevails Tuesday in his bid for Omaha mayor, it’s a promising sign, he says, for a candidate “with a proven record of working bipartisan and tackling some big issues and, yes, to some extent, is a pro-life Catholic Democrat.” He is challenging Republican incumbent Jean Stothert.
Mr. Mello’s bid has exposed the cultural divisions within the party over the decades-old issue of abortion, and proved a major embarrassment for the new party chairman, Tom Perez. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, an abortion rights supporter, insists that there is room in the party for abortion foes.
Anti-abortion Democrats have almost disappeared in Congress. Only three senators fit the description, and all three — Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Joe Manchin of West Virginia — are up for re-election next year in states President Donald Trump won in 2016.
Minn. measles outbreak
Health officials are grappling with the largest outbreak of measles in Minnesota in almost 30 years, which is mainly sickening young children of Somali immigrants who fell under the sway of anti-vaccination activists. The state has reported 44 cases of measles since April 11, and the outbreak is the largest this year in the United States, which had essentially eradicated the disease in 2000 before discredited research stoked fears of a link between vaccines and autism.
As of Thursday, 11 patients have been hospitalized, Doug Schultz, a spokesman for the Minnesota Department of Health, said Friday. It is the largest outbreak in the state since 1990, when 460 cases were reported. All but one of the cases were children younger than 10.
Man planned NYC bombing
NEWARK, N.J. — A New Jersey man arrested after stabbing the family dog had plans to construct and use a pressure cooker bomb in New York City and, if necessary, become a martyr in support of the Islamic State group, federal prosecutors said Friday.
Gregory Lepsky, 20, of Point Pleasant, was charged with attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. Investigators say he had praised the Islamic State group’s leader, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, in online messages.
He was arrested in February after investigators said he stabbed and threatened to kill the dog. After police arrived, investigators said Mr. Lepsky threatened to kill his mother and told police that he had “pledged his allegiance to ‘Allah.‘” While searching the home, officers found a pressure cooker stored in his bedroom closet.
Immigrant teens cleared
Maryland prosecutors said they will drop rape and sex offense charges against two immigrant teens accused of attacking a 14-yearold classmate in a high school bathroom stall in a case that attracted international and White House attention and stoked the debate about illegal crossings into the United States.
After a court hearing Friday, prosecutors said they will drop the sex-assault case against Henry Sanchez Milian, 18, and Jose Montano, 17.
“The facts of this case do not support the charges originally filed,” said Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy.