NEWS OF THE DAY
From Across the Nation
_1 Uber attack: Police say a Florida man has died after getting punched by his Uber driver. A statement Saturday from St. Petersburg police said 56-year-old Terry Lynn Kimball had died, more than a day after losing consciousness. According to the police statement, Kimball and the 38-year-old male driver had a dispute over the route the driver was taking Thursday evening. Police say the driver pulled over at a convenience store, where the men had a physical altercation. Police say the driver punched Kimball, who was hospitalized with serious brain trauma. He never regained consciousness. The driver has not been charged. The police statement said the investigation remained open. _2 Controversial tweet: South Carolina Republican officials say their state party chairman didn’t mean for a tweet about conservatives being an “army of occupation” to describe a white nationalist rally in a Virginia college town. State GOP Chairman Drew McKissick said in a tweet posted Saturday afternoon that “It is not enough that conservatives be a conquering army, we must be an army of occupation.” Party officials tell the Associated Press that McKissick didn’t intend for the tweet to reference a rally in Charlottesville, Va., where three people were killed and dozens were sent to hospitals Saturday.
3_ Eclipse train: Amtrak officials say it took less than a day to sell out a special train service in Illinois for the solar eclipse. Amtrak announced the Amtrak Eclipse Express last week. The train goes round-trip from both Chicago and then Champaign to Carbondale in southern Illinois, which is near where the total eclipse Aug. 21 is expected to be peak duration. Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari says the special train service sold out 22 hours after it was announced.
_4 VA bill signed: President Trump has signed an emergency spending bill that will pump more than $2 billion into a program that allows veterans to receive private medical care at government expense. Trump, who made improving veterans care a central campaign promise, signed the VA Choice and Quality Employment Act while at his New Jersey golf club on Saturday. The bill addresses a budget shortfall at the Department of Veteran Affairs that threatened medical care for thousands of veterans.
_5 Taco clash: Authorities say an Alabama man whacked his twin brother with an aluminum baseball bat because he didn’t want to share tacos. The News Courier reports that 19year-old Tyler Dukes of Athens was arrested by Limestone County sheriff ’s deputies Thursday and charged with second-degree domestic violence. A criminal complaint states that Dukes’ twin brother and grandmother brought food home with them. But Dukes became “irate” because he didn’t want to share tacos and didn’t get a drink he wanted. Deputies say he hit his twin brother in the back and head with the bat, cutting the twin deeply. Dukes remains jailed without bail.