NEWS OF THE DAY
From Across the Nation
1 Seattle mayor: Jenny Durkan said Monday she will not run for reelection as Seattle mayor following a term beset by the pandemic and policing protests. Durkan said she wanted to focus on recovering from the pandemic. Durkan said Seattle has led in making COVID19 testing free citywide, imposing a moratorium on evictions and on protecting small businesses, immigrants and workers. But she has also been criticized over the Seattle Police Department’s response to protests over the spring and summer when officers sometimes used tear gas, pepper spray and other lesslethal weapons indiscriminately.
2 Contaminated water: The city of Flint, Mich., has taken important steps toward resolving the lead contamination crisis that made the impoverished town a symbol of the drinking water problems that plague many U. S. communities, officials said Monday. A total of $ 120 million in federal and state funding has helped Flint replace more than 9,700 lead service lines, which carry water from main pipes into homes, said Kurt Thiede of the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency. Fewer than 500 service lines remain to be checked — a task the city hopes to complete this month, he said.
3 Guilty plea: A Las Vegas woman has pleaded guilty to murder and is expected to face up to 25 years in prison for killing a nail salon manager with a vehicle while trying to skip out on a $ 35 manicure. Krystal Whipple’s attorney didn’t respond Monday to a message about the plea. Whipple, 23, admitted killing Nhu “Annie” Ngoc Nguyen, 51, in December 2018. Police said Whipple tried to pay for her manicure with a fraudulent credit card before telling Nguyen that she was going to her car to get cash. Nguyen followed Whipple into the parking lot, where she was struck and dragged by Whipple’s car. Police said the car was stolen from a rental agency.
4 Muted ceremony: U. S. servicemen and women and National Park Service officials gathered at Pearl Harbor on Monday to remember those killed in the Japanese attack — but elderly survivors stayed home to pay their respects from afar to avoid health risks from the coronavirus pandemic. The Arizona battleship bell rang at 7: 55 a. m., the minute the attack began 79 years ago in Hawaii, to start a moment of silence. F22 jets flew overhead in missing man formation. The military streamed the ceremony online for survivors and others unable to attend in person. Marines performing a rifle salute wore masks during the ceremony, which featured a smaller crowd than in typical years. In all, more than 2,300 U. S. troops died in the attack.
5 Transgender rights: The Supreme Court declined Monday to hear an appeal from parents in Salem, Ore., who want to prevent transgender students from using locker rooms and bathrooms of the gender with which they identify, rather than their sex at birth. A federal appeals court had upheld school district policy that allows transgender students to use the facilities that align with their gender identity. Parents sued over the policy in 2017, saying it caused embarrassment and stress. Similar suits have been dismissed by courts in other parts of the country.