MAN DRIVES CAR INTO CARNIVAL CROWD, INJURES 30
BERLIN» A man intentionally drove a car into a crowd at a Carnival parade in a small town in central Germany, injuring around 30 people, including children, officials said Monday.
The driver, a 29-year-old German citizen who lived locally, was arrested at the scene in Volkmarsen near Kassel, about 175 miles southwest of Berlin, prosecutors said. He is being investigated on suspicion of attempted homicide.
A spokesman for Frankfurt prosecutors, Alexander Badle, said in a statement that “about 30 people” were injured and taken to surrounding hospitals, some with life-threatening injuries.
Justices to hear Philly dispute over same-sex foster parents.
WASHINGTON » The Supreme Court said Monday it will hear a dispute over a Philadelphia Catholic agency that won’t place foster children with same-sex couples — a big test of religious rights on a more conservative court.
The justices will review an appeals court ruling that upheld the city’s decision to stop placing children with the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s agency because it would not permit same-sex couples to serve as foster parents.
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia ruled the city did not target the agency, Catholic Social Services, because of its religious beliefs, but acted only to enforce its own nondiscrimination policy in the face of what seemed to be a clear violation.
Smollett pleads not guilty to restored charges. CHICAGO» Former “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett pleaded not guilty Monday to restored charges that accuse him of staging a racist, homophobic attack against himself last year in Chicago and falsely reporting to police that the phony attack was real.
His lawyer, Tina Glandian, entered the not guilty pleas on his behalf to six counts of felony disorderly conduct. She also told Judge James B. Linn that she has asked the Illinois Supreme Court to halt the case.
“He’s obviously frustrated to be dragged through this process again,” Glandian said.
U.S. to stop aid in Yemen’s Houthi areas if rebels don’t budge. CAIRO» USAID said late
Monday that it will suspend aid to Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen, where most of the country’s people live, if the rebels don’t remove impediments obstructing aid operations.
In a statement, the agency said it informed partners including U.N. agencies about the plan last week. It said the suspension will start in late March if Houthis take no action.
“We continue to do everything we can to avoid a reduction in aid in northern Yemen,” the agency said.
The U.S. provided about $700 million in aid to Yemen last year. It is among the largest donors to Yemen, where a U.N. aid program totaling $8.35 billion since 2015 is vital to keeping many Yemenis alive. The U.N. calls the situation in Yemen the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
U.N. declares support for twostate Israel-Palestine solution.
UNITED NATIONS» The U.N. Security Council on Monday reiterated its support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in its first statement following the unveiling of the U.S. plan for resolving the decades-old struggle three weeks ago.
President Donald Trump’s plan sided with Israel on most of the conflict’s main sticking points, and the Palestinians rejected it outright.
The U.N. statement, which was approved by all 15 council members including the U.S., made no mention of Trump’s plan. It also didn’t directly address Palestinian demands for an independent state including all of the West Bank and east Jerusalem — areas captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war — and the removal of many of the more than 700,000 Israeli settlers from these areas.