Decision to add citizenship question to census draws protest
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration’s decision to ask people about their citizenship in the 2020 census set off worries among Democrats on Tuesday that immigrants will dodge the survey altogether, diluting political representation for states that tend to vote Democratic and robbing many communities of federal dollars.
Not since 1950 has the census collected citizenship data from the whole population, rather than just a population sample, says the Congressional Research Service. The decision to restore the question after decades prompted an immediate lawsuit from California — already tangling with Washington over immigration — and moves by other states with large immigrant populations to engage in a legal fight.
The population count, a massive effort taken every 10 years, is far more than an academic exercise. It’s required by the Constitution and used to determine the number of seats each state has in the House as well as how federal money is distributed to local communities. Communities and businesses depend on it in deciding where to build schools, hospitals, grocery stores and more.
AP-NORC Poll: Trump’s approval rating up from historic lows
WASHINGTON — The good news for President Donald Trump? His approval rating is up 7 points since last month, according to a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
The bad news? That only lifts Trump’s approval to 42 percent, low for a president at this point in his tenure.
Still, the trajectory is a welcome shift for a White House that has been battered by chaos, controversies and internal upheaval. The poll suggests that at least some of the president’s improving standing is tied to the economy and the Republican tax overhaul, which offers a glimmer of hope for GOP lawmakers who plan to make both issues the centerpiece of their efforts to maintain control of Congress in November.
Nearly half of Americans surveyed — 47 percent — say they approve of how Trump is handling the economy, his highest rating on any issue. When it comes to tax policy, 46 percent of Americans back Trump’s moves.
Designer of deadly waterslide charged along with park owner
TOPEKA, Kan. — A water park company co-owner accused of rushing the world’s tallest waterslide into service and a designer accused of shoddy planning were charged Tuesday in the decapitation of a 10-year-old boy on the ride in 2016.
With the latest charges, three men connected with Texas-based Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts and its park in Kansas City, Kansas, have been indicted by a Kansas grand jury, along with the park and the construction company that built the ride. Caleb Schwab died on the 17-story ride when the raft he was riding went airborne and hit an overhead loop.
The Kansas attorney general’s office said Schlitterbahn co-owner Jeffrey Henry, 62, and designer John Schooley were charged with reckless second-degree murder, along with Henry &Sons Construction Co., which is described as the private construction company of Schlitterbahn. Second-degree murder carries a sentence of 9 years to 41 years in prison.
They also were charged with 17 other felonies, including aggravated battery and aggravated endangerment of a child counts tied to injuries other riders sustained on the giant slide, called Verruckt, which is German for “insane.” The indictment accuses Henry of making a “spur of the moment” decision to build the ride, and that he and Schooley lacked technical or engineering expertise in amusement park rides.
2 officers in black man’s fatal shooting won’t be charged
BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana’s attorney general ruled out criminal charges Tuesday against two white Baton Rouge police officers in the shooting of a black man whose death led to widespread protests nearly two years ago.
Attorney General Jeff Landry’s decision came nearly 11 months after the Justice Department ruled out federal criminal charges in Alton Sterling’s July 2016 death.
Officer Blane Salamoni shot and killed Sterling during a struggle outside a convenience store where the 37-year-old black man was selling homemade CDs. Officer Howie Lake II helped wrestle Sterling to the ground, but Lake didn’t fire his gun. Two cellphone videos of the shooting quickly spread on social media, prompting large protests.
By wire sources