In Brief: August 26, 2020

First lady expresses sympathy for virus victims

WASHINGTON — Melania Trump is expressing sympathy for families affected by COVID-19, an “invisible enemy” she said has challenged America but brought its citizens together.

In her prime-time Republican National Convention address on Tuesday night, the first lady said she has “been moved in the way Americans have come together in such an unfamiliar and frightening situation.”

She says her husband “will not rest until he has done all he can” to stem the “invisible enemy” of the coronavirus outbreak.

Mrs. Trump also talked about “the beautiful side of humanity” she has observed in the wake of natural disasters around the country, noting that a common thread “is the unwavering resolve to help one another.”

The first lady spoke from the newly renovated Rose Garden, where her husband was front and center in the audience gathered to hear her remarks.

California faces huge fires before usual peak of season

VACAVILLE, Calif. — California’s firefighting agency is in talks with the National Guard and California Conservation Corps about providing reinforcements as an already devastating wildfire season threatens to get even worse.

Lightning-sparked fires that have grown to some of the largest in state history have pushed firefighters to the breaking point as they also deal with complications from the coronavirus pandemic and depleted inmate crews.

“Historically it’s September and October when we experience our largest and our most damaging wildfires. So to be in the middle of August and already have the second- and the third-largest wildfires in our state’s history is very concerning to us,” Daniel Berlant, chief of wildfire planning and engineering at the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said Tuesday.

For now, cooler temperatures are helping firefighters begin to corral three huge clusters of fires ignited Aug. 15. The blazes have killed at least seven people, burned some 1,300 homes, and prompted evacuation orders that still affect an estimated 170,000 people.

Firefighters in wine country north of San Francisco have cleared containment lines — used to prevent fires from spreading — around a quarter of the fires there that have scorched nearly 557 square miles and destroyed nearly 980 buildings. It is now the third-largest blaze in California history.

Woman was in body bag 2 hours before she was found alive

An attorney for the family of a young woman found breathing at a Detroit funeral home after being declared dead said Tuesday the 20-year-old was in a body bag for some two hours before it was opened and she was discovered to be alive, with her eyes open.

Geoffrey Fieger, who was hired by Timesha Beauchamp’s family, said she remains in critical condition at Sinai-Grace Hospital in Detroit, where she is on a respirator and her heart is beating on its own.

“The doctors are unable to give a prognosis right now, and have indicated that it’s touch and go,” Fieger said during an online news conference.

Fieger said the family of the Southfield woman, who was born with cerebral palsy and has always needed constant medical care, are shaken by the blunder that led to her being incorrectly declared dead.

From wire sources

He read a statement from Timesha’s mother, Erica Lattimore, who said that, “On behalf of the family we are devastated by what has happened. We would like people to continue to pray for Timesha and keep her family in their prayers.”

Falwell says he’s resigned from Liberty University

RICHMOND, Va. — Jerry Falwell Jr. announced his resignation Tuesday as the head of Liberty University after a provocative photo and revelations of his wife’s extramarital affair roiled the evangelical school founded by his father.

Falwell’s exit marks a precipitous fall from power for one of the country’s most visible conservative Christian leaders and ardent supporters of President Donald Trump. He confirmed his decision to resign in a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press.

According to the school, he initially offered to resign Monday, hours after a news outlet published an interview with a man who said that he had a yearslong sexual relationship with Becki Falwell and that Jerry Falwell participated in some of the liaisons as a voyeur. Falwell, who denied any participation, later reversed course on his resignation and began telling news outlets he had no intention of leaving. Then he changed direction again.

“That’s the only reason I resigned: because I don’t want something my wife did to harm the school I’ve spent my whole life building,” he said in a phone interview. “I never broke a single rule that applies to staff members at Liberty, which I was. So I want everybody to know that.”

The university confirmed in a statement that its board had accepted Falwell’s resignation as president, chancellor and board member. All were effective immediately, the statement said.

Police, shooting protesters clash for 3rd night in Kenosha

KENOSHA, Wis. — Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse protesters during a third night of unrest in this southeastern Wisconsin city following the shooting of a Black man whose attorney said he was paralyzed after being shot multiple times by police.

A group of protesters walked toward a fence that was put in place Tuesday around the courthouse and started shaking it. Police behind it moved toward protesters as some threw water bottles and fireworks over the fence. Armored vehicles then rolled in and tear gas was fired into the crowd.

When police ordered protesters to disperse, the crowd responded by chanting “Black lives matter.” Police then fired rubber bullets.

Jacob Blake, the man shot by police responding to a domestic disturbance on Sunday, is paralyzed, and it will “take a miracle” for him to walk again, his family’s attorney said Tuesday, while calling for the officer who opened fire to be arrested and others involved to lose their jobs.

The shooting of Blake on Sunday in Kenosha — apparently in the back while three of his children looked on — was captured on cellphone video and ignited new protests over racial injustice in several cities, some of which have devolved into unrest. It came just three months after the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police touched off a wider reckoning on race.

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US crackdown on nonessential border travel causes long waits

SAN DIEGO — A Trump administration crackdown on nonessential travel coming from Mexico amid the coronavirus pandemic has created massive bottlenecks at the border, with drivers reporting waits of up to 10 hours to get into the U.S.

An employee at a company that provides support for businesses with Mexican operations saw the huge lines Sunday night from his home in Tijuana, Mexico. A U.S. citizen, he lined up at midnight for his 8 a.m. shift Monday in San Diego and still arrived 90 minutes late.

“I hope that it’s just startup fits and starts and that it will be a little more streamlined down the road,” said Ross Baldwin, the man’s boss and president of the TACNA Services Inc.

U.S. citizens and legal residents cannot be denied entry under a partial ban that the Trump administration introduced in March to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Going to work, school and medical appointments are deemed essential travel but going to shop, dine or socialize is not.

Andrea Casillas, who works at a Bed Bath &Beyond store in San Diego and lives in Tijuana because it’s less expensive, waited for four hours Monday.

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Poetic words bring tears in New Zealand mosque shooting case

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — The poetic words of love from a daughter to her murdered father brought many people to tears in a New Zealand courtroom Wednesday during the sentencing hearing for the white supremacist who killed 51 worshippers at two mosques.

Sara Qasem said she wonders if, in his last moments, her father was frightened or in pain, and wishes she could have been there to hold his hand. She told the gunman to remember her dad’s name, Abdelfattah Qasem.

“All a daughter ever wants is her dad. I want to go on more road trips with him. I want to smell his garden-sourced cooking. His cologne,” she said. “I want to hear him tell me more about the olive trees in Palestine. I want to hear his voice. My dad’s voice. My baba’s voice.”

Qasem spoke on the third day of a four-day sentencing hearing for Brenton Harrison Tarrant, who carried out the attacks during Friday prayers in March 2019. The 29-year-old Australian has pleaded guilty to murder, attempted murder, and terrorism.

The hearing has given a chance for some of the survivors and family members to confront Tarrant. Many have asked the judge to impose the maximum possible sentence — life without the possibility of parole.