Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 28, 2018)
7A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2018 WORLD IN BRIEF White House downgrades Kushner’s security clearance Associated Press Dick’s ends sales of assault-style rifles in stores NEW YORK — Dick’s Sporting Goods, a major U.S. retailer, will immediately halt sales of assault-style rifles and high-capacity maga- zines at all of its stores and ban the sale of all guns to anyone under 21. The announcement today comes as students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, return to class for the first time since a troubled teenager killed 17 students and educators with an AR-15 two weeks ago. “When we saw what the kids were going through and the grief of the parents and the kids who were killed in Parkland, we felt we needed to do something,” Chairman and CEO Ed Stack said on “Good Morning America.” Dick’s, one of the most well-known gun retailers in the U.S., had cut off sales of assault- style weapons at Dick’s stores following the Sandy Hook school shooting. But sales had resumed at its chain of stores under the name, Field & Stream. The decision to overhaul its own rules on gun sales puts the company out front in a falling out between corporate America and groups like the National Rifle Association. A number of major U.S. corporations includ- ing MetLife, Hertz, Delta Airlines and First National Bank of Omaha, one of the nation’s largest privately held banks, cut ties with the NRA in the days following the Parkland shooting. Stack today called for significant changes to U.S. gun policy, and called on lawmakers to act now. He also revealed that Nikolas Cruz, who killed the students in Florida using an AR-15 assault-style rifle, had purchased a shotgun at a Dick’s store within the past four months. AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite The body of Rev. Billy Graham is carried into the Capitol Rotunda. Graham praised by Trump, politicians as ‘America’s pastor’ WASHINGTON — He felt stung by the politics that helped define his life — and resolved to keep a distance. But in death, the Rev. Billy Graham today received a rare tribute from the nation’s top political leaders under the Capitol Rotunda. “Here lies America’s pastor,” said House Speaker Paul Ryan, gesturing to Graham’s casket under the eye of the dome, surrounded by family, friends, lawmakers and a ring of paintings of the nation’s founders. President Donald Trump said his father was an admirer of Graham’s and that the “legendary” American figure deserved to be recognized in the place “where the memory of the American peo- ple is enshrined.” Graham died a week earlier at age 99. Some 30 family members are accompanying Graham’s casket to Washington, where he befriended presidents of both parties and counseled others over seven decades. He is lying in honor before a funeral Friday near his home in Charlotte, North Carolina. Though he met every president since Harry Truman and counseled most, Graham grew wary of politics after Watergate. He was closest to Richard Nixon but later said he felt used by him. Nonetheless, Graham ministered to other presidents until his health began to fail about 10 years ago. Graham is only the fourth private person to lie in honor since 1998. The others are two U.S. Capitol Police officers who died in the line of duty in 1998 and civil rights hero Rosa Parks in 2005. Trump invites lawmakers to talk school safety, guns WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump was convening a bipartisan group of lawmakers today to discuss school safety, as Republican leaders showed little interest in pur- suing stricter gun control laws and Democrats pushed new restrictions following the Florida shooting. Ahead of the session, Senate Democrats urged the president to follow through on his call for “comprehensive background checks” by endorsing legislation to extend the pre-purchase reviews to online and gun show sales. Legislation has been revived in the Senate to close the gun show and online sales loophole. Democrats appealed to Trump to use his influ- ence on Capitol Hill, saying that if he endorses a background check bill it would have a better chance at passage. Among those headed to the White House are Sens. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., who are pushing their bill, which failed twice in the Senate after the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, to broaden background checks. Trump had floated the idea of an age restric- tion immediately after the Florida shooting but has not talked about it in recent days. Trump lunched recently with leaders of the National Rifle Association, which opposes the proposal. Congratulations TONGUE POINT JOB CORPS CENTER Republican leaders, who have majority con- trol of the House and Senate, are reluctant to lead on legislation without knowing they have Trump’s full support and can rely on his popu- larity with a core flank of the GOP electorate to shield them from political blowback. But Trump, who is meeting with 17 sena- tors and representatives from both parties, has proven an inconsistent partner in such policy debates, offering sweeping proposals — includ- ing his tweet for stronger background checks — only to drift from them. WASHINGTON — The security clearance of White House senior adviser and presiden- tial son-in-law Jared Kushner has been down- graded, significantly reducing his access to clas- sified information, according to two people informed of the decision. Kushner had been operating with an interim clearance at the “top secret/sensitive compart- mented information” level for more than a year. Now he is authorized to access information only at the lower “secret” level. Tuesday’s news set off rampant speculation among Trump allies that Kushner’s days in the White House might be numbered. On the same day, the departure of a third Kushner ally in the West Wing in as many months was announced. And the selection of a Kushner ally to serve as Trump’s 2020 campaign manager appeared to suggest the campaign could provide Kushner with a convenient place to land after his White House duties end. Kushner lost his access to the nation’s deep- est secrets after chief of staff John Kelly ordered that White House officials with interim clear- ances pending since before June 1, 2017, be cut off if they hadn’t received permanent clear- ances by last Friday. A White House official confirmed to The Associated Press that Kelly’s order has been implemented. President Donald Trump could have reversed Kelly’s decision and unilaterally offered Kushner a clearance, but deferred to Kelly. Manafort pleads not guilty, gets September trial date WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort maintained his innocence today to new charges he acted as an unregistered for- eign agent and directed an international mon- ey-laundering conspiracy. Manafort appeared at the federal court- house and entered a formal plea of not guilty to a second indictment brought against him by prosecutors working for special counsel Robert Mueller. It was his first court appearance since his co-defendant and longtime business asso- ciate, Rick Gates, pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. Manafort had previously pleaded not guilty in the case, but the latest indictment, which mirrored the charges filed against him last October, required him to formally enter a sec- ond plea. Your local janitorial and paper supply...and much more! Graduates *Alarid, Johncruz B. Girard, Ezra L. Clinical Medical Assistant Cement Clinical Medical Assistant *Bushnell, Ayelech H. *Guerrero Garcia, Rosaicela *Pickard, Zachary S. *Campbell, Brittany A. Clinical Medical Assistant *Powell, Levi E. Clinical Medical Assistant Phillips, Sarah A. Electrical Plastering Harris, Amanda T. Carpentry Carlson, AnneMarie I. Painting Office Administration *Huffman, Renae C. Ramirez Torres, David Carlson, Esther E. Office Administration Welding Clinical Medical Assistant *Jimenez Vazquez, Brandon *Rose, Ashley N. *Daffern, Taylor R. Clinical Medical Assistant Clinical Medical Assistant Johnson, Dadrie M. Sanchez Sosa, Cynthia N. Glazing Clinical Medical Assistant *Kaltsukis, Dale A. Scott, Marcus E. Carpentry Facilities Maintenance Landscaping *Garcia, Yulisa A. *Lagunes-Cedillo, Esmeralda D. Van der Horst, Austin J. Clinical Medical Assistant *Foss, Samuel J. Seamanship Fuller Jr., Jerry R. Medical Office Support Garrison, Gregory R. Carpentry *Gicho, Grace W. Medical Office Support Gilmore, Jayda R. Clinical Medical Assistant Welding Leach-Svoboda, Alexander C. *Wesley, Sharissa A. Culinary Arts *Zamora, Marilin A. *Mack, Kyndra E. Clinical Medical Assistant Clinical Medical Assistant LET US HELP YOU COMPLETE YOUR SPRING PROJECTS! Clinical Medical Assistant Facilities Maintenance Indicates students graduating with honors Thank you to Keynote Speaker: TONGUE POINT JOB CORPS CENTER CAREERS BEGIN HERE. 503-338-5000 http://tonguepoint.jobcorps.gov Help Change Lives - Apply at http://mtc.jobs Troy Henri Recruitment and Admissions Coordinator Clatsop Community College 2240 Commercial Street Astoria, Oregon 503.325.6362 www.WalterENelson.com Monday-Friday 8 am to 5 pm
