A5
THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2019
WORLD IN BRIEF
President Trump:
America’s story is ‘the
greatest political journey’
WASHINGTON — President Donald
Trump celebrated the story of America as
“the greatest political journey in human his-
tory” in a Fourth of July commemoration
on Thursday before a soggy but cheering
crowd of spectators, many of them invited,
on the grounds of the Lincoln Memorial.
Supporters welcomed his tribute to the
U.S. military while protesters assailed him
for putting himself center stage on a holiday
devoted to unity.
As rain fell on him, Trump called on
Americans to “stay true to our cause” during
a program that adhered to patriotic themes
and hailed an eclectic mix of history’s
heroes, from the armed forces, space, civil
rights and other endeavors of American life.
He largely stuck to his script, avoid-
ing diversions into his agenda or reelection
campaign. But in one exception, he vowed,
“Very soon, we will plant the American fl ag
on Mars,” actually a distant goal not likely
to be achieved until late in the 2020s if even
then.
A late afternoon downpour drenched the
capital’s Independence Day crowds, and
Trump’s speech unfolded in occasional rain.
The warplanes and presidential aircraft he
had summoned conducted their fl yovers as
planned, capped by the Navy Blue Angels
aerobatics team.
By adding his own one-hour “Salute to
America” production to capital festivities
that typically draw hundreds of thousands
of people anyway, Trump became the fi rst
president in nearly seven decades to address
a crowd at the National Mall on the Fourth
of July.
San Francisco to
paint over historic
George Washington mural
SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco
will spend up to $600,000 to paint over his-
torical artwork at a public school depict-
ing the life of George Washington, a mural
once seen as educational and innovative but
now criticized as racist and degrading for
its depiction of black and Native American
people.
The “Life of Washington” was painted
by Victor Arnautoff, one of the foremost
muralists in the San Francisco area during
the Depression. The San Francisco School
Board’s decision to paint over the 83-year-
old mural is prompting some to worry that
other artwork from the so-called New Deal
Ben Hood
A fi refi ghter works to extinguish a fi re on Thursday following an earthquake in Ridgecrest.
Strongest earthquake in 20 years
rattles Southern California
LOS ANGELES — The strongest earthquake in 20 years shook a large swath of
Southern California and parts of Nevada on the July 4th holiday, rattling nerves and
causing injuries and damage in a town near the epicenter, followed by a swarm of ongo-
ing aftershocks.
The 6.4 magnitude quake struck at 10:33 a.m. Thursday in the Mojave Desert, about
150 miles northeast of Los Angeles, near the town of Ridgecrest, California.
Multiple injuries and two house fi res were reported in the town of 28,000. Emer-
gency crews were also dealing with small vegetation fi res, gas leaks and reports of
cracked roads, said Kern County Fire Chief David Witt.
He said 15 patients were evacuated from the Ridgecrest Regional Hospital as a pre-
caution and out of concern for aftershocks.
Kern County District Supervisor Mick Gleason told CNN there were some structural
issues with the hospital and some patients had to be moved from one ward to another
and that others were taken to a neighboring building.
era could face a similar fate because of
changing sensitivities.
In addition to depicting Washing-
ton as a soldier, surveyor and statesman,
the 13-panel, 1,600-square foot mural at
George Washington High School contains
images of white pioneers standing over the
body of a Native American and slaves work-
ing at Washington’s Mount Vernon estate in
Virginia.
The board’s decision last week comes at
a time when the legacies of Washington and
other historical fi gures who owned slaves
are being reexamined. Some cities have
changed the names of streets and buildings
named after slave owners.
Get to The Point.
Richard Walker, a professor emeritus of
geography at the University of California,
Berkeley and director of the history proj-
ect, Living New Deal, said the Washington
mural is meant to show the “uncomfortable
facts” about America’s fi rst president. For
that, it was among many New Deal works
of art considered radical when created.
Amusement park
reminder of hurricane
may soon come down
NEW ORLEANS — The Zydeco Scream
roller coaster stands motionless, and so does
the Big Easy Ferris Wheel. Scampering rab-
bits, slithering snakes and lurking alliga-
tors are the only visitors to the abandoned
Six Flags amusement park in New Orleans.
Once it resounded with children’s laughter
and the shrieks of passengers on the thrill
rides.
Now the only sound is the drone of the
cicadas.
The amusement park on the city’s east-
ern edge is perhaps the most high-profi le,
lingering and ghostly reminder of Hurri-
cane Katrina’s devastation. Ever since the
levees failed and fl ooded the city with water
in 2005, the park has stood empty, creating
a nuisance for neighbors, a target for graffi ti
artists and an eerie landmark for sightseers.
Now, the city’s mayor says she’s getting
close to tearing it all down.
“Right now, I have my sights on the Six
Flags site, which we are now running num-
bers for demolition, really, as I speak,”
Mayor LaToya Cantrell told local news
reporters in May. She gave no further details
on any demolition or redevelopment plans.
In response to requests for information, her
offi ce released a statement saying an assess-
ment is currently being done to determine
the best use for the site, and that the admin-
istration is committed to improving the qual-
ity of life for residents of New Orleans East.
Sudan’s protesters claim
victory for their ‘revolution’
KHARTOUM, Sudan — Leaders of
Sudan’s pro-democracy movement wel-
comed on Friday the power-sharing agree-
ment with the ruling military council as a
victory for their “revolution,” raising hopes
for an end to the three-month standoff with
the generals and deadly violence.
“Today, our revolution has won and our
victory shines,” read a statement posted
early Friday on the Facebook page of the
Sudanese Professionals’ Association, which
has spearheaded the protests.
The emerging deal could break the polit-
ical impasse that has gripped the country
since the military ousted the longtime auto-
crat Omar al-Bashir in April, amid an upris-
ing against his rule.
In the following months, protesters
stayed in the streets demanding the gen-
erals handover power to a civilian leader-
ship. Talks collapsed when security forces
razed a protest camp outside the military
headquarters in Khartoum on June 3 leav-
ing more than a hundred killed, according
to protesters.
The African Union and Ethiopia made
intensive efforts to bring the generals and
the protesters back to the negotiating table.
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