FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) — Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl told a military judge on Monday that he’s pleading guilty to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. “I understand that leaving was against the law,” said Bergdahl, whose decision to walk off his remote post in Afghanistan in 2009 prompted intense search and recovery missions, during … Continue reading
RUTHERFORDTON, N.C. (AP) — Jury selection began Tuesday for a North Carolina church minister accused of beating a man to expel his “homosexual demons.” Brooke Covington, 58, a longtime minister at Word of Faith Fellowship in Spindale, North Carolina, is the first of five church members to face trial in the case. Each defendant will … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — Conservatives are praising the Trump administration’s rollback of public school bathroom requirements for transgender students, saying the move corrects a legal overreach by the Obama administration that is best left for states to decide. Transgender rights advocates, meanwhile, are vowing to overcome a major setback. “We’re not discouraged. And we’re going to … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration on Wednesday ended federal protection for transgender students that allowed them to use public school bathrooms and locker rooms matching their gender identities. The Justice and Education departments said in a letter being sent to school districts nationwide that the Obama-era guidance caused a spike in lawsuits over how … Continue reading
Asthma sufferers and others with breathing problems are turning up at hospitals and doctors’ waiting rooms, wheezing and hacking. Schoolchildren are being kept inside at recess. And people whose lungs are easily irritated are being told to close the windows and run the air conditioner if they have one. Dozens of wildfires that have burned … Continue reading
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — A man who set sail from South Carolina two months ago was rescued on the overturned hull of his sailboat 200 miles off the coast of North Carolina, and he said he got by rationing his water and energy and praying for help. “Every day I was like, ‘Please God, … Continue reading
Spartan Echo 