Mass immigrant graves uncovered in Texas cemetery

Mass immigrant graves uncovered in Texas cemetery

FALFURRIAS, Texas

Volunteer researchers have uncovered mass graves in a South Texas cemetery that they believe contain the bodies of immigrants who died crossing into the U.S. illegally, according to published reports Saturday.

The discovery at Sacred Heart Burial Park in Falfurrias came in the past two weeks, as Baylor University anthropologist Lori Baker and Krista Latham, a forensic anthropologist at the University of Indianapolis, and their students worked as part of a multi-year effort to identify immigrants who died in the area near the U.S.-Mexico border. Teams unearthed remains in trash bags, shopping bags, body bags or without a container at all, according to the Corpus Christi Caller Times.

Openly gay governor candidate leads pride parade

PORTLAND, Maine

A Democratic candidate who reluctantly made public his homosexuality last year found himself serving as the grand marshal of Maine’s biggest gay-pride parade and festival Saturday and urged activists to continue fighting to eliminate discrimination and promote equality.

Mike Michaud, who would become the nation’s first openly gay person to be elected governor if he unseats Republican Paul LePage in November, said it would be powerful for the gay community to have a seat at the table in discussions with governors across the country on equality issues.

“Maine has come a long ways, and our nation has come a long ways, but there’s still a long way to go,” he said in an interview before he marched alongside a white convertible down the roughly milelong route in downtown Portland.

GOP establishment choice wins Iowa’s House contest

URBANDALE, Iowa

In a setback for the tea party and libertarian forces in Iowa, establishment Republicans on Saturday nominated their candidate for a House seat in one of the nation’s most competitive congressional districts.

The nomination of David Young in Iowa’s 3rd District punctuated the efforts of Republicans in the party’s mainstream who had desperately worked to avoid repeating embarrassing losses suffered in congressional races in other states in 2010 and 2012. It also marked a rollback in influence of libertarians who had controlled the state GOP in recent years.

“There’s a strong sense of pragmatism in the Republican Party today,” said Doug Gross, a longtime adviser to Gov. Terry Branstad and a delegate to Saturday’s congressional nominating convention.

Minor device explodes at Oregon park, injuring 1

PORTLAND, Ore.

Authorities say a minor explosive device detonated inside a portable restroom at a softball game in an Oregon park, injuring one person.

Washington County sheriff’s spokesman Vance Stimler said bomb squad experts believe the device could have done more damage when it exploded Saturday afternoon at the park outside Beaverton, a city 7 miles west of Portland, Ore. A woman suffered nonlife-threatening injuries.

Associated Press