Trump’s ‘go back’ remark: In workplace, it might be illegal

Trump’s ‘go back’ remark: In workplace, it might be illegal

NEW YORK

President Donald Trump’s suggestion that four activist Democratic congresswomen of color “go back” to countries “from which they came” has excited some in his political base. Yet in many of America’s workplaces and institutions, the same language would be unacceptable and possibly illegal.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which enforces federal laws against workplace bias, explicitly cites comments such as “go back to where you came from” as examples of “potentially unlawful conduct.”

Similar phrases routinely show up in lawsuits that the EEOC files against employers alleging discrimination, harassment or retaliation based on race or national origin.

Apart from its legality in workplaces, Trump’s language has ignited impassioned responses across racial, ethnic and political divides.

“It wasn’t Racist!” tweeted Terrence Williams, a black comedian who supports Trump. “No matter what color you are YOU can go back home or move if you don’t like America.”

Some asylum seekers forced to wait in Mexico help each other

SAN LUIS RIO COLORADO, Mexico

A small group of asylum seekers sit under a canopy on the side of a road leading into the United States, chatting to pass the time as a blazing desert sun pushes the heat into triple digits and fumes roll in from dozens of cars lined up to cross the U.S.-Mexico border.

Coming from Guatemala, Nicaragua, Mexico, Cuba and many other countries, they’re waiting in San Luis Rmo Colorado, Mexico, to seek asylum at the official border crossing just south of San Luis, Ariz.

Under the canopy, surrounded by little but fencing and some stores and restaurants, they look like old friends. They have banded together around their small fold-up table, where they spend hours waiting.

They assign people with children to early morning shifts when the heat isn’t as bad. A daily “colecta” – a collection of cash – pays for water and snacks for those guarding the table.

California town leveled by wildfire reopens its public pool

PARADISE, Calif.

The public swimming pool in Paradise, Calif., is reopening for the first time since a catastrophic wildfire destroyed much of the town.

CBS13 in Sacramento reported state firefighters used their hoses last week to refill the pool with clean water after the fire left the pool filled with charred debris.

The pool is set to reopen today. It is another sign of the town slowly rebuilding after the fire killed 85 people and destroyed much of Paradise in November.

New figures released by the governor’s office show the town’s population dropped by 90 percent, from an estimated 27,000 to just 2,034.

Jeff Dailey, the town’s parks and recreation district supervisor, said reopening the pool lets people know Paradise is making a comeback.

Team criticized for Spicer throwing out pitch on Pride Night

PAWTUCKET, R.I.

A decision to have President Donald Trump’s former communications director Sean Spicer throw out the first pitch at a Rhode Island minor league baseball game on “Pride Night at the Ballpark” is getting pushback.

Some fans said on Twitter they felt Spicer’s appearance Friday night at the Pawtucket Red Sox game was an insult to the LGBTQ community, given Trump’s policies.

The decision was called “tone-deaf” and “a garbage move,” with some asking why someone from the LGBTQ community wasn’t chosen.

A Rhode Island native, Spicer was joined by wounded veteran Carlos Lopes, who Spicer presented an all-terrain wheelchair from The Independence Fund. Spicer sits on the board of directors of the charity, which has given more than 2,300 of the wheelchairs.

A message was left seeking comment with a team spokesman.

Pogopalooza bounces into Pittsburgh for pogo competition

PITTSBURGH

Pogopalooza, known as the World Championships of Pogo, bounced into Pittsburgh this weekend.

Extreme pogo stick athletes from around the world came to town to show off their huge tricks and flips to compete for world titles in such categories as High Jump and Best Trick.

The events Saturday and Sunday aren’t just for the grown-ups. Pogo-users under the age of 15 can enter a “bounce off” competition and those who bounce the longest get a free pogo stick.

Visitors can try their hand at pogo sticking in a free jump area that will have pogo sticks of all sizes.

In addition to the main competitions, the pogo athletes will be attempting to break three Guinness World Records over the weekend.

London subway riders treated after gas is sprayed on train

LONDON

British police are searching for two young men suspected of releasing an irritating gas on a London subway train.

Authorities said paramedics treated a number of people for coughing and shortness of breath when the train stopped at Oxford Circus station.

British Transport Police say the victims’ symptoms suggested they had been exposed to CS gas, a component of tear gas that U.K. police forces carry to incapacitate suspects.

They said there were no indications the subway incident caused serious health issues.

Police released closed-circuit TV images of two suspects and asked the public for help identifying them.

Russian, US astronauts blast off on moon landing anniversary

BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan

A Russian space capsule with three astronauts aboard has blasted off for a fast-track trip to the International Space Station.

Saturday’s launch took place on the 50th anniversary of the day U.S. astronauts landed on the moon.

The capsule entered orbit nine minutes after liftoff from Russia’s launch complex in Baikonur, Kazakhstan.

It is carrying Andrew Morgan of the United States on his first spaceflight, Russian Alexander Skvortsov on his third mission to the space station and Italian Luca Parmitano.

The capsule is expected to dock with the International Space Station after four obits at 2251 GMT. Russian Alexey Ovchinin and Americans Nick Hague and Christina Koch have been aboard since March.

The crew patch for the expedition echoes the one from Apollo 11’s 1969 lunar mission.

Vatican college space holds bones of dozens, expert says

VATICAN CITY

A genetics expert retained by the family of an Italian girl who went missing in 1983 said Saturday that a cavernous underground space near a Vatican cemetery holds thousands of bones that appear to be from dozens of individuals, both “adult and nonadult.”

The expert, Giorgio Portera, said the “enormous” size of the collection under the Teutonic College was revealed when Vatican-appointed experts began cataloguing the remains, which were discovered last week.

“We didn’t expect such an enormous number” of bones and other remains which “had been thrown into a cavity,” Portera said. “We want to know why and how” the bones ended up there.

Fragments were also found, complicating the forensic experts’ work, he said.

Portera is working on behalf of the family of Emanuela Orlandi, who vanished at age 15 after she left her family’s Vatican City apartment for a music lesson in Rome. What became of her is one of Italy’s most enduring mysteries.

Associated Press