Judge Overturns Confederate Monuments Law
A Jefferson County circuit judge struck down a state law to preserve historical markers, saying the state violated the U.S. Constitution. The ruling comes after the state sued Birmingham for covering a Confederate monument and fined the city for violating the Alabama Memorial Preservation Act.
Judge Mike Graffeo says the state cannot force Birmingham to maintain a Confederate monument with a law passed by the state Legislature in 2017.
Lawyers for Birmingham argued the monument offended most residents.
David Dinielli of the Southern Poverty Law Center says cities express their values through their monuments, and says demographics were a factor in the ruling.
“The majority of the legislature, which is white, was issuing a rule that governed and limited the ability of Birmingham, which is a majority black city, to govern itself and make its own decisions,” Dinielli says.
The ruling may impact similar cases in other parts of the country, he says.
“To our knowledge, this is the first time that a court has held that one of these monument preservation laws violates the U.S. Constitution,” Dinielli says.
Alabama State Attorney General Steve Marshall sued Birmingham the day after it covered the monument in Linn Park. He says he will appeal the ruling.
An escalation in Yemen threatens to reignite civil war and widen tensions in the Gulf
Saudi Arabia bombed Yemen's port city of Mukalla, targeting a shipment of weapons from the United Arab Emirates for separatist forces. The UAE later said it would withdraw its forces from Yemen.
Cecilia Giménez, the artist who ‘restored’ the face of Jesus, has died at 94
Giménez international attention after she attempted to restore an old fresco. While it was immediately ridiculed at the time, the piece eventually turned into a tourist attraction.
What being around death taught this hospital chaplain about life
J.S. Park helps patients and their families cope with death every day as a hospital chaplain. He explains what to expect as a person is dying, and how to reckon with uncomfortable feelings about death.
Israel says it will bar aid groups, including Doctors Without Borders, from Gaza
Israel accused Doctors Without Borders, one of the largest health organizations operating in Gaza, of failing to clarify the roles of some staff that Israel accused of cooperation with militants.
China flexes blockade capabilities near Taiwan on second day of military drills
China's People's Liberation Army is staging a second day of large-scale military drills around Taiwan. It's unleashing live-fire exercises as part of what it calls "Justice Mission 2025."
Policy relief for family caregivers seems stalled out. But there are signs of change
Family members carry the burden and costs of caring for America's aging population. Federal policy change is slow to come but a new movement and state actions are building momentum.
