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U.S. NEWSFriday 12 January 2018

Felonies to be dropped in Confederate statue toppling case

Supporters await defendants who toppled a Confederate statue last year, outside of the Durham of an anonymous rebel fell cause of a lack of evi-
Aug. 14 in the aftermath of dence, and another en-
County, N.C., courthouse, Thursday, Jan. 11, 2018, in Durham, N.C. A prosecutor said he will drop a deadly white nationalist tered a deferred prosecu-
protest in Virginia. tion deal to avoid a felony.
felony charges against eight remaining defendants. “I only plan to try them on While statues elsewhere
the misdemeanors,” Dur- have been vandalized,
(AP Photo/Jonathan Drew) ham County District Attor- the Durham case earned
ney Roger Echols said in an widespread attention be-
By JONATHAN DREW cused of toppling a Con- a prosecutor said Thursday. email. He declined further cause protesters succeed-
comment. ed in bringing it down.
Associated Press federate statue in North The protesters were Eight defendants in the North Carolina, among the
case appeared before a handful of Southern states
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Felo- Carolina last year, and the charged with felony rioting judge Thursday, and their with the most Confederate
trial was scheduled for Feb. monuments, has a law pre-
ny charges will be dropped demonstrators will be tried and misdemeanor proper- 19. As each one’s name venting local officials from
was called, supporters in removing them.
against eight protesters ac- on misdemeanor charges, ty damage after the statue the courtroom said “wit- In Virginia, a top Democrat-
ness” in unison to show soli- ic lawmaker proposed a bill
darity. this week that would allow
The statue had been in Virginia cities to remove or
front of a local govern- alter Confederate monu-
ment building. One Dur- ments. Republicans in the
ham protester climbed a GOP-controlled legislature
ladder to attach a rope were doubtful it will pass.
while others pulled it down. After Thursday’s hearing in
Law enforcement officers Durham, two of the defen-
watched and took video, dants said they believe that
but didn’t take action dur- taking down the statue was
ing the protest. the right thing to do, not a
A dozen protesters were crime. They said supporters
initially charged. Charges have been calling Echols’
were previously dismissed office to urge that charges
against three people be- be dropped.q

US gives $2B to help homeless amid plans to cut housing aid

By GEOFF MULVIHILL But there’s been a spike cost of funding current the grant program that’s a istration and both cham-
Associated press in numbers, particularly programs, how well proj- major part of a roughly $5 bers of Congress have
President Donald Trump’s among homeless living on ects perform and housing billion annual anti-home- different funding levels,
administration announced the streets along the West costs. Changes in home- less effort. with deepest cuts from the
$2 billion in grants Thursday Coast, where rents have lessness counts are not a “We want to see things administration, reductions
for local agencies trying to been rising fast, The Asso- major factor. that are actually working from the House and slight
help the homeless even as ciated Press has reported . Under Trump and Housing and are preventing home- increases from the Senate.
the government proposes In counts conducted in and Urban Development lessness.” An analysis from the liberal-
deep cuts to federal hous- early 2017, the West Coast Secretary Ben Carson, the The Trump administration’s leaning Center on Budget
ing programs. spike was so high that it federal government has budget proposal calls for and Policy Priorities said
The total awards in the raised the overall home- largely maintained the cutting the number of all three proposals would
Continuum of Care pro- lessness figure for the first approach to homeless- people assisted through result in fewer people re-
gram is the most ever, time since 2010, to nearly ness taken by former Presi- federal public housing pro- ceiving housing help from
though only slightly above 554,000 people. dents George W. Bush and grams and rental vouchers the federal government
collective grants of more The grants announced Barack Obama. that can be used to pre- and warned that some of
than $1.9 billion in the last Thursday would send $383 That includes a focus on vent homelessness and to those who can’t get help
few years. About 7,300 million to California, up Housing First, which moves house the homeless. will end up homeless.
programs are being fund- from $354 million last year. people quickly from home- “Any cuts to housing assis- The administration’s pro-
ed. Oregon would get $36.3 lessness into permanent tance are going to impact posed budget also calls
Across the country, home- million and Washington housing, rather than using on homelessness,” said for the elimination of the
lessness has been on a state, $59.6 million, both in- transitional housing as an Nan Roman, president Interagency Council on
downward trend for years, creases of less than $1 mil- intermediate step. and CEO of the National Homelessness, which co-
according to government lion from last year. “We’re looking at evi- Alliance to End Homeless- ordinates the federal re-
counts. The awards consider the dence,” Carson said of ness. Plans from the admin- sponse to the problem. q