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U.S. NEWSSaturday 20 January 2018
Women will march again with aim to become a political force
By MICHELLE L. PRICE
ANITA SNOW
Associated Press
A year after more than 1
million people rallied at
women’s marches world-
wide with a message of
female empowerment and
protest against President
Donald Trump, activists will
return to the streets this
weekend in hopes of con-
verting anger and enthusi-
asm into political force.
The 2017 rally in Washing-
ton, D.C., and hundreds
of similar marches cre-
ated solidarity for those
denouncing Trump’s views
on abortion, immigration,
LGBT rights and more. Since
then, a wave of women
decided to run for elected
office and the #MeToo
movement against sexual
misconduct became a cul-
tural phenomenon.
“We made a lot of noise,”
said Elaine Wynn, an or-
ganizer. “But now how do
we translate that noise into
something concrete or ful-
filling?”
Along with hundreds of
gatherings Saturday and
Sunday across the U.S. and
in places such as Beijing,
Buenos Aires, Argentina,
Paradise in the Caribbean
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Jeri Burton makes a sign in preparation for a rally in Las Vegas. A year after more than 1 million said women make up half
of the state’s congressional
people rallied at women’s marches around the world with a message of female empowerment delegation, including Dem-
ocrat Catherine Cortez
and protest of President Donald Trump, organizers will mark the anniversary with more than a Masto, who became the
first Latina in the U.S. Sen-
hundred marches around the world and a rally in Las Vegas aiming to channel the activism to ate in 2016. Nevada also
has one of the highest per-
register voters and swing elections for progressives this year. centages of female state
lawmakers in the country,
(AP Photo/John Locher) and women are mayors of
its three largest cities.
and Nairobi, Kenya, a rally Las Vegas was targeted for good chance of winning Organizers say Nevada is
also a microcosm of larger
Sunday in Las Vegas will a major rally because it’s a the seat held by embat- national issues like immigra-
tion, as well as the debate
launch an effort to register strategic swing state that tled Republican Sen. Dean over gun control after the
deadliest mass shooting in
1 million voters and target gave Hillary Clinton a nar- Heller and weakening the modern history.
Following the October mas-
swing states in the midterm row win in the presidential GOP’s hold on the cham- sacre, the rally will be held
at the University of Nevada,
elections. election and will have one ber. Wynn, president of the Las Vegas’ stadium 10 miles
(16 kilometers) southeast of
Linda Sarsour, one of the of the most competitive Nevada State Board of Ed- the famous Strip where a
gunman opened fire onto
four organizers of last year’s Senate races in 2018. Dem- ucation and former wife of a concert, killing 58 people.
Authorities have kept de-
Washington march, said ocrats believe they have a casino mogul Steve Wynn, tails confidential about
security at the 40,000-seat
stadium. Minnie Wood, a
nurse practitioner who par-
ticipated in the 2017 gath-
ering in Las Vegas, said she
was left with a sense of soli-
darity and “this feeling of
almost a quickening, this
resistance brewing.”q
Official: US offshore drilling plan isn’t final
By MATTHEW DALY to offshore drilling. Zinke’s of playing politics by grant-
Jan. 9 statement about ing the Republican gov-
Florida “stands on its own,” ernor’s request to exempt
said Walter Cruickshank, Florida while ignoring near-
WASHINGTON (AP) — The the acting director of the ly a dozen other states that
Bureau of Ocean Energy made similar requests.
Trump administration’s Management, but there’s Florida Sen. Bill Nelson
been no formal decision on called Cruickshank’s com-
promise to exempt Florida the five-year drilling plan. ments “stunning” and said
Zinke’s announcement they confirm what he and
from an offshore drilling about keeping Florida off other Democrats had
the table, made during a suspected — that Zinke’s
plan is not a formal action, Tallahassee news confer- statement was “nothing
ence with Florida Gov. Rick more than a political stunt”
an Interior Department of- Scott, will be part of the to help Scott run for Nel-
department’s analysis as son’s Senate seat.
ficial said Friday in a state- it completes the five-year Scott is a friend and ally of
plan, Cruickshank said. President Donald Trump,
ment that Democrats said Democrats seized on the and Trump has urged him
comment to accuse Zinke to run for the Senate.q
contradicted a high-profile
announcement by Interior
Secretary Ryan Zinke.
Zinke has proposed open-
ing nearly all U.S. coast-
line to offshore oil and gas
drilling, but said soon after
announcing the plan that
he will keep Florida “off
the table” when it comes