Trains crash in Kentucky, injuring crew
GEORGETOWN, Ky. -- Norfolk Southern on Monday began moving derailed freight cars off the tracks after two trains collided, sending four people to the hospital.
Four train crew members were taken to the hospital after the crash as a precaution and have been released with no injuries, though one employee is still being evaluated, the company said in a statement.
Officials say the trains collided head-on late Sunday, derailing both locomotives and 13 cars and igniting a fire that forced nearby residents to evacuate.
Lexington Fire Department spokesman Lt. Jessica Bowman said residents were allowed to return home once officials determined there was no safety risk. Bowman couldn't confirm what substance had spilled and was burning, but Norfolk Southern later said a non-hazardous nut oil had spilled and was being cleaned.
The crash remains under investigation.
Mississippi abortion-limit bill now law
JACKSON, Miss. -- Mississippi's Republican governor, Phil Bryant, on Monday signed into law a measure banning most abortions in the state after 15 weeks' gestation as it created the tightest restriction on the procedure in the nation, which was immediately challenged in a lawsuit filed by the measure's opponents.
House Bill 1510's only exceptions are if a fetus has health problems making it "incompatible with life" outside of the womb at full term, or if a pregnant woman's life or a "major bodily function" is threatened by pregnancy. Pregnancies resulting from rape and incest aren't exempted.
The bill was drafted with the assistance of conservative groups including the Mississippi Center for Public Policy and the Alliance Defending Freedom.
Jameson Taylor, acting president of the public policy center, called it a "step to protect the basic right to life, as well as protecting maternal health."
In its lawsuit, the state's only abortion clinic, the Jackson Women's Health Organistion, says the measure is unconsitutional and that federal courts have ruled women have the right to an abortion before a fetus can live on its own outside the womb.
School mourns bridge-collapse victims
MIAMI -- Students returning from spring break to Florida International University held a moment of silence Monday to remember the six people killed in the collapse of a pedestrian bridge that was supposed to be a campus showcase.
Florida International University President Mark Rosenberg joined students and staff to hold hands and bow their heads Monday for a moment of silence outdoors at 1:47 p.m. -- the time that the bridge collapsed four days earlier. In a dining hall, some students stood up or put down their food and stopped talking to participate.
Meanwhile, a lawsuit was filed in Miami-Dade Circuit Court against the companies involved in the design and building of the bridge.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Marquise Rashaad Hepburn, who suffered spinal injuries as he rode a bicycle under the bridge as it collapsed last week. The lawsuit said a car swerving to avoid the falling concrete struck Hepburn.
Arizona loses bid to halt alien licenses
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court rejected Arizona's plea to allow it to stop issuing driver's licenses people who came to the country as children and are now here illegally but are protected from deportation under the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
The justices did not comment Monday in leaving in place an appeals' court decision in favor of the aliens who sought licenses.
About 20,000 young aliens in Arizona are protected from deportation under the DACA program. President Donald Trump's administration is trying to end the program, but has been blocked by federal courts.
In Arizona, former Gov. Jan Brewer sought to prevent program-protected aliens from getting licenses, citing a desire to reduce the risk of licenses being used to improperly access public benefits.
A Section on 03/20/2018