Naval Academy plans for return in fall
Fall return in plans
for Naval Academy
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The U.S. Naval Academy is planning to have its 4,400 midshipmen return to campus in Annapolis for the fall, after students completed the most recent semester with online learning from their homes because of the coronavirus, academy officials said Monday.
Vice Adm. Sean Buck, the superintendent, told the academy's board of visitors that he has been communicating with the leaders of the nation's other service academies, and they also plan to have their students on campus in the fall.
"I can tell you, as of this morning, every single military service academy in this country is opening in the fall," Buck told the board in an online meeting. "We all are developing very detailed plans with regards to health, safety and the protocols that we need to put in place to manage risk."
Lt. Col. Christopher Ophardt, a spokesman for the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., said the academy will have a fall semester with cadets present, though it is still making plans. The U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., did not immediately return an email and call seeking comment on its plans.
While academics can be done online, Buck said, the other two pillars of the Naval Academy's mission statement are developing midshipmen morally and physically, and those goals require hands-on experiences on campus.
"We cannot develop leaders for our nation's military services online," Buck said.
Court declines to hear suit against DNC
Suit against DNC
declined by court
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Supreme Court declined to revive a case by supporters of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who sued the Democratic National Committee in 2016 over claims that officials improperly tipped the scales for Hillary Clinton during the nominating process.
On Monday, the justices said they would not take up the lawsuit. As is usual, the court did not comment in turning away the case.
The lawsuit was filed after leaked national committee emails suggested Democratic party officials had favored Clinton over Sanders during the primaries. The lawsuit was dismissed at an early stage, and an appeals court upheld the dismissal.
The emails were posted on the document disclosure website WikiLeaks. WikiLeaks did not say who provided the material, but 12 Russian military intelligence officers were ultimately indicted in the DNC hack and in the hacking of the Clinton presidential campaign.
According to former special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, the release was part of a sweeping conspiracy by Russia to meddle in the 2016 U.S. election.
DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz announced her resignation after the leaks.
Shooting at N.D. base kills 2 airmen
Two airmen shot
dead at N.D. base
GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- A shooting early Monday left two airmen dead at the Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota, the military said.
The base's emergency services members responded to the shooting, which occurred at 4:30 a.m., a statement from the military said.
Officials said the shooting remains under investigation, and they didn't release additional details.
The airmen are members of the 319th Reconnaissance Wing. Officials plan to withhold their names and units until 24 hours after family members are notified.
Staff Sgt. Elijaih Tiggs would not say whether anyone was in custody or was being sought in connection with the shooting.
The base, which specializes in unmanned aircraft operations, is about 15 miles west of Grand Forks and is home to about 1,600 military members and 900 civilian employees.
Self-response rate for census at 60.5%
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Facing unprecedented challenges from a pandemic, the U.S. Census Bureau on Monday reported reaching its goal for households answering the 2020 census questionnaire on their own -- hitting 60.5%.
The self-response rate will likely grow higher in the next two months before the next phase of the 2020 head count begins in August. That's when hundreds of thousands of census workers start knocking on the doors of homes whose residents haven't yet answered the census questions. The higher the self-response rate, the fewer door-knockers are needed, which saves the Census Bureau money.
While bureau officials are "thrilled" about reaching the milestone, "Our job is not yet complete," Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham said in an emailed statement. "We are still pushing to have as many households as possible respond online, by phone or by mail."
The door-knocking phase originally was supposed to start last month, but it was delayed until August because of the spread of the coronavirus. The pandemic also forced the Census Bureau to suspend field operations for a month and a half, pushed back the deadline for ending the count from the end of July to the end of October, and led the agency to ask Congress for delays in turning over reapportionment and redistricting data.
-- Compiled by Democrat-Gazette staff from wire reports
A Section on 06/02/2020