The Nation in Brief

Heavy rainfall Monday flooded the intersection of 15th Street and Constitution Avenue Northwest in Washington, D.C., causing cars to stall near the Washington Monument.
Heavy rainfall Monday flooded the intersection of 15th Street and Constitution Avenue Northwest in Washington, D.C., causing cars to stall near the Washington Monument.

Deluge swamps White House basement

WASHINGTON -- A slow-moving rainstorm Monday washed out roads, stranded drivers and soaked basements, including the White House's, during a chaotic morning commute in the national capital region.

Water gushed into the media work space in the basement near the White House's West Wing. Government employees worked to drain puddles of standing water with wet vacuums.

Flooding led to electrical failures that closed the National Archives Building and Museum, according to a statement from the National Archives, which said the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights were safe and not in any danger.

National Weather Service meteorologist Cody Ledbetter said the storm dumped about 6.3 inches of rain near Frederick, Md.; about 4.5 inches near Arlington, Va.; and about 3.4 inches at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in a two-hour period.

"The storm was not moving very quickly," Ledbetter said.

Water levels at Cameron Run in Alexandria, Va., a flood-prone area along the Capital Beltway, rose more than 7 feet over 30 minutes after 9 a.m., according to the weather service.

Pete Piringer, a spokesman for the Fire Department in Montgomery County, Md., said emergency workers responded to dozens of rescue calls and used boats to pluck people from flooded cars.

6 people killed in Chicago gun violence

CHICAGO -- Chicago's jump in gun violence over the long July Fourth weekend left six people dead and another 66 wounded.

The police had expected a surge in criminal activity and flooded the streets with an additional 1,500 officers. The totals were far lower than during the last four-day Fourth of July weekend in 2017, which ended with more than 100 people shot, including 15 who died.

The holiday was also marred by a stampede that police say began after least two people were stabbed and a security guard shouted for bystanders to take cover during the July Fourth fireworks at downtown Navy Pier. Police say 13 people were injured as they tried to flee the scene.

Missouri court backs ACLU on petitions

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- An appellate court panel ruled Monday that the American Civil Liberties Union can soon begin collecting signatures that would put a new Missouri law banning abortions at eight weeks of pregnancy to a public vote.

A three-judge panel of the state's Court of Appeals found that GOP Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft was "without authority" to reject petitions on constitutional grounds. The 31-page ruling was issued just hours after the panel heard oral arguments in the case.

ACLU of Missouri acting Executive Director Tony Rothert had argued that time was of the essence. Most of the new law, including the eight-week abortion ban, takes effect Aug. 28. The ACLU needs to collect more than 100,000 signatures by then to put the law on hold until a public vote in 2020. Rothert had argued that the signature gathering should begin by July 18.

The secretary of state's office didn't immediately have a comment.

At issue is how the Republican-led Legislature voted to classify a section of the bill that changed the law to make both parents consent to abortions for minors in most cases. Because lawmakers made it an "emergency clause," it took effect as soon as Republican Gov. Mike Parson signed it into law.

Under Missouri law, there is no right for a referendum when the law is addressing an emergency. The ACLU argued that parental consent isn't actually an emergency, while the law said it is "because of the need to protect the health and safety of women and their children, both unborn and born."

Another gay pride flag set on fire in NYC

NEW YORK -- A rainbow flag was set on fire at the entrance to a New York City gay bar on Monday -- the second such incident at the same club in just over a month.

Alibi Lounge owner Alexi Minko said staff members, alerted by someone on the street, found the flag had been set aflame between 12:20 and 12:45 a.m. New York City police were already investigating a possible anti-gay crime after rainbow flags at the Harlem bar's entrance were torched just after midnight May 31, a day before the start of the city's Pride Month celebrations.

No injuries were reported in either incident.

Minko told The Associated Press that a staff member also had to remove the rainbow flags from the bar's entrance on July 4 because people on the street "were intentionally setting off firecrackers" at the front door. Besides that, he said, the club hadn't received any other threats during or after Pride Month.

-- COMPILED BY DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE STAFF FROM WIRE REPORTS

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AP/ELISE AMENDOLA

Volunteers dig and screen soil Monday in the first historical excavation in Boston’s Chinatown neighborhood. The dig is expected to turn up artifacts that will shed new light on immigrants from China, Syria, Ireland and England who arrived in the city between 1840 and 1980.

A Section on 07/09/2019

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