National News at a Glance

Facing Charges, Trump Ally Ends His Run

Days after federal prosecutors charged him with insider trading, Rep. Chris Collins announced Saturday that he was abandoning his re-election bid amid worries that his legal troubles could make vulnerable his otherwise solidly Republican district in western New York. The process to get off the ballot can be onerous in New York, and Collins did not say how he would remove himself. Collins, who was the first member of Congress to endorse Donald Trump for president in 2016, said Saturday he had decided it was “in the best interests” of his district, “the Republican Party and President Trump’s agenda” to suspend his bid.

Pre-Rally, Trump Issues General Call for Unity

As white nationalists planned to gather in front of the White House on Sunday to mark the anniversary of last year’s violent rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, President Donald Trump denounced “all types of racism,” but did not specifically condemn the supremacists. “Riots in Charlottesville a year ago resulted in senseless death and division,” he wrote on Twitter on Saturday morning. “We must come together as a nation. I condemn all types of racism and acts of violence. Peace to ALL Americans!” Trump’s general call for unity echoed his reluctance a year ago after the deadly rally to single out the supremacists for condemnation.

Man Who Stole and Crashed Plane Near Seattle Identified

The man who stole a plane and flew it for about an hour Friday evening over Puget Sound in Washington state before crashing on an island has been identified as Richard B. Russell, according to a law enforcement official. Russell, a ground service agent at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, took off around 8 p.m. local time in an unauthorized flight, delaying dozens of flights as the airport enforced a temporary ground stop. The plane came down on Ketron Island in the Puget Sound. Alaska Airlines said in a statement that the person who took the plane was employed by Horizon Air, a subsidiary.

As Schools Open, Students Return to Armed Guards and Lockdowns

Fortified by fences and patrolled by more armed personnel, schools will open their doors to students for the start of the new year with a heightened focus on security intended to ease fears about deadly campus shootings. In Florida, armed guards will be posted on almost every campus. In Indiana, some schools will be getting hand-held metal detectors. In western New York state, some schools plan to upgrade their surveillance cameras to include facial recognition. The school district in Palm Beach County, Florida, is nearly doubling its school police force — and asking voters to support a property tax increase to help pay for it.

United Failed to Act After Pilot Posted Racy Photos of Flight Attendant, U.S. Says

For years, a United Airlines pilot posted nude and sexually suggestive photos of a female flight attendant online, court records show. But according to a federal lawsuit filed Thursday by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, United failed to intervene, determining that the pilot’s actions did not constitute sexual harassment in the workplace. The federal agency accuses the airline of discriminating against the woman and failing to protect her from a hostile work environment. In an email Friday, a United spokeswoman said the company disagreed with the lawsuit’s description of the situation, but she declined to specify what it disputed.

A Judge Blocked a Medicaid Work Requirement. The White House Is Undeterred.

Trump administration officials, whose push to impose work requirements on Medicaid beneficiaries was dealt a blow by a federal judge in June, say they have found a way around the ruling and will continue to allow states to put the restrictions in place. Judge James E. Boasberg of U.S. District Court in Washington stopped a Kentucky plan to introduce the work requirements after finding that the health secretary had failed to consider the state’s estimate that the new rules would cause 95,000 low-income people to lose Medicaid coverage. But administration officials said they could sidestep the ruling by providing a better explanation of the rationale for work requirements.

Three of California’s Biggest Fires Ever Are Burning Right Now

California is in the middle of another record-breaking fire season with 820,000 acres across the state already burned — more than twice the area that burned by this point last year. In the northern part of the state, the Mendocino Complex Fire has grown to more than 300,000 acres, becoming the largest fire ever recorded in California. Three of the largest California fires since 2000 are burning right now. In addition to the Mendocino Fire, firefighters are battling two more massive blazes in other rural parts of the state. The Carr Fire has caused eight deaths, according to Cal Fire.

Flash Floods in New York Area Engulf Roads

A flash flood watch will remain in effect for most of the New York City area through early Sunday morning after heavy rain Saturday flooded roads, caused power failures and collapsed a wall in New Jersey. The thunderstorms started a few hours before daybreak Saturday and brought rainfall at rates of up to 2 inches per hour, said Tim Morrin, an observation program leader with the National Weather Service. Central Park received almost 3 inches of rain in less than six hours, and Suffolk County on Long Island had 4 inches of rain in the same period.