National News at a Glance

Lobbyist Says He Illegally Helped Russian and Ukrainian Buy Tickets to Trump Inauguration

A U.S. lobbyist who worked with Russian and Ukrainian oligarchs pleaded guilty Friday to failing to register as an agent of a foreign power and disclosed to prosecutors he helped a Russian political operative and a Ukranian businessman illegally purchase four tickets, worth about $50,000, to President Donald Trump’s inauguration. Prosecutors did not name the foreigners involved. However, the tickets were purchased for Konstantin Kilimnik, a Russian political operative believed to have ties to a Russian intelligence agency, and a Ukranian oligarch. The lobbyist, Sam Patten, agreed to cooperate with prosecutors as part of his plea agreement.

Uprooted Monument Might Get New Home

After a spate of heated demonstrations over the “Silent Sam” statue at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the school’s chancellor suggested on Friday that she wanted to move the Confederate monument to another part of campus. In a statement, the chancellor, Carol Folt, said the statue’s previous location made it a cause for division and a threat to public safety. “Silent Sam has a place in our history and on our campus where its history can be taught,” Folt said. “But not at the front door of a safe, welcoming, proudly public research university.” On Aug. 20, protesters gathered around the 105-year-old statue and brought it to the ground.

The Deadly Toll of the Red Tide

Dr. Heather Barron’s patients range in size from sanderlings, tiny birds that can weigh as little as 3 1/2 ounces, to loggerhead turtles that weigh hundreds of pounds. And the unusually long red tide hitting Sanibel Island in Florida has kept them coming in. The Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife has seen a 25 percent increase in patients compared with this time last year, said Barron. In southwestern Florida, a toxic red tide that has lasted for about 10 months continues to show up in high concentrations along coastal counties, and tons of dead marine life have been removed from shores as a result.

Trump’s Charity Calls Attorney General’s Suit a Political Attack

Lawyers for President Donald Trump’s charitable foundation pushed back against the New York state attorney general’s office in court papers Thursday, calling a lawsuit against the charity a political attack motivated by the former attorney general’s “record of antipathy” against Trump. The court papers, filed in state Supreme Court in Manhattan, marked the first formal response by the Donald J. Trump Foundation to a blistering complaint the attorney general’s office lodged against the charity in June. The lawsuit accused the charity and members of Trump’s family of sweeping violations of campaign finance laws, self-dealing and illegal coordination with Trump’s presidential campaign.

Family of Jordan Edwards Says 15 Years Is Not Enough for Officer Who Murdered Him

Fifteen is a significant number for Jordan Edwards’ family. It’s how many years he lived before a police officer opened fire with a high-powered rifle as Jordan and four other teenagers drove away from a house party in the Dallas suburb of Balch Springs in April 2017. This week, the number gained a new meaning when the officer convicted in Jordan’s murder, Roy Oliver, received a 15-year prison term. The prosecution was seeking at least 60 years. The disappointment came one day after the family felt some consolation in securing a rare conviction in a case where a white officer killed a black person.

Texas Judge Delivers Unexpected Victory for DACA Program

A federal judge in Texas declined on Friday to halt an Obama-era program that protects young unauthorized immigrants from deportation, handing a temporary victory to activists who are waging a legal fight against the Trump administration to save it. Judge Andrew Hanen, of U.S. District Court in Houston, said the program, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, had been relied upon by hundreds of thousands of immigrants since it was established almost six years ago and should not be abruptly ended. The ruling means young immigrants who were brought illegally to the United States as small children can continue to apply for the program, which shields them from immediate deportation.