Syrian in travel-ban suit arrives in U.S.
HONOLULU — The Syrian grandmother at the center of Hawaii’s lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s travel ban on people from six mostly Muslim countries has arrived in Honolulu.
Wafa Yahia received approval from the U.S. government several weeks ago, according to her son-in-law, Ismail Elshikh, the imam of a Honolulu mosque. She arrived late Saturday night after a 28-hour journey that began in Lebanon.
Two of Elshikh’s five children have never met their grandmother, he said. She last visited her family in Hawaii in 2005.
“Without the lawsuit, we couldn’t get the visa. Without this challenge, my children would not have been reunited with their grandma,” he said. “I still feel sadness for those who are still affected by the Muslim ban, who are not as lucky as my family.”
Elshikh is a plaintiff in Hawaii’s challenge to the travel ban. Yahia’s immigrant visa approval would not affect Hawaii’s lawsuit, Hawaii Attorney General Doug Chin said.
A federal appeals court in Seattle is to hear arguments later this month in the government’s appeal of a ruling allowing grandmothers and other family members of those in the U.S.to enter the country.
The U.S. Supreme Court previously allowed a scaled-back version of the ban to go into effect before it hears the case in October. The justices exempted visa applicants from the ban if they can prove a “bona fide” relationship with a U.S. citizen or entity.
3 men killed at Wisconsin drag strip
UNION GROVE, Wis. — Three men were shot and killed during an event for families at a drag strip on Sunday, a Wisconsin sheriff said.
Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth said authorities responded to the Great Lakes Dragaway in Union Grove about 7 p.m. after receiving reports about shots being fired at a drag racing event known as “Larry’s Funfest.”
The three men were shot by another man at pointblank range near a food vendor, Beth said at a news conference Sunday night. No suspects were arrested, and no one else was injured.
Two of the men died at the scene, and the third died while being transported to a hospital. Beth said at least two of the men were from Aurora, Ill., a suburb of Chicago.
Overflowing creek floods Texas homes
SHERMAN, Texas — About two dozen North Texas families were cleaning up on Sunday after a band of heavy rain flooded a creek and forced them from their homes.
Police in Sherman said another 20 to 25 motorists had to be helped from their flooded vehicles after nearly 6 inches of rain fell in 12 hours ending early Sunday.
Post Oak Creek, on the west side of the city about 60 miles north of Dallas, was as much as 5 feet out of its banks.
Police said four families took refuge in the city’s municipal building but returned home Sunday to begin cleanup as waters began receding.
In Oklahoma, the National Weather Service said a flood warning was in effect Sunday for parts of Sequoyah County. Forecasters said flooding was occurring across the area and that several highways had been closed, including portions of Interstate 40.
Illinois Senate rejects school-aid veto
CHICAGO — The Illinois Senate overrode Gov. Bruce Rauner’s partial veto that would have cut millions of dollars for Chicago’s public school district, bringing the state closer to ending an impasse that has prevented aid from flowing to elementary and high schools.
Rauner, a Republican, issued an amendatory veto of a bill that overhauled Illinois school-funding practices, deriding the measure as a “pension bailout” for Chicago. Until a funding bill is enacted, general state aid to all schools can’t be released. Normally these funds would first go out on Aug. 10. Last week was the first time since the comptroller’s office was created in the 1970s that the state didn’t send the money on time.
“The time has come to reform school funding in the state of Illinois,” Sen. Andy Manar, a Democrat and sponsor of the bill, said on the Senate floor Sunday.
The veto meant Chicago’s schools would receive about $463 million less than under the original measure, according to an analysis by the state Board of Education.
The veto must still be overturned by the House of Representatives before the measure can become law and funds can be released to schools. The House is next scheduled to be in session on Wednesday.
A Section on 08/14/2017