Gazette Daily News Briefing, September 28
This is John McGlothlen with the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Monday, September 28th.
We'll have a slight chance of showers before 9 a.m., then a chance of showers after 1 p.m., according to the National Weather Service. It will be mostly cloudy, with a high near 60. Also breezy, with a northwest wind 10 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Monday night will be partly cloudy, with a low around 44.
President Donald Trump nominated Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court on Saturday. Republican senators are already lining up for a swift confirmation of Barrett ahead of the Nov. 3 election, as they aim to lock in conservative gains in the federal judiciary before a potential transition of power. Trump, meanwhile, is hoping the nomination will serve to galvanize his supporters as he looks to fend off Democrat Joe Biden. An ideological heir to the late conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, Barrett would fill the seat vacated after the Sept. 18 death of liberal icon Ruth Bader Ginsberg, in what would be the sharpest ideological swing since Clarence Thomas replaced Justice Thurgood Marshall nearly three decades ago. She would be the sixth justice on the nine-member court to be appointed by a Republican president, and the third of Trump’s first term in office.
Under an executive order signed this week by President Donald Trump, defense contractors including Collins Aerospace and BAE Systems, both in Cedar Rapids, cannot provide diversity training based on conscious or unconscious bias, white privilege and other topics commonly taught in such programs. The president’s order prohibits the federal government and its contractors from promoting “race or sex stereotyping or scapegoating” or teaching any “divisive concepts.” That includes training that suggests a race or gender may have any privilege, status, moral or ethical values or character traits. Collins Aerospace asked employees to “ensure any planned trainings in these areas are postponed until further notice,” according to an email obtained by The Gazette. The email indicates plans for a “further legal assessment of the impact to our content.”
A 4-year-old child who was struck by a vehicle in Marion last week has died, Marion police said Sunday. At 4:20 p.m. Wednesday, Marion police, Marion firefighters and ambulance personnel responded to a report of a child who was struck by a vehicle in the 2300 block of 31st Street. The child had crossed the street in front of a motorist and was hit. The child was taken by ambulance to a hospital. The driver was not injured. On Sunday, the Marion Police Department was notified that the child had died.
Iowa's Republican U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst will face Democratic challenger Theresa Greenfield at 7 p.m. Monday in a debate televised by Iowa PBS. Ernst, of Red Oak, and Greenfield, of Des Moines, will take questions from reporters and discuss their platforms, concerns, and future plans. David Yepsen, host of Iowa Press, will moderate the debate, which can be watched at thegazette.com.
