Trump administration designates Haiti’s powerful armed gangs as foreign, global terrorists

The Trump administration has designated a coalition of powerful Haitian gangs and an allied force sowing terror in Haiti’s bread basket as terrorists.

The Viv Ansanm coalition, whose membership consists of more than two dozen of Haiti’s best-armed criminal groups, and the Gran Grief gang have been labeled as both Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Rubio, who views the gangs and their escalating violence and influence as a direct threat to U.S. national security, made the designation on Friday. The gangs join eight other Latin American crime organizations that were similarly labeled as terror groups by the State Department in February. That list includes Mexican cartels as well as Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua.

“The Trump Administration is sending a clear message with its terrorist designations of Viv Ansanm and Gran Grif,” a senior State Department official told the Miami Herald.

—Miami Herald

State discipline law keeps Black, Latino kids in class. Trump says it's illegal

LOS ANGELES — Violating a school dress code. Using a cellphone in class. Mouthing off at a teacher.

There was a time when that kind of behavior, called "willfully defiant" conduct, would get a California public school student suspended.

But over the last decade, a sea change in state discipline policy — one born in part out of an understanding that such suspensions disproportionately affect Black, Latino and Indigenous students — largely outlawed that kind of punishment. Instead, schools were advised to turn to practices including conflict resolution and counseling.

Now, though, an executive order signed by President Donald Trump could presage legal challenges of pioneering California laws that overhauled school discipline by banning willful defiance suspensions for K-12 students.

—Los Angeles Times

Connecticut lawmakers move to give minors access to contraception without parental notice

HARTFORD, Conn. — The state House of Representatives in Connecticut voted overwhelmingly Thursday night to codify into state law that minors can consent to contraception without parental notification.

After a lengthy debate, the House voted 117 – 27 as four Democrats joined with 23 Republicans against the measure.

The issue of parental notification of abortion has been controversial for years, but the bill focused only on contraception rather than abortion. Even though the word ‘abortion’ was never mentioned in the legislation, it came up constantly during the debate that lasted past 7:30 p.m.

“This bill is going to prevent pregnancies,” said Rep. Nicole Klarides-Ditria, a Seymour Republican. “It is going to prevent abortions. … We want to make sure that our minors have the ability to get the care safely and without fear of repercussions from anyone. … In a perfect world, we all want our kids to talk to us every day about everything we do. But unfortunately, we know that doesn’t happen.”

—Hartford Courant

Chimney for conclave to elect new pope goes up on Sistine Chapel

ROME — Fire officers on Friday installed the renowned chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican that will emit the plumes of smoke signaling the results of the upcoming conclave.

The process to elect a new pope is set to start on Wednesday, with 133 cardinals sealed off in the 15th-century chapel with its famous Michelangelo ceiling.

During the election, black smoke rising from the chimney signals unsuccessful voting rounds. The smoke – traditionally generated by burning the cardinals' ballot papers – turns white once a new pope has been chosen.

Following uncertainty over the color of the smoke in the past, chemicals are now added to the ballot papers to ensure a clear signal – whether black or white. The chimney is connected to two stoves, a cast-iron model from 1939 used for the discarded ballot papers, and a newer version from 2005 for the chemicals.

—dpa