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COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The Confederate flag will be removed from South Carolina's Statehouse grounds in a 10 a.m. ceremony Friday. Gov. Nikki Haley signed a bill Thursday to relegate the Confederate flag to the state's "relic room." More than 50 years ago the rebel banner began flying at the Statehouse to protest the civil rights movement.
ATLANTA (AP) — A Georgia appeals court heard arguments Thursday about whether the state violated the Ku Klux Klan's constitutional rights by refusing its application to a highway cleanup program. The north Georgia KKK group applied to join the state's Adopt-A-Highway program in May 2012. The state Department of Transportation denied the application, but when the ACLU sued on the KKK's behalf, a Fulton County judge ruled in the Klan's favor. The state then appealed the decision.
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — There's a smoky haze lingering above the Western U.S., caused by large wildfires raging cross Canada. The fires, fueled by hot, dry conditions, have turned much of the region into a tinderbox. In Saskatchewan, more than 10,000 people have been forced from their homes, and the agency that's coordinating firefighting services for the provinces and territories says more help from the U.S. may be necessary. Alberta officials are bringing in help from Mexico to battle 92 wildfires. British Columbia has more than 180 blazes.
HAGATNA, Guam (AP) — The folks on the U.S Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands are trying to reconnect with the rest of the world. Technicians are restoring telephone and Internet service after a break in undersea cable disconnected the islands. Pacific Telecommunications says phone and Internet service was fully restored on Tinian and Rota islands Friday afternoon, but Saipan had limited phone service and no Internet connectivity.
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Some parents in a school district in Oregon are a little upset after receiving a letter warning that if their children are not picked up promptly, they might be turned over to the state. A Salem-Keizer School District spokesman tells the Salem Statesman Journal that the letter was sent recently to parents whose kids attend Swegle Elementary School, but it was sent in error because the school's principal had not reviewed it. He says parents are getting an apology.
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