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Desert Hot Springs, CA PERMIT NO 00005
Friday, July 10, 2015 Vol. 8 No. 54
Confederate Flag comes down South Carolina legislators voted overwhelmingly to remove the Confederate battle flag from the monument on capitol grounds. All amendments to the proposal were defeated in a 15hour debate, and the 94-20 vote took place shortly after 1am local time. Governor Nikki Haley supported the measure and is expected to sign the bill Thursday afternoon. The flag will be removed Friday morning and sent to the state’s Confederate Relic Room.
“It is a new day in South Carolina, a day we can all be proud of, a day that truly brings us all together as we continue to heal, as one people and one state,” Haley said in a statement. The proposal to remove the flag from public spaces sailed through the state Senate earlier this week, with amendments being taken off the floor and the final measure approved 37-3. The House, however, considered some 60 amendments to the bill over the course of Wednesday’s session.
According to accounts from the statehouse, a pivotal moment in the debate was the emotional speech by Republican lawmaker Jenny Horne, who called the flag a “symbol of hate” and said that letting it fly for one day more was adding “insult to injury” to the widow and children of the state senator killed in the Charleston church massacre last month. “I’m sorry, I have heard enough about heritage,” said Horne. “Remove this flag and do it today.” The National Association
USA Wins World Cup!
By Desert Star Staff The seventh FIFA Women’s World Cup™ began in recordbreaking style, with 24 teams lining up for the very first time in the competition’s history, and ended on a similarly momentous note, as USA became the first nation to lift the Trophy three times. Just for good measure, Canada 2015 also yielded an all-time-high of 112 goals, one more than the previous best, set at Germany 2011. The tournament ended on a suitably spectacular note, as the Stars and Stripes swamped defending champions Japan 5-2. The contest was effectively over by the 16th minute, by which time the Americans had surged
into a 4-0 lead, three of those goals coming from the talismanic Carli Lloyd. It was appropriate that the 32-year-old midfielder should prove USA’s hero. Lloyd missed a penalty in the shootout that decided the Germany 2011 Final between the same two sides, which ended with the Nadeshiko celebrating their first world title. She and 13 other members of the USA squad were on duty that fateful night in Frankfurt, a defeat they have now avenged in style. Awarded the adidas Golden Ball as the tournament’s most outstanding player, Lloyd later described her side’s performance as “historic”, while goalkeeper Hope Solo said
it was the greatest moment of her career. The seven-goal encounter was the highestscoring final in the history of the competition and drew an enthusiastic response from US President Barack Obama, who tweeted his congratulations to the victors: “What a win for Team USA! Great game @CarliLloyd! Your country is so proud of all of you. Come visit the White House with the World Cup soon.” Records for Sawa, Formiga and Marta Despite failing to retain the title, Japan have plenty of reasons to be cheerful. Coach Norio Sasaki seemed to agree, Continues on Page 3
for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) saluted the decision, saying it was a vindication of the organization’s 15-year campaign to bring down the flag. “This decision will make South Carolina more welcoming and affirming of all people irrespective of their skin color,” NAACP President & CEO Cornell W. Brooks said in a statement. Activist Bree Newsome, however, said that just taking down the flag was not enough, and that the South had to
repudiate white supremacy and what the Confederacy stood for. Newsome was arrested on June 27 for climbing up the flagpole and taking down the flag in a gesture of protest. The banner, originally used by the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia during the 1861-65 conflict which saw 11 Southern states attempting to separate from the US, was raised on top of the South Carolina statehouse in 1961 to Continues on Page 2