Police said in a Twitter message and by email that Deborah Denise St. Charles of Orlando was the driver of the van in which the child was left for most of the daylight hours on Monday.
Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.
Driver of van in which child died arrested for aggravated manslaughter
A 51-year-old woman was arrested for aggravated manslaughter in the death of a 3-year-old who earlier this week was left in a daycare's van on a hot Florida day, Orlando police said on Thursday. Police said in a Twitter message and by email that Deborah Denise St. Charles of Orlando was the driver of the van in which the child was left for most of the daylight hours on Monday.
Trump declares national emergency on opioid abuse
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday declared the opioid epidemic a national emergency and said his administration was drafting papers to make it official. "The opioid crisis is an emergency and I'm saying officially right now it is an emergency," Trump told reporters in New Jersey. "We're going to draw it up and we're going to make it a national emergency. It is a serious problem, the likes of which we have never had."
New York City students need comfort? In trots Petey the Shih Tzu
When distressed students at Middle School 88 in Brooklyn end up in the principal's office, Petey Parker often totters over, tail wagging, to comfort them. The rescued Shih Tzu mix is the darling of some 1,400 students who call out his name and lean over to pet him as he walks the corridors.
Quebec border camp swells with asylum seekers from U.S., many Haitian
Dozens of army tents dotted the Canadian border on Thursday to house hundreds of asylum seekers, many from Haiti, streaming into the country from upstate New York to file refugee claims. More than 200 people a day are illegally walking across the border into Quebec to seek asylum, government officials said. Over 4,300 asylum seekers have crossed illegally into Canada in the first half of this year, with some citing U.S. President Donald Trump's tougher stance on immigration.
Oklahoma Supreme Court rules fee on cigarettes unconstitutional
Oklahoma's Supreme Court declared a fee on cigarettes unconstitutional on Thursday, citing faulty lawmaking practices, prompting the state's governor to suggest calling back the legislature to find a solution to replace the lost revenue. In a statement following the court's decision, Republican Governor Mary Fallin said invalidating the fee would cause a $215 million budget shortfall. Most of the revenue created by the passage in May of the "cessation" fee - $1.50 per pack of cigarettes - was earmarked for health and human services agencies.
Taylor Swift gives unvarnished courtroom account of alleged groping
Singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, known for baring her soul and her grudges in her music, presented an unflinching account under oath and in open court of her allegation that a Colorado DJ groped her while they posed for photos together four years ago. The 27-year-old Grammy-winning artist behind such hits as "Fearless," "Bad Blood" and "I Knew You Were Trouble," took the witness stand on Thursday on the fourth day of a federal court trial in Denver pitting her against the man she has accused of sexual assault, David Mueller.
U.S. judge deals blow to Texas 'sanctuary' city law
A U.S. district judge in Austin has rejected an effort by Texas to have a law that would punish so-called sanctuary cities be declared constitutional ahead of the measure taking effect next month. The Republican-backed law is the first of its kind since Republican Donald Trump became president in January, promising a crackdown on illegal immigrants and localities that protect them. Texas is the U.S. state with the longest border with Mexico.
New York-area high-school football player dies during training
A high-school football player on New York's Long Island was killed on Thursday when he was struck in the head by a log his teammates were carrying on the field during a conditioning drill, police said. Joshua Mileto, 16, suffered the fatal injury at Sachem East High School in Farmingville, a community 50 miles (80 km) east of Manhattan, and was rushed to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, Suffolk County Police said in a statement.
Trump administration defends travel ban in Supreme Court brief
President Donald Trump's administration reiterated arguments defending its temporary travel ban in a filing with the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday, repeatedly citing the executive's broad powers to exclude foreigners from the United States. The travel ban barring refugees and people from six Muslim-majority nations was signed as an executive order in March, after an earlier version had to be scrapped in the face of legal challenges.
U.S. wildfire preparedness raised to highest level
U.S. fire managers on Thursday raised the nation's wildfire readiness status to its highest level for the first time in two years, as California and several other Western states faced heightened danger from lightning storms. The National Fire Preparedness Level was elevated one notch from "PL-4" to "PL-5," the top ranking on a five-point scale, recognizing that firefighting resources have been strained to their limits by the large number and scope of blazes in the west.
(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
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