Nation and World briefs for June 27

Donors to GOP: No cash until action on health care, taxes

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — At least one influential donor has informed congressional Republicans that the “Dallas piggy bank” is closed until he sees major action on health care and taxes.

Texas-based donor Doug Deason has already refused to host a fundraiser for two members of Congress and informed House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., his checkbook is closed as well.

“Get Obamacare repealed and replaced, get tax reform passed,” Deason said in a pointed message to GOP leaders. “You control the Senate. You control the House. You have the presidency. There’s no reason you can’t get this done. Get it done and we’ll open it back up.”

Indeed, there was a sense of frustration and urgency inside the private receptions and closed-door briefings at the Koch brothers’ donor retreat this weekend in Colorado Springs, where the billionaire conservatives and their chief lieutenants warned of a rapidly shrinking window to push their agenda through Congress and get legislation to President Donald Trump to sign into law.

No agenda items mattered more to the conservative Koch network than the GOP’s promise to overhaul the nation’s tax code and repeal and replace President Barack Obama’s health care law. At the moment, however, both are bogged down by GOP infighting that jeopardizes their fate.

Top Russian and US diplomats discuss cease-fire for Syria

MOSCOW (AP) — The top diplomats of Russia and the United States have focused on the Syrian crisis in a phone call.

The Russian Foreign Ministry says Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson talked Monday about the need to secure a cease-fire in Syria, fight extremist groups and to prevent the use of chemical weapons.

It added that Lavrov “urged Washington to take steps to prevent provocations against Syrian government forces battling terrorists.”

Moscow reacted angrily when the U.S. downed a Syrian jet last week after it dropped bombs near the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces conducting operations against the Islamic State group.

Russia warned its military would track aircraft from the U.S.-led coalition as potential targets over Syria and suspended a hotline intended to avoid mid-air incidents.

Federal judge considers fate of Texas ‘sanctuary cities’ law

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — A federal judge on Monday heard arguments before he decides whether a new Texas “sanctuary cities” crackdown backed by the Trump administration can take effect.

U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia appeared interested in how the law signed by Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and scheduled to take effect in September would be enforced. The measure lets police ask people about immigration status during routine stops.

Garcia asked whether an officer could ask all passengers in a car about their immigration status and if local police could make their own immigration sweeps. Opponents of the law, including the cities of Houston and Dallas, argued that the law’s vagueness is one of their biggest concerns.

The Justice Department is helping Texas defend the law in a San Antonio court.

Protesters gathered outside the court holding signs including “No SB4 Ever,” and “Stop Separation of Families.”

Supreme Court rules for Missouri church in playground case

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court ruled Monday that churches have the same right as other charitable groups to seek state money for new playground surfaces and other nonreligious needs.

But the justices stopped short of saying whether the ruling applies to school voucher programs that use public funds to pay for private, religious schooling.

By a 7-2 vote, the justices sided with Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Missouri, which had sought a state grant to put a soft surface on its preschool playground.

Chief Justice John Roberts said for the court that the state violated the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment by denying a public benefit to an otherwise eligible recipient solely on account of its religious status. He called it “odious to our Constitution” to exclude the church from the grant program, even though the consequences are only “a few extra scraped knees.”

The case arose from an application the church submitted in 2012 to take part in Missouri’s scrap-tire grant program, which reimburses the cost of installing a rubberized playground surface made from recycled tires. The money comes from a fee paid by anyone who buys a new tire. The church’s application to resurface the playground for its preschool and daycare ranked fifth out of 44 applicants.

Jewish groups cancel meetings with Netanyahu in protest

JERUSALEM (AP) — Two high-profile groups of Jewish leaders on Monday canceled meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to protest his government’s decision to scrap plans for a mixed-gender prayer area at Jerusalem’s Western Wall.

The dramatic moves reflected the widening gulf that has opened between Israel and the Jewish diaspora over how Judaism can be practiced in Israel. Most American Jews belong to the more liberal Reform and Conservative streams and feel alienated by Israel’s ultra-Orthodox authorities, which question their faith and practices.

The board of governors of The Jewish Agency, a nonprofit that works closely with the Israeli government to serve Jewish communities worldwide, said it was calling off its dinner with Netanyahu and altering the agenda of its annual meetings to address the crisis.

A delegation of Reform leaders from Israel and North America announced that it too had canceled a meeting with Netanyahu planned for Thursday.

Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism in North America and a member of the Jewish Agency’s board of governors, accused Netanyahu of “turning a cold shoulder” to the majority of world Jewry, as well as the Reform Movement in Israel. The Reform Movement is the largest stream of Judaism in North America, claiming over 1 million congregants.

“The decision cannot be seen as anything other than a betrayal, and I see no point to a meeting at this time,” Jacobs said.

Authorities delayed investigating gay ‘demons’ case

SPINDALE, N.C. (AP) — For two years, Matthew Fenner said he pleaded with authorities to investigate his allegations that a group of fellow congregants at the Word of Faith Fellowship church had punched, slapped and choked him to expel his “homosexual demons.”

An Associated Press investigation found that Rutherford County investigators and then-District Attorney Brad Greenway delayed investigating and told Fenner his only option was to pursue misdemeanor charges against the church members he said assaulted him for nearly two hours in the evangelical church’s sanctuary.

The AP’s conclusions are based on more than a dozen interviews and court documents, along with a series of secretly made recordings that were provided of Fenner’s meetings with law enforcement authorities, including Rutherford County Sheriff Chris Francis.

In February, the AP detailed how many Word of Faith Fellowship congregants were regularly attacked both physically and verbally in an attempt to “purify” sinners by beating out devils.

The church has come under scrutiny by law enforcement and social services authorities on numerous occasions with little effect, mostly because followers refused to cooperate. But Fenner’s relentless pursuit eventually led to the indictment of five congregants, who were charged with kidnapping and assault.

Philando Castile’s family reaches $3M settlement in death

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The mother of Philando Castile, a black motorist killed by a Minnesota police officer last July, has reached a nearly $3 million settlement with the city that employed the officer, avoiding a federal wrongful death lawsuit that attorneys said could have taken years to resolve.

The settlement to be paid to Valerie Castile, who is the family’s trustee, was announced Monday and comes less than two weeks after officer Jeronimo Yanez was acquitted of manslaughter and other charges connected to her son’s death.

Castile, a 32-year-old elementary school cafeteria worker, was shot five times by Yanez during a traffic stop after Castile informed the officer he was armed. Castile had a permit for his gun. The shooting gained widespread attention after Castile’s girlfriend, who was in the car with her then-4-year-old daughter, livestreamed its gruesome aftermath on Facebook.

The acquittal of Yanez, who is Latino, prompted days of protests, including one in St. Paul that shut down Interstate 94 for hours and ended with 18 arrests.

The $2.995 million settlement for Valerie Castile will be paid by the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust, which holds the insurance policy for the city of St. Anthony. The plan for distribution of funds requires approval by a state court, which could take several weeks.