Courts decide to remove Confederate monuments

A US federal court ruled on Monday that New Orleans can remove three Confederate monuments that are displayed in prominent locations. A lawsuit had been filed by three historic preservation societies and the local chapter of the Sons of Confederate Veterans seeking to stop the city from removing the statues. But the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit rejected their claims. After the legal victory, the city expects to move swiftly to take down the three Confederate monuments that honor former Confederate President Jefferson Davis, and the Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee and P.G.T. Beauregard. After debate over the controversial symbols, the City Council voted in 2015 to remove the four monuments, declaring them to be "nuisances." The massacre of black worshippers at a church in South Carolina by Dylann Roof (who venerated the Confederate battle flag), spurred a nationwide discussion about the removal of Confederate monuments. The monuments are to be relocated off of government property, not destroyed.

In Other News Republican lawmakers finally unveiled a plan to repeal major portions of Obamacare on Monday night. House Republican leaders must begin the tough task of selling the new plan to overhaul America's health care system to colleagues in both chambers on Capitol Hill, where there is a clash of interests. And they will have to convince a skeptical public it's worthwhile, just seven years after Congress passed the Affordable Care Act. Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly said that apart from the six countries listed on Monday's travel ban, there are "13 or 14" other countries that also have questionable vetting procedures. Kelly didn't name any of the additional countries the administration is concerned about and acknowledged he doesn't expect the list of countries subject to the travel ban will grow. President Donald Trump on Monday signed a new executive order that bans immigration from Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen from obtaining visas for at least 90 days, dropping Iraq from January's previous order and reinstates a temporary blanket ban on all refugees. Iraq was removed from the new ban after intensive lobbying from the Iraqi government at the highest levels. The new ban, which will be implemented March 16, comes after Trump's original executive order caused chaos at airports before it was blocked by federal courts. Kelly said the ban is not a "Muslim ban," which is what it's being called by critics of the executive order. "Three of the six (countries in the travel ban) now are designated as terrorism supporters," Kelly said. "We can't rely on those governments ... It's not a Muslim ban ... there are 51 overwhelmingly Muslim countries."