In Other News: Supreme Court rules Peace Cross war memorial can stand; senators receive classified briefing on UFO sightings

Published 2:37 pm Thursday, June 20, 2019

Editor’s note: “In Other News” is a list of state, national and global headlines compiled by the Daily Citizen-News staff. Click on the headlines below to read the full stories. To suggest a story, email the appropriate link to inothernews@dailycitizen.news.

Supreme Court rules Peace Cross war memorial can stand

The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a Peace Cross war memorial on public land outside Washington, D.C., can stand, determining in a 7-2 decision that it does not violate the Constitution. Residents of Prince George’s County, Maryland, and the American Humanist Association had sued to have the cross taken down, and the American Legion, whose symbol is also on the memorial, intervened to defend it. While the residents and the association claimed that a cross memorial on public land violated the Constitution, the court determined that factors, including the history of the memorial, support the idea that it is not religious in nature. — Fox News

Florida city to pay $600,000 ransom to hacker who seized computer systems weeks ago

A Florida city is paying $600,000 in Bitcoins to a hacker who took over local government computers after an employee clicked on a malicious email link three weeks ago. Riviera Beach officials voted this week to pay 65 Bitcoins to the hacker who seized the city’s computer systems, forcing the local police and fire departments to write down the hundreds of daily 911 calls on paper, CNN affiliate WPEC reported. The 65 Bitcoins, which equals $600,000, will come from the city’s insurance, officials said. Once the payment is made, they hope to get access to data encrypted by the hacker. Even with the plans to pay the ransom, the city said, an investigation is underway. — CNN

Radiological hazard warning from Georgia only a test: Alert seen in Alabama, Florida

Residents throughout the Southeast were startled Thursday morning by an alert of a “radiological hazard warning” in Georgia. The Georgia Emergency Management Agency said the alerts, which came through on phones, radios and televisions around 7 a.m., were part of a test. “You may have received a test emergency alert this morning regarding a radiological emergency in Georgia. We regularly test our emergency alert systems to ensure they are working properly and this was ONLY A TEST MESSAGE. There is no radiological emergency,” EMA said in a tweet. — AL.com

Senators receive classified briefing on UFO sightings

A group of U.S. senators, including the vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, received a classified briefing Wednesday about a series of reported encounters by the U.S. Navy with unidentified aircraft, according to a congressional aide. “If pilots … are reporting flight hazards that interfere with training or put them at risk, then Sen. Warner wants answers. It doesn’t matter if it’s weather balloons, little green men, or something else entirely — we can’t ask our pilots to put their lives at risk unnecessarily,” Rachel Cohen, the spokeswoman for Democratic Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, told CNN. — CNN