White House seeks millions for civil rights sites

Communities and historically black colleges that played a key role in the civil rights movement would get millions of dollars under an administration plan to upgrade and preserve the movement's most important sites.
Administration officials want to spend $50 million on the initiative as the nation marks the 50th anniversary of key milestones in the civil rights movement.
Sites in the South, the heart of the civil rights movement, are the most likely candidates.
"We need to be reminded of the struggles that have happened in this country so that nobody forgets,'' said civil rights veteran Charles Hicks, 70, a native of Bogalusa, La.

Explainer: A closer look at Joni Ernst's military credentials

U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst's Iraq War experience and ongoing service in the Iowa National Guard have been central to her political rise over the past year, but have also drawn pointed questions and criticisms.
Is Ernst, who has more than 20 years of military experience, really a "combat veteran?" As a service member, can she make political comments? Is it a conflict to continue her military commitments while serving in the Senate?
Research by The Des Moines Register shows she meets the military's definition of a combat veteran and that her service in the Guard does not limit her political speech, but the constitutionality of her concurrent service in Congress and the National Guard is less clear-cut.
The Republican's military experience defined her candidacy in 2014, helping set her apart in a crowded primary and then secure a general-election victory to become Iowa's first female member of Congress.
She's also made military affairs a top priority since taking office, serving on the Armed Forces Committee and using her maiden speech on the Senate floor to introduce a bill on mental health services for veterans.
Let's walk through the facts, military regulations and law that lead to these conclusions.

Obama, Netanyahu (again) dispute Iran deal

It doesn't sound like President Obama and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had a very pleasant conversation about the proposed Iran deal.

In its readout of Thursday's call, the White House said Obama emphasized that "the framework represents significant progress towards a lasting, comprehensive solution that cuts off all of Iran's pathways to a bomb and verifiably ensures the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program going forward."

Iran nuclear deal will dominate Sunday talk shows

The nuclear deal reached Thursday by Iran, the U.S., and five other world powers will dominate the Sunday talk shows.Negotiators reached a historic agreement on a broad framework for resolving the long-standing conflict over Iran's nuclear program. The deal says that Iran will not produce weapons-grade fuel and that United Nations' inspectors will have better access to Iran's nuclear facilities to check on compliance.
In return, economic sanctions imposed against Iran by the USA and the European Union would be lifted, although the timetable for doing that remains unclear.
President Obama is expected to have a tough time selling the deal to a skeptical Congress. Key lawmakers are calling on the president to bring the agreement to Congress for approval rather than taking it straight to the United Nations.

Iran nuclear agreement faces tough road ahead

The framework nuclear agreement announced Thursday between world powers and Iran sets the stage for Congress and foreign nations to try to change — or kill — a final deal.
The United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia, China and Germany reached an understanding with Iran on limits to Iran's nuclear program in return for lifting crippling economic sanctions.
Negotiators now have until June 30 to fill in the critical details to assure Iran it will get relief from the sanctions as soon as possible, and guarantee the world powers that Iran won't develop a nuclear weapon. Lying in wait are Congress, Iran's enemies in the Middle East and difficult issues that may reshape, delay or doom a final accord.

FBI will overhaul tracking report, add missing crimes

The FBI is in the midst of a major overhaul of its signature tracking program that for more than eight decades has been regarded as the most reliable measure of crime in the USA.Federal authorities are attempting to convert hundreds of law enforcement agencies to an alternate reporting system that would account for perhaps scores of offenses that have never been recorded in the bureau's annual summary of crime in the USA, part of its Uniform Crime Report.
Assistant FBI Director Stephen Morris, who oversees the bureau's crime data collection functions, said there is no estimating the number of ''lost'' offenses because of the "summary'' nature of the current reporting structure. "You don't know what you don't know,'' Morris said in an interview with USA TODAY.
Murders may be the most consistently tracked offenses in the summary portion of the report. But an unknown number of other crimes often committed in the course of those deaths — rapes, robberies, assaults, arson and others — go unrecorded. Long-standing reporting limitations allow for tracking only the most serious single offense from each incident, regardless of how many other offenses have been committed.

Sky spectacle: Lunar eclipse to feature 'blood moon'

The first of two lunar eclipses visible in the U.S. this year will take place early Saturday morning.
Skywatchers in the western third of the U.S. will get to see a total eclipse, while folks in the central and eastern U.S. will only see a partial eclipse before the moon sets.
You'll have to look low in the western sky to see the eclipse. As with all lunar eclipses, its safe to look at the moon during the eclipse, unlike during solar eclipses.