
California couple fined for digging up and burying Joshua trees
CNN
A California couple has been fined for digging up and burying dozens of protected Joshua trees to make room for a home they were building, officials said.
Jeffrey Walter and Jonetta Nordberg-Walter, residents of San Bernardino County, have been ordered to pay $18,000 as part of a diversion agreement -- the terms they must fulfill in order to have the 36 misdemeanor counts -- one for each uprooted tree -- against them dismissed. The couple has opted not to have attorneys in the case, Supervising Deputy District Attorney Douglas Poston told CNN.
Janet Mills and her allies are counting on a gender gap to narrow Platner’s wide lead ahead of the June 9 primary to decide who will face incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins. They are betting that the unfiltered style that has brought Platner widespread attention as someone who could help Democrats reach young men will backfire with women.

As a shrinking number of Transportation Security Administration agents work to keep hourslong security lines moving despite not being paid, President Donald Trump stepped into the fray Saturday, announcing he will send Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to airports by Monday if Congress doesn’t agree to a plan to end the partial government shutdown.











