promoearn: She died in Charlottesville. Her fight did not

Thursday, August 9, 2018

She died in Charlottesville. Her fight did not

Susan Bro, the mother of Heather Heyer, who was killed

'It took a white girl dying for white people to wake up'

Almost a year after a driver killed 32-year-old Heather Heyer at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, her mother says she's determined to carry on her daughter's fight against injustice. "You don't get to silence my kid and get away with it," Susan Bro said. She now runs the Heather Heyer Foundation, which awards scholarships to students passionate about social justice. White nationalists have changed tactics since Charlottesville, but not their message of racial resentment: On Sunday, the anniversary of the rally and Heyer's death, far-right demonstrators are expected to march in Washington . Bro, meanwhile, plans to visit her daughter's grave and speak about America's healing. "Unfortunately, we're still at such a racial divide that it took a white girl dying for white people to wake up and pay attention."

That tight Ohio election just got tighter

The too-close-to-call House race in Ohio between Democrat Danny O'Connor and Republican Troy Balderson grew even closer Wednesday after election officials in Franklin County found 588 previously uncounted votes . Balderson held a razor-thin lead of only 1,754 votes over O'Connor, despite Republicans spending over $4 million in the GOP-controlled district. With the missing votes counted, Balderson's lead slimmed down to 1,564. More than 8,000 provisional and absentee ballots remain to be counted. If final results show a margin of 0.5 percent or less, state election officials will hold an automatic recount. Stay tuned.

Space Force: To infinity and beyond

Space Force is no longer an idea in a galaxy far, far away. The Pentagon is already creating plans for the sixth armed service, Vice President Mike Pence said. It's anticipated to launch in 2020, pending approval and funding from Congress. Creating a new force is controversial: Space Force would be the first new armed service since 1947. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis resisted a plan for a separate force last year, but has since said he's in "complete alignment" with President Donald Trump on space security. (In 2005, Mattis floated the idea of shooting Marines around the planet on short notice.)

Puerto Rico admits Maria's death toll may top 1,400

The Puerto Rican government acknowledged Thursday that the death toll from Hurricane Maria last September is likely more than 1,400 – an estimate many times higher than the previous official count. A draft report to Congress posted online claimed the revised number of deaths should be 1,427, based on public health records. The new death figure places Maria among the most deadly storms in history. Those include Hurricane Katrina, which claimed 1,800 lives after slamming into the Gulf Coast in 2005. The low official death count has sparked protests and hindered recovery on the island. A Harvard study released in May estimated the death toll at more than 4,600.

#BlackGirlMagic commands September covers

Beyonce. Rihanna. Yara Shahidi. In an unprecedented move, almost all the cover stars on coveted September issues of fashion's mainstream magazines – including Vogue, Glamour and Elle – are black . It's a powerful statement on beauty, blackness and recognizing cultural tastemakers. One question: What took so long? The crop of September issues comes 53 years after Donyale Luna made history as the first black woman to appear on the front of a magazine with her Harper's Bazaar cover in 1965.

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This is a compilation of stories from across USA TODAY, brought to you by John Riley, Ashley May and Josh Hafner.

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