Trump dismisses concerns over conditions aboard USS Abraham Lincoln

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump downplayed concerns over conditions for sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, amid an uproar from service members’ families as its deployment to the Middle East approaches nine months.

Numerous relatives of the roughly 5,000 sailors and Marines aboard the aircraft carrier have voiced outrage at reports of food shortages, water contamination, moldy showers and long shifts in wartime aboard the vessel. Some family members have said the situation has deteriorated so badly that sailors have attempted to jump ship.

When asked about whether families are worried, Trump told reporters Friday, “No, they’re not.”

“That ship is moving right now, or very shortly, and it’s being replaced with another very similar ship,” Trump added. Asked whether the deployments had gone on too long, Trump said “not nearly long enough.”

—Bloomberg News

Anti-Muslim activist Jake Lang expects trouble during visit to Dearborn, Michigan. Don't engage, police say

DEARBORN, Mich. — Self-described anti-Islamic activist Jake Lang said he expects trouble when he and his supporters come to Dearborn next week for a planned rally and pig roast — a dig at Muslims, whose religion eschews eating pork.

"Does the sun rise in the east?" Lang said during a telephone interview with The Detroit News when asked if he expects violence at the planned 6 p.m. rally Tuesday outside City Hall before the 7 p.m. City Council meeting, where Lang plans to speak.

"The Muslims are going to freak out on us," said Lang, 31, a former U.S. Senate candidate from Florida, and participant in the 2021 Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol attack, for which he served four years in prison before being pardoned by President Donald Trump.

"They attacked me (during an Aug. 2 religious celebration in Dearborn, an incident that resulted in three arrests), and I expect them to do it again (Tuesday)."

—The Detroit News

Connecticut school district adopts new approach to learning: Heavy on play, less time facing screens

A Connecticut school district is shifting to a new approach to learning for young students that looks similar to what previous generations may remember.

Windsor Public Schools is bringing to its kindergarten through second-grade classrooms a new curriculum that’s heavy on play, light on screens and, according to Windsor Superintendent Noha Abdel-Hady, is rooted in research.

The curriculum, which the district calls Windsor Early Learning Model, is based on decades of “neuroscience, literacy science and child development research and reflective of practices used in high-performing education systems around the world,” a release from the district said.

Building a fictitious grocery store from blocks and cardboard, a small group of kindergarten students might solve problems with collaboration and negotiation, unprompted by teachers. Children might participate in an outdoor learning block before lunch or take turns feeding a class pet.

—Hartford Courant

Dozens of Houthis reportedly killed or wounded in government attacks

SANAA, Yemen — Fighting between Yemeni government forces and the Houthi militia has intensified across several fronts, with dozens of Houthi fighters killed or wounded, a Yemeni government official said on Friday.

The official told dpa that government forces launched a major offensive along Yemen's western coast, using heavy artillery and drones against Houthi positions.

The operation followed Houthi attacks involving drones and ballistic missiles targeting areas between the districts of Khokha and Mocha in western Yemen.

Government forces also targeted Houthi reinforcements and supply routes heading towards front lines in Taiz province, using artillery and drones, the official said.

—dpa