News In Brief

Sarah Willson, Staff Writer

 CT Aims To Assist College-Bound Students:

Connecticut is working to make college more affordable for low-income families by accepting a seven-year, $25.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education, according to the Associated Press.

The grant will allow three community colleges to collaborate with local school districts to educate students about higher education. Services such as tutoring, mentoring, financial education and scholarships will be available for college-bound students.

Connecticut received a similar seven-year federal grant in 2012.

Democrats Plan First Formal Impeachment Vote: 

The House of Representatives said that it will hold its first formal vote on Thursday regarding President Donald Trump’s impeachment inquiry.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi described the vote as “[setting] forth due process rights for the President and his Counsel.”

If the House votes to pass articles of impeachment, the Senate is required to hold a trial. A 2/3 majority vote to impeach the president is needed, but is unlikely to happen in the Republican-controlled Senate.

Leader Of ISIS Dead, US Says:

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, known for his brutal dictatorship as head of the Islamic State — which at one point controlled large swaths of Syria and Iraq — is dead at 48.

Trump announced his death Sunday morning and said al-Baghdadi detonated himself using a suicide vest after being chased down a tunnel by US forces. Three children, who Trump said were dragged through the tunnel by al-Baghdadi, died in the blast.

Trump said al-Baghdadi “died like a dog [and] died like a coward,” and that preliminary tests confirmed al-Baghdadi’s death.

ISIS, which Trump claims is “100 percent defeated,” drew tends of thousands of recruiters from roughly 100 countries and became one of the world’s largest terrorist organizations.