2 Teens, 1 Pre-Teen Killed in Maine After Unlicensed Driver Crashes: Police

Afghanistan Reconstruction Programs Suffered More Than 5,000 Casualties in 16 Years

More than 5,100 casualties were inflicted among the Americans, Afghans, and allies working on U.S.-funded reconstructions programs in Afghanistan, according to the first-ever official count. “For years, SIGAR has spent considerable effort to track the financial costs of reconstruction and stabilization activities in Afghanistan,” Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) John Sopko told Department of Defense officials in a report made public Tuesday. “However, little effort has been made up to track the human costs—the number of people killed, wounded, or kidnapped—to accomplish these activities. This has left policy makers with an incomplete picture of the true cost of our efforts in Afghanistan,” Sopko said. The U.S. military entered Afghanistan in 2001 after it was learned the radical Islamic Taliban government that then controlled the country had given sanctuary…

Two teens and a pre-teen died after their vehicle skidded off an icy road in Maine and hit a tree over the weekend, according to police.

Two others in the vehicle, including the driver, survived the accident, said Maine State Police in a news release.

The victims have been identified as Thomas Porfirio, 15; Emily Baker, 14; and her 12-year-old younger sister Ashland. They were found dead inside the vehicle when first responders arrived on the scene, the release said. A GoFundMe page for the sisters says the younger girl’s name is Ashlin.

The driver was identified as a 16-year-old boy who didn’t have a license, said authorities.

Officials said the cause of the crash was “likely to be driver inexperience and speed.” Their 2007 Toyota Corolla hit an icy patch in the road and went into an “uncontrolled skid” before crashing into a tree, said police.

Police have not said whether the driver will face any charges related to the case. The driver’s name is being withheld as investigators and the local district attorney’s office review the crash, according to state police.

The crash was reported after 7 a.m. by another driver on Hinckley Road in Clinton, Maine, the news release said.

GoFundMe pages were set up for the three victims. “No parent should ever weigh this burden on their shoulders,” said a page for Porfirio. The mother of the two sisters “became a single mother to two daughters and one son a lil over a year ago when her husband passed away,” the other page read.

“A small town like this. I was curious as to who was involved. And it’s just sad. Very sad,” local man Jay Gould told local media.

Officials didn’t offer any more details about the incident.

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‘I’d Like It to Start Over’: Justice Ginsburg Says Deadline for Equal Rights Amendment Has Passed

As states try to force the United States to adopt the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has weighed in again on the issue, reiterating her position that she thinks the ratification process needs to “start over.” “I would like to see a new beginning. I’d like it to start over,” Ginsburg, who has been a strong advocate for the ERA, said during a talk at Georgetown Law on Monday. “There’s too much controversy about latecomers. Virginia [came] long after the deadline passed. Plus a number of states have withdrawn their ratification. So if you count a latecomer on the plus side, how can you disregard states that said we’ve changed our minds,” she added. The ERA seeks to ban discrimination on the basis of sex, with…