NBC News

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed a waiver Thursday delaying the move of the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

“While President Donald J. Trump signed the waiver under the Jerusalem Embassy Act and delayed moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, no one should consider this step to be in any way a retreat from the President’s strong support for Israel and for the United States-Israel alliance,” the White House said in a statement.   Continue reading “Trump Signs Waiver to Keep Embassy in Tel Aviv”

Houston Chronicle – by James Osborne

WASHINGTON – The United States’ future as a leader in international efforts to slow climate change teetered on the edge Wednesday, as reports emerged from the White House that President Donald Trump was preparing to announce he would withdraw the country from the Paris accord.

The development fanned a debate within the U.S. oil and gas industry over whether the country was unwisely sacrificing its leadership role on a global pact that threatens to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels for decades to come in favor of less carbon-intensive forms of energy. The debate has largely pitted major oil companies that do business around the world against smaller firms already struggling with low oil and gas prices and increased regulations – a split so sharp that the American Petroleum Institute, which represents a wide range of oil and gas companies, has not taken a position on the pact.   Continue reading “Small US oil firms at odds with oil majors over Paris climate deal”

Yahoo News

ST.PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — The Latest on President Vladimir Putin’s comments Thursday (all times local):

1:35 p.m.

President Vladimir Putin says that Russia’s military deployments on a group of Pacific islands also claimed by Japan have been caused by concerns about the U.S. military buildup in the region.   Continue reading “Putin: Military in Pacific is response to US”

Fox News

One person was killed, two people were unaccounted for and at least a dozen others were injured in a massive explosion at an ethanol plant in central Wisconsin Wednesday night, officials told FOX6.

Fire crews arrived at the Didion Milling plant after the blast occurred about 11 p.m., authorities told WKOW-TV. Three medevac flights also assisted at the scene.    Continue reading “Wisconsin plant explosion: 1 dead, at least a dozen injured”

Charlotte Observer – by Craig Jarvis

RALEIGH – It would be easier to legally carry concealed handguns under a gun-rights bill that began moving in the state House on Wednesday.

Concealed-carry permits would no longer be needed if the legislature passes House Bill 746. It’s already legal to wear a visible handgun, except where restricted. Concealed handguns would be treated similarly under the bill.
Continue reading “North Carolina: Concealed handgun permits would no longer be required”

Dallas Morning News – by Claire Z. Cardona, Eline de Bruijn, Julieta Chiquillo

Two bounty hunters and the fugitive they were looking for died in a shootout Tuesday evening at a Greenville auto dealership, officials say.

Officials identified the bounty hunters as Fidel Garcia Jr., 54, and Gabriel Bernal, 33. Minnesota fugitive Ramon Michael  Hutchinson, 49, was also killed.

The shootings occurred about 7:15 p.m. at Nissan of Greenville along Interstate 30 near Joe Ramsey Boulevard.
Continue reading “Bounty hunters scuffle with fugitive as fatal shots ring out at Greenville car dealership”

Yahoo News

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A judge called a New Hampshire man a “bully vigilante” and sentenced him Wednesday to more than seven years in prison for his role organizing armed backers of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy after a standoff with U.S. agents in 2014.

Gerald “Jerry” DeLemus became the first person sentenced for his ties to the confrontation that became a rallying cry for those who want vast stretches of federal land in the U.S. West put under local control. Eighteen others are in custody.   Continue reading “1st prison sentence given in Bundy armed standoff in Nevada”

Daily Nexus – by Maura Fox

Congressman Salud Carbajal of Santa Barbara introduced a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday that would encourage states to develop more comprehensive gun control laws.

Introduced on the anniversary of the tragedy of May 23, 2014, The Gun Violence Restraining Order Act would incentivize states to allow courts to issue temporary firearm restraining orders against those the court determines to be a threat to themselves and others.   Continue reading “Congressman Introduces Federal Gun Control Legislation”

VOA News

WASHINGTON —  Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said Tuesday that he would sign deals for U.S. goods and services worth $15 billion to $17 billion during his visit to Washington, mainly for high-technology products and for services.

“Vietnam will increase the import of high technologies and services from the United States, and on the occasion of this visit, many important deals will be made,” Phuc told a U.S. Chamber of Commerce dinner.   Continue reading “Vietnam to Sign Deals for Up to $17B in US Goods, Services”

Washington Post – by Derek Hawkins and Katie Mettler

A man with a fake gun was taken into custody at the Orlando International Airport Tuesday night following a nearly three-hour standoff with police in one of the main terminals, officials said.

Police said the suspect was attempting “suicide by cop,” trying to draw gunfire from authorities by threatening bystanders and the responding officers. No shots were fired, but panicked travelers ran for cover as the suspect brandished the fake weapon in the terminal’s rental car area, officials said.   Continue reading “Orlando airport terminal shut down for hours due to man with fake gun”

PoliZette – by Brendan Kirby

Maureen Erickson applied for and received a voter-registration card in Virginia despite listing her home address in Guatemala.

The home address in Guatemala apparently was not enough to sound alarms among elections officials in Prince William County, who let Erickson cast ballots in 14 different elections, according to records obtained by the Public Interest Legal Foundation. Officials finally removed Erickson’s name from the rolls for being a non-citizen in 2012.  Continue reading “Study: More Than 7,400 Illegal Votes Cast in Virginia Since 2011”

CBS News

LOS ANGELES —  Vandenberg Air Force Base in Central California is preparing to launch a missile designed to shoot down an incoming warhead.

CBS Los Angeles reports a Ground-based Interceptor, which is scheduled to be launched between noon and 4 p.m. Tuesday, is part of a missile defense test, according to the Air Force base.

The goal of the unprecedented launch is to simulate a North Korean ICBM aimed at the U.S. homeland, officials said last week.   Continue reading “U.S. Air Force base prepares unprecedented missile launch”

PerthNow – by Nick Evans

CHILD sex offenders will be banned from international travel as the Federal Government makes good on a promise to stop Australian paedophiles from terrorising children across the globe.

It is understood Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop and Justice Minister Michael Keenan will present plans to the coalition party room today to permanently bar Australia’s 20,000 registered child sex offenders from travelling overseas, with legislation likely to go before Parliament by June.   Continue reading “Australian paedophiles face international travel ban”

Texas Tribune – by Matthew Watkins, Alexa Ura, Julián Aguilar

The normally ceremonial last day of the legislative session briefly descended into chaos on Monday, as proceedings in the House were disrupted by large protests and at least one Republican lawmaker called immigration authorities on the protesters.

State Rep. Matt Rinaldi, R-Irving, said he called U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement while hundreds of people dressed in red T-shirts unfurled banners and chanted in opposition to the state’s new sanctuary cities law. His action enraged Hispanic legislators nearby, leading to a tussle in which each side accused the other of threats and violence.   Continue reading “Republican lawmaker: I called immigration authorities on Capitol protesters”

Washington Post – by Derek Hawkins

The mayor of Portland, Ore., is calling on federal authorities to cancel a pair of upcoming rallies organized by conservative groups, saying the city was still “in shock” after two men were fatally stabbed on a commuter train Friday while fending off a man shouting anti-Muslim slurs.

Mayor Ted Wheeler asked the federal government to revoke a permit authorizing a June 4 “Trump Free Speech Rally” in Portland’s downtown. He also called on the government to block a “March Against Sharia” that is scheduled for June 10 but has not received permits.  Continue reading “Portland mayor asks feds to bar free-speech and anti-sharia rallies after stabbings”

Reuters

Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, who spied for the United States before his drug trafficking and brutality triggered a U.S. invasion to oust him in 1989, has died aged 83.

President Juan Carlos Varela announced Noriega’s death on Twitter late on Monday, and said his passing marked the closing of a chapter in the Central American country’s history.  Continue reading “Panama dictator Noriega, ousted in U.S. invasion, dies at 83”

UPI – by Danielle Haynes

May 29 (UPI) — A volcano an Alaska’s Aleutian island chain erupted, sending a plume of ash at least 35,000 feet in the air and prompting a temporary aviation alert, state officials said.

The Alaska Volcano Observatory recorded a “significant explosive eruption” starting at 2:16 p.m. Sunday. Bogoslof Volcano, located on the island of the same name, may have sent ash up to 45,000 feet into the air.   Continue reading “Alaskan volcano erupts, sending ash 35,000 feet into air”

NOLA – by Chelsea Brasted

Baltimore could be the next city to remove Confederate monuments from public view, according to The Baltimore Sun.

Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh told the newspaper she’s looking into what it would take to remove the Confederate symbols, a move that was first considered by the city’s former mayor, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, who left office in 2016.    Continue reading “Baltimore considers Confederate monument removal ‘in the footsteps of New Orleans’: report”