Author: Sunfire

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LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — In the whitest U.S. state, thousands of miles from the Mexican border, the debate over immigration is becoming a central issue in one of the nation’s most closely watched governor’s races.

With its close-knit communities and a practice of labeling non-natives as “from away,” Mainers have a reputation for being insular. But they have also embraced the need for immigrants as the state’s population ages and declines.   Continue reading “Immigration debate roils politics in … Maine?”

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GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel on Tuesday unleashed its heaviest bombardment in a 3-week-old war against Hamas, striking symbols of the militant group’s control in Gaza and firing tank shells that Palestinian officials said shut down the strip’s only power plant.

Thick black smoke from the plant’s burning fuel tank rose for hours. The station’s shutdown further disrupted the supply of electricity and water to the 1.7 million people packed into the narrow Palestinian coastal territory.   Continue reading “Israel hits symbols of Hamas rule; scores killed”

RT

Israel has confirmed that it unintentionally hit a UN school in Gaza last week, but denies reports that anyone was killed in the incident, claiming the courtyard area was empty when the strike took place. Palestinian officials say 16 people were killed.

Around 200 others were injured, according to Palestinian officials, as three Israeli tank shells hit the Ashraf al-Qidra school in the town of Beit Hanoun last Thursday. Women, children, and UN staff were reportedly among those killed during the shelling.   Continue reading “Israel confirms mortar strike on UN school in Gaza, denies casualties”

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Those searching for the truth about what happened in the shoot-down of the Malaysia airliner over Ukraine can take little comfort from the history of another passenger jet that was blasted out of the sky over the Soviet Union more than three decades ago: The Kremlin at the time dodged, weaved and obfuscated. Today, we still don’t know what exactly happened to Korean Airlines Flight 007.

I was The Associated Press’ Moscow bureau chief when a Soviet Sukhoi-15 fighter downed KAL 007 on Sept. 1, 1983. The passenger plane was about to leave Soviet airspace after more than two hours of flying off-course above super-secret military installations along the Pacific coast. Pilots on the New York to Seoul flight via Anchorage, Alaska, had apparently put wrong navigation points into the on-flight computer. All 269 people on board were killed.   Continue reading “Reporter recalls Soviet evasion in ’83 jet downing”

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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A Salt Lake City attorney is arguing in a lawsuit that the FBI has video of the Oklahoma City bombing that shows a second person was involved.

The case is at the heart of Jesse Trentadue’s quest to explain his brother’s mysterious jail cell death 19 years ago, which has rekindled long-dormant questions about whether others were involved in the deadly 1995 blast.   Continue reading “Trial opening over video of Oklahoma City bombing”

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WASHINGTON (AP) — After more than six weeks of sometimes testy talks, House and Senate negotiators have agreed on a compromise plan to fix a veterans health program scandalized by long patient wait times and falsified records covering up delays.

The chairmen of the House and Senate Veterans Affairs committees have scheduled a news conference Monday afternoon to unveil a plan expected to authorize billions in emergency spending to lease 27 new clinics, hire more doctors and nurses and make it easier for veterans who can’t get prompt appointments with VA doctors to obtain outside care.   Continue reading “After 6 weeks, finally a deal on VA health care”

RT

A 6 year-old boy from Florida born with right arm deficiency has received a prosthetic replacement. Now climbing a tree and catching a ball will be easier for him. Students from Florida University made it on a 3D printer for just $350 in just 8 weeks.

Help for little Alex Pring, missing his right arm from just above the elbow, came from students at the University of Central Florida. An engineering doctoral student, Albert Manero, heard about the boy’s needs and decided to recruit a team of students to create a solution for the boy.   Continue reading “​‘I can now climb trees’: 6yo kid gets prosthetic arm from 3D printer”

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NEW YORK (AP) — The widow of a New York City man who died this month in a videotaped confrontation with New York City police demanded justice on Saturday, saying the victim wasn’t asking for trouble.

Eric Garner “was not a violent man — not in any way, shape or form,” said his widow, Esaw Garner, in what were described as her first public remarks about the death. “He was a quiet man, but he’s making a lot of noise now.”

She described getting a text from her 43-year-old husband a half hour before he died July 17 that read: “I’m good.” The widow and other members of Garner’s family spoke at the Harlem headquarters of the Rev. Al Sharpton. On Friday, Sharpton and the family met with federal prosecutors to ask them to bring a civil rights case against the New York Police Department officers who stopped Garner on Staten Island on suspicion of selling untaxed cigarettes.   Continue reading “Widow: Man who died in NYPD custody wasn’t violent”

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RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, his reputation already tarnished and his political future destroyed by a gifts-for-favors scandal, faces the possibility of an even greater loss when his trial on federal corruption charges begins Monday.

The onetime rising Republican star and his wife, Maureen, could be sentenced to decades in prison if convicted of the charges in a 14-count indictment issued by a grand jury 10 days after McDonnell left office in January. They are accused of accepting more than $165,000 in gifts and loans from Jonnie Williams, the founder of a dietary supplements company, in exchange for helping to promote his products.   Continue reading “Gifts-for-favors trial set for ex-governor, wife”

RT

The US embassy in Libya has shut down and all diplomatic staff have been evacuated to neighboring Tunisia by military escort because of ongoing clashes and violence between rival militias sweeping the country.

Some 150 personnel including 80 Marines were moved across the border “due to the ongoing violence”, State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf tweeted.   Continue reading “US shuts embassy in Libya’s Tripoli, evacuates staff amidst clashes”

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BEIT HANOUN, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hamas resumed rocket fire Saturday on Israel after rejecting Israel’s offer to extend a humanitarian cease-fire, the latest setback in international efforts to negotiate an end to the Gaza war.

Despite the Hamas rejection, Israel’s Cabinet decided to extend a truce for 24 hours, until midnight (2100 GMT) Sunday. However, it warned that its military would respond to any fire from Gaza and would continue to demolish Hamas military tunnels during this period.

A temporary lull on Saturday saw Palestinians return to neighborhoods reduced to rubble and allowed medics to collect close to 150 bodies, Palestinian health official Ashraf al-Kidra. With the retrieval of the corpses, the number of Palestinians killed reached 1,047 in 19 days of fighting, while more than 6,000 were wounded, he said.   Continue reading “Israel Says it’s Extending Gaza Truce for 24 Hours”

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PARIS (AP) — French soldiers recovered a black box from the Air Algerie wreckage site in a desolate region of restive northern Mali on Friday, officials said. Terrorism hasn’t been ruled out as a cause, although officials say the most likely reason for the catastrophe that killed all 118 people onboard is bad weather.

More than 200 troops are guarding the site before French accident and criminal investigators arrive Saturday, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said. The debris field is in a concentrated area in the Gossi region of the northwestern African country near the border with Burkina Faso “in a zone of savannah and sand with very difficult access, especially in this rainy season,” Fabius said at a news conference in Paris with the defense and transport ministers.   Continue reading “Black box found at Air Algerie wreckage site”

RT

A particularly violent July in Chicago – following years of staggeringly-high numbers of homicides in the city – has drawn attention to Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s re-election campaign, raising questions about his chances of surviving a challenge in 2015.

Polls out this month show “Rahmbo,” the famously audacious former congressman and chief of staff for President Obama, significantly lagging behind potential challengers to his seat in November 2015.   Continue reading “Chicago gun violence may cost ‘Rahmbo’ his job”

RT

US nuclear plants must be better prepared in case of emergencies, especially those connected with natural disasters, says a new nuclear report, adding that such a nuclear tragedy as the Fukushima disaster should be a lesson for the country’s plants.

The nuclear industry in the US “should access their preparedness for severe nuclear accidents associated with offsite-scale disasters,”says the new report dubbed “Lessons Learned from the Fukushima Nuclear Accident for Improving Safety of US Nuclear Plants.”   Continue reading “Fukushima lessons: US nuclear plants ‘must be better equipped for offsite disasters’”

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XIXI, Taiwan (AP) — The 10 survivors of Taiwan’s worst air disaster in more than a decade include a 34-year-old woman who called her father after scrambling from the wreckage and seeking help at a nearby home.

Hung Yu-ting escaped through a hole in the fuselage that opened up after the plane plowed into homes Wednesday while attempting to land on the outlying resort island of Penghu, killing 48 people. She used the phone at the nearby house to call her father.   Continue reading “Taiwan plane survivor crawls out, phones dad”

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LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Police planned Friday to give prosecutors the results of their investigation into an 80-year-old man’s fatal shooting of one of two burglars who attacked him when he found them ransacking his home.

Tom Greer, whose collarbone was broken in the assault, told a television station he fired even though the female burglar told him not to shoot because she was pregnant. The woman’s alleged accomplice was being held for investigation of murder and police said Thursday they had yet to decide whether to recommend any charges be brought against the octogenarian homeowner.   Continue reading “Man, 80, says he shot burglar after pregnancy plea”

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PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A mother and teenage daughter have died of injuries they suffered in a fiery explosion inside their food truck earlier this month, authorities said Thursday.

Jaylin Landaverry Galdamez, 17, died Tuesday and Olga Galdamez, 42, died Sunday, according to the medical examiner’s office. The mother owned the truck. Both died of burn-related injuries suffered from the July 1 explosion of the La Parrillada Chapina truck in the Feltonville neighborhood of north Philadelphia, said Jeff Moran, a spokesman for the office.   Continue reading “Mother, daughter die after Philly food truck blast”