Author: Sunfire

Mail.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday stepped up the pressure on reluctant Republicans to erase much of Barack Obama’s health care law, tweeting, “They MUST keep their promise to America” and vowing the measure would improve at his White House lunch with senators.

In a last-ditch effort to revive the bill, Trump invited all 52 Republicans to the White House, a day after the GOP’s seven-year quest crashed and burned in a humiliating defeat for the president, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the GOP.   Continue reading “Trump tweets health bill ‘will get even better’ at lunch”

Mail.com

MIAMI (AP) — A 10-year-old boy from a drug-ridden Miami neighborhood apparently died of a fentanyl overdose last month, becoming one of Florida’s littlest victims of the opioid crisis, authorities say. But how he came into contact with the powerful painkiller is a mystery.

Fifth-grader Alton Banks died June 23 after a visit to the pool in the city’s Overtown section. He began vomiting at home, was found unconscious that evening and was pronounced dead at a hospital. Preliminary toxicology tests showed he had fentanyl in his system, authorities said.   Continue reading “Miami boy’s death shows powerful opioid’s chilling potential”

Mail.com

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The partner of a Minneapolis police officer who shot and killed an Australian woman who had called 911 told investigators he was startled by a loud sound near their squad car seconds before his partner fired his weapon.

Officer Matthew Harrity’s account, as given by state investigators, is the first to emerge of the moments leading up to the death of Justine Damond, a 40-year-old meditation teacher and life coach who was due to be married in August. It’s also the only one, since Officer Mohamed Noor — who fired the shot that killed Damond — has so far refused to be interviewed.   Continue reading “Officer: Partner fired fatal shot moments after loud sound”

RT

While many American parents think ‘smart toys’ are a great idea, the FBI has issued an unprecedented warning that internet-enabled items may pose a privacy and safety risk for children by harvesting personal information.

Smart toys and entertainment devices for children typically contain sensors, microphones, cameras, data storage chips and multimedia capabilities such as speech recognition or global positioning (GPS).   Continue reading “They see you: FBI warns about dangers of internet-connected toys”

Mail.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration slapped 18 Iranian individuals and groups with sanctions Tuesday for aiding the country’s non-nuclear weapons programs, in a bid to show that President Donald Trump is staying tough on Iran despite his moves to let the nuclear deal stay in place for now.

The latest attempt to clamp down on Iran’s military financing ranged from an Iranian-based company that aided the country’s drone program to a Turkey-based provider of naval equipment and a China-based network that helped secure electronics for Tehran. The sanctions freeze any assets in the U.S. and prevent Americans from doing business with them.   Continue reading “US sanctions more Iranians, but nuclear deal stands for now”

Mail.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump blasted congressional Democrats and “a few Republicans” Tuesday over the collapse of the GOP effort to rewrite the Obama health care law. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell proposed a vote on a backup plan simply repealing the statute, but that idea was on the brink of rejection, too.

Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia said they opposed McConnell’s Plan B. If a third GOP senator opposes it — and several are expected to — it would be defeated, and that might send a message to conservative Republicans that it is time to abandon efforts to tear down Obama’s law.  Continue reading “Trump blasts Congress over failure of GOP health care bill”

Mail.com

CHICAGO (AP) — Former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert was released from prison in Minnesota and transferred to a Chicago re-entry facility, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Hastert was sentenced to 15 months in prison in April 2016 in a banking violations case that revealed accusations he had sexually abused teenagers while coaching wrestling at a suburban Chicago high school.

The Bureau of Prisons said in an email that Hastert left the Minnesota prison on Monday and is now “under the jurisdiction” of a Chicago residential re-entry management office. It’s unclear whether Hastert was staying at a halfway house or whether he could be transferred to home confinement. Hastert’s release date is listed as Aug. 16.  Continue reading “Dennis Hastert released from prison in Minnesota”

Mail.com

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghanistan’s protracted war killed a record number of civilians during the first six months of this year, according to a U.N. report released Monday, which blamed the majority of the deaths on bombings by insurgents.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said the “horrifying” figure of 1,662 people killed between January and June of this year “can never fully convey the sheer human suffering of the people of Afghanistan.”  Continue reading “UN reports rise in Afghan war deaths, blames insurgents”

Mail.com

BUTTE, Mont. (AP) — For all the uncertainty over the fate of a health care overhaul in Washington, tens of thousands of Montana’s working poor are already in a double quandary: Even if Congress leaves Medicaid expansion mostly intact, the future of the state’s program remains uncertain.

Gov. Steve Bullock, who counts Medicaid expansion as a key achievement in his first term, has less than two years to justify its continuation. The program is scheduled to end in 2019 if state lawmakers decline to renew it during the legislative session that starts in January of that year.   Continue reading “Montana faces double quandary over Medicaid expansion”

Mail.com

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — A Jordanian soldier was sentenced Monday to life in prison after being convicted of killing three U.S. military trainers last year, but some said questions lingered about his motive for the shooting at a Jordanian air base.

Jordan has ruled out terrorism in the November shooting in which the convoy of the U.S. Army Green Berets came under fire at the base entrance. The defendant has said he felt no animosity toward Americans and opened fire because he believed the base was coming under attack.   Continue reading “Jordanian soldier gets life term for killing 3 US troops”

RT

A court in Moscow has sentenced five Chechen men found guilty of killing prominent Russian politician Boris Nemtsov in early 2015 to 11 to 20 years in prison.

“Zaur Dadaev was given a 20-year jail sentence and a fine of 100,000 rubles, Anzor Gubashev’s sentence is 19 years in prison and a 100,000-ruble fine, Shadid Gubashev is to serve 16 years behind bars and pay a 100,000-ruble fine, Temirlan Eskerkhanov received a 14-year jail term and a 100,000-ruble fine, and Khamzat Bakhaev was issued an 11-year sentence and a 100,000-ruble fine,” reads the verdict.   Continue reading “Nemtsov killer sentenced to 20yrs behind bars, accomplices to 11-19yrs”

RT

Germany’s military is launching a new “aviation cyber expertise” as an urgent measure in response to a government-funded research revealing that hackers would be able to seize command of a military aircraft with equipment worth just a few thousand dollars.

The new initiative, propelled by the head of the German Military Aviation Authority, Major General Ansgar Rieks, will see military aircraft fitted with protective systems to avert potential cyber-attacks. Besides that, the government will invest in technical research and raise awareness over the threat to the aviation security stemming from hacking operations, according to Germany’s Defense Ministry spokesman, cited by Reuters.   Continue reading “Berlin to boost aviation safety amid fears hackers can hijack warplanes”

Mail.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — A long-time Republican lawmaker said Tuesday he is “very pessimistic” that his party will push a health care bill through the Senate, even as a colleague warned leaders about retaliation by conservative voters should they react to a collapse of the measure by striking a deal with Democrats.

The downbeat assessments came with Republican leaders aiming toward a climactic Senate vote next week on their wounded legislation erasing much of President Barack Obama’s health care law. The comments highlighted the divisions that top Republicans must heal to have a shot of pushing a bill through the chamber embodying one of the GOP’s top priorities.   Continue reading “Longtime GOP senator pessimistic about health bill prospects”

RT

Chinese troops have been deployed to the country’s first overseas military base, in Djibouti on the Horn of Africa. Beijing says the base will be used for logistical purposes, such as resupplying ships taking part in peacekeeping and humanitarian missions.

Ships carrying personnel from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) were dispatched to set up the base in Djibouti on Tuesday, state news agency Xinhua reported, declining to mention the number of troops that were deployed.   Continue reading “China sends ships, troops to 1st overseas military base in Horn of Africa”

Mail.com

ITTA BENA, Miss. (AP) — The Latest on the deadly military plane crash in Mississippi (all times local): 10:40 a.m. A Marine spokesman says a Navy corpsman and 15 Marines were killed in when a military plane crashed in rural Mississippi as it was headed from North Carolina to California.

Marine Corps Maj. Andrew Aranda says Tuesday that the flight of the KC-130T originated Monday from Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina. The plane was taking people and equipment to Naval Air Field El Centro, California, when it crashed Monday afternoon in a soybean field near Itta Bena, Mississippi.   Continue reading “The Latest: 15 Marines, 1 Navy corpsman killed in crash”

Mail.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s top law enforcement agency will continue operating out of its deteriorating downtown Washington headquarters for the foreseeable future after the federal government announced Tuesday it had scrapped a decade-long plan to look for a new building in Maryland or Virginia.

The General Services Administration, which oversees federal office space, said it does not have enough money to move forward on a new location. The Obama administration had sought $1.4 billion for the project, but Congress left it underfunded by about $882 million.  Continue reading “Government scraps search for new FBI headquarters”

Mail.com

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A busload of police cadets was brought in Tuesday to help search a large farm for four missing men believed to be victims of foul play as a prosecutor described a man held on an unrelated gun charge as a person of interest in the investigation.

Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub said bail was set at a $1 million Monday for Cosmo DiNardo, whose family owns the farmland and another property that was searched, because he was considered a flight risk. But Weintraub did not call him a suspect, and cautioned there is often a “chasm” between being called a “person of interest” in an investigation and being charged with a crime.   Continue reading “Jailed man called ‘flight risk’ as 4 missing men sought”

RT

OPEC and non-OPEC producers could extend and increase production cuts to prop up crude prices, according to Russian Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak.

“If necessary, we can extend the agreement. If necessary, we can increase the amounts that need to be reduced, or on the contrary, we can move to reduce them,” Novak told CNBC on the sidelines of the World Petroleum Congress in Istanbul.   Continue reading “Oil production cuts can go longer & deeper – Russian energy minister”