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NOGALES, Ariz. (AP) — Attorney General Jeff Sessions toured the U.S.-Mexico border Tuesday and unveiled what he described as a new get-tough approach to immigration prosecutions under President Donald Trump.

The nation’s top law enforcement official outlined a series of changes that he said mark the start of a new era to rid American cities and the border of what he described as “filth” brought on by drug cartels and criminal organizations.   Continue reading “During border visit, Sessions outlines immigration plan”

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BEIRUT (AP) — Turkey’s health minister said Tuesday that test results confirm sarin gas was used in an attack on a northern Syrian town earlier this month and the Russian military said the Syrian government is willing to let international experts examine its military base for signs of chemical weapons.

Col. Gen. Sergei Rudskoy of the Russian General Staff said in televised remarks that Russia will provide security for international inspectors seeking to examine Syrian bases, and that Damascus has agreed to allow the inspections. His comments came shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow will appeal to the United Nations to investigate the attack on Khan Sheikhoun.   Continue reading “Turkey: Autopsies show sarin gas used against Syrian town”

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JANESVILLE, Wis. (AP) — The estranged stepfather of a Wisconsin man suspected of stealing guns and threatening attacks in an anti-government manifesto sent to the White House on Tuesday urged the fugitive to surrender.

Don McLean said his stepson, Joseph Jakubowski, has never had a good relationship with police and that he and his wife are concerned for his safety. “We just want him to give up. There’s no good ending to this except him giving up,” McLean, 54, told The Associated Press during an interview Tuesday in which he repeatedly pleaded for his stepson to surrender.   Continue reading “Stepfather of suspect in Wisconsin manhunt: Surrender”

RT

Three corrections officers were injured and one was held hostage by inmates at Turney Center Industrial Complex, a medium-security prison in Only, Tennessee. The situation was resolved after about three hours, and the prison was put on lockdown.

Initial reports indicated that about 20 inmates injured two correction officers and took a third hostage around 4pm local time on Sunday. The Tennessee Department of Corrections (TDOC) sent in a Special Operations Unit that rescued the hostage and re-established control of the facility by 7pm.   Continue reading “3 guards injured in Tennessee prison riot”

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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A judge who will consider Arkansas’ unprecedented plan to execute seven inmates over 11 days before its supply of an execution drug expires has had a hand in key decisions on several social issues in the state.

Judge Kristine Baker, who was appointed to U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas by President Barack Obama, ruled in 2014 that Arkansas’ gay marriage ban was unconstitutional. A year later, she blocked an Arkansas law that would have restricted the use of abortion pills.   Continue reading “Judge to consider Arkansas’ plan to execute 7 in 11 days”

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Toyota said Monday it is investing $1.33 billion to retool its sprawling factory in Georgetown, Kentucky, where the company’s flagship Camry sedans are built. No new factory jobs are being added, but Toyota says the upgrades amount to the biggest single investment ever at one of its existing plants in the United States. The retooling also will sustain the existing 8,200 jobs at Toyota’s largest plant, where about one-fourth of all Toyota vehicles produced in North America are made, the automaker said.   Continue reading “Toyota announces $1.33 billion investment in Kentucky plant”

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MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The Latest on impeachment hearings for Gov. Robert Bentley (all times local): 11:25 a.m. The top lawyer in an impeachment investigation says Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley did not cooperate with the probe.

Special counsel Jack Sharman said Monday there was a question of the governor’s “candor.” Bentley is accused of misusing state resources to keep an alleged affair with a staffer from being exposed. Sharman says the governor’s office turned over only innocuous text messages between him and former political adviser Rebekah Caldwell Mason. Sharman says the governor’s former wife turned over others. In those texts, Bentley repeatedly told Mason how much he loved and wanted her.   Continue reading “The Latest on impeachment hearings for Gov. Robert Bentley”

RT

Iraq has plans to boost its crude oil production by 600,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 5 million bpd by the end of this year, regardless of its participation in OPEC’s production cut deal.

Iraq is the cartel’s second-biggest exporter of crude and has been the most disinclined of all parties to the agreement since its inception, with a lot of observers expecting it to be the first one to cheat.   Continue reading “OPEC’s №2 producer goes rogue, plans 600,000 bpd oil output increase”

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BALTIMORE (AP) — A proposed plan to overhaul Baltimore’s troubled police force faces public scrutiny Thursday despite the Department of Justice’s efforts to delay the hearing. A judge on Wednesday denied an attempt to delay the public airing, calling the request by President Donald Trump’s administration a “burden and inconvenience.”

The Justice Department asked for the delay earlier this week, saying it needed time to review the plan and determine whether the proposal would hinder efforts to fight violent crime. U.S. District Judge James Bredar said the hearing would go on as scheduled Thursday.   Continue reading “Plan to overhaul Baltimore’s police goes before the public”

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MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Somalia’s new president on Thursday declared the country a war zone and replaced its military and intelligence chiefs while instructing the army to prepare a new offensive against al-Shabab extremists.

The shakeup is an attempt to improve the worsening security situation as the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab steps up deadly bombings in the capital since President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed was elected in February. A car bomb blast on Wednesday at a Mogadishu restaurant killed at least seven people.  Continue reading “Somalia leader declares country a war zone, replaces chiefs”

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MILFORD, Pa. (AP) — The trial of an anti-government sharpshooter charged with killing a Pennsylvania police trooper in a 2014 ambush at their barracks is set to resume hours after the suspect was taken to the hospital.

Pike County District Attorney Ray Tonkin tweeted that Eric Frein’s trial is expected to resume at 1:30 p.m. Thursday. Defense attorney Michael Weinstein says Frein was taken to the hospital around 8 a.m.   Continue reading “Trial to resume in barracks ambush trial after suspect falls”

RT

At least 31 people were killed and 40 wounded in overnight attacks carried out by Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) in the city of Tikrit, central Iraq, Reuters reported, citing Iraqi security sources and medics.

The attackers were wearing police uniforms and used a police vehicle to enter the city, Police Colonel Khalid Mahmoud told Reuters, adding that there were around 10 militants, including two suicide bombers.   Continue reading “At least 31 killed, 40 wounded in ISIS attack in Tikrit, Iraq – police & medics”

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BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Government inspections of railroads that haul volatile crude oil across the United States have uncovered almost 24,000 safety defects, including problems similar to those blamed in derailments that triggered massive fires or oil spills in Oregon, Virginia, Montana and elsewhere, according to data obtained by The Associated Press.

The safety defects were discovered during targeted federal inspections on almost 58,000 miles of oil train routes in 44 states. The inspection program began two years ago following a string of oil train accidents across North America, including a 2013 derailment in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, that killed 47 people.   Continue reading “Thousands of defects found on oil train routes”

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SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The missile in North Korea’s latest launch didn’t fly very far, but it may have been the second test of a technology that worries experts. The launch Wednesday into waters off North Korea’s east coast came shortly before U.S. President Donald Trump’s first meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping later this week, raising speculation that it might have been timed to get their attention.

Initial U.S. and South Korean assessments indicate it was a KN-15 medium-range missile, whose first known test by North Korea was in February. The KN-15, known as “Pukguksong-2” in North Korea, uses pre-loaded solid fuel, which shortens launch preparation times, boosts its mobility and makes it harder for outsiders to detect ahead of liftoff. Most North Korean missiles use liquid propellant, which generally must be added to the missile on the launch pad before firing.   Continue reading “North Korea may have tested new technology in latest missile”

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MCALLEN, Texas (AP) — Just five people were eating dinner on a recent weeknight at a Texas church that is a stopping point for newly arrived immigrants on the U.S.-Mexico border. On a typical night last year, hundreds of immigrants might come through the church.

Immigrants who are still coming say many people in their home countries are staying home amid fears about President Donald Trump’s immigration rhetoric, putting off coming to the U.S. until they see how his policies play out.   Continue reading “Border turns quiet under Trump amid steep drop in arrests”

RT

A group of EpiPen purchasers have hit drug maker Mylan with a class-action lawsuit, claiming the company engaged in illegal price fixing to inflate the price of its allergy treatment over a decade by 574 percent.

According to the complaint filed in Washington state on Monday, Mylan acquired the rights to market and distribute EpiPen in 2007, and increased the list price 17 times, from $90.28 to $608.62, causing some patients to resort to carrying expired EpiPens, or to use syringes to manually inject epinephrine.   Continue reading “Maker of EpiPen hit with fraud & racketeering lawsuit over price-gouging”

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NEW YORK (AP) — Guards at the troubled Rikers Island jail complex, one of the biggest correctional facilities in the world, continue to use excessive force like “head strikes, wall slams and violent takedowns” at an alarming rate, according to a report released Monday by a federal monitor.

The report claims inmates have been unnecessarily struck in the head and kicked while restrained in handcuffs, subjected to chokeholds, pepper-sprayed and slammed against walls, causing injuries, “only to be followed by delays in providing needed medical attention.”   Continue reading “Report: Excessive force continues at massive jail complex”

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BEIRUT (AP) — A suspected chemical attack in a town in Syria’s rebel-held northern Idlib province killed dozens of people on Tuesday, opposition activists said, describing the attack as among the worst in the country’s six-year civil war.

Hours later, a small field hospital in the region was struck and destroyed, according to a civil defense worker in the area. There was no information if anyone was killed in that attack. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group put the death toll from the gas attack at 58, saying there were 11 children among the dead. Meanwhile, the Idlib Media Center said dozens of people had been killed.   Continue reading “Suspected Syria gas attack kills dozens, including children”

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SAN DIEGO (AP) — One potential bidder on President Donald Trump’s border wall with Mexico wanted to know if authorities would rush to help if workers came under “hostile attack.” Another asked if employees can carry firearms in states with strict gun control laws and if the government would indemnify them for using deadly force.

With bids due Tuesday on the first design contracts, interested companies are preparing for the worst if they get the potentially lucrative job. A U.S. official with knowledge of the plans who spoke on condition of anonymity because the details haven’t been made public said four to 10 bidders are expected to be chosen to build prototypes.   Continue reading “Border wall contractors brace for hostile environment”

RT

The three major US Internet Service Providers (ISPs) Comcast Corp, Verizon Communications Inc, and AT&T Inc have pledged to protect the private data of US citizens in solidarity against the latest internet bill passed by Congress.

“We do not sell our broadband customers’ individual web browsing history. We did not do it before the FCC’s rules were adopted, and we have no plans to do so,” said Gerard Lewis, Comcast’s chief privacy officer, as cited by Reuters.   Continue reading “US internet providers pledge to not sell customer data after controversial rule change”