Author: Sunfire

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ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — It took an act of Congress, but World War II pilot Elaine Harmon is finally being laid to rest on Wednesday at Arlington National Cemetery. Harmon died last year at age 95. She was one of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), a group of women who flew military aircraft on noncombat missions during World War II so that men were freed up for combat.

The women were not granted military status at the time they served, but received retroactive status as veterans in 1977. And for many years, WASPs were eligible to have their ashes inurned at Arlington.   Continue reading “Female WWII pilot will finally be laid to rest at Arlington”

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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — For nearly 27 years, one man knew where Jacob Wetterling was. Late last month, Danny Heinrich agreed to confess to killing the 11-year-old boy — setting in motion a flurry of difficult negotiations between defense attorneys, investigators and prosecutors that would put him behind bars for decades and finally unlock the secrets to a mystery that has long haunted the state of Minnesota.   Continue reading “Confession in boy’s death solves case that haunted Minnesota”

RT

As people across the US celebrated Labor Day, Chicago was rocked by multiple shootings which left at least 13 people dead and dozens injured over the long week-end. The Memorial day week-end this May saw 69 shootings with at least 6 of them fatal.

Monday evening saw the latest homicides when two men in their early twenties were fatally shot when a someone in a minivan opened fire at a group of people on sidewalk  in the Lawndale neighborhood on the West Side, according to Chicago Suntimes. Fifty two people were shot at during the week-end.   Continue reading “Labor Day violence: 13 dead, 50+ injured in wave of Chicago shootings”

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VIENTIANE, Laos (AP) — In the wake of another missile launch, President Barack Obama vowed Tuesday to work with the United Nations to tighten sanctions against North Korea, but added that the U.S. was still open to dialogue if the government changes course.

Obama signaled the U.S. would redouble its effort to choke off North Korea’s access to international currency and technology by tightening loopholes in the current sanctions regime. Obama called the series of ballistic missile launches “provocations” that flouted international law and would only lead to further isolation.   Continue reading “Obama vows to work to tighten sanctions on North Korea”

RT

A Fulton County grand jury has charged former Atlanta police officer James Burns with felony murder for the fatal shooting of Deravis Caine Rogers. He also faces charges for making a false statement, aggravated assault and violation of the oath of office.

On Wednesday, a grand jury decided that there was enough doubt about Burns’ claim of self-defense in the killing of Rogers, 22, to indict him on felony murder and aggravated assault charges. The Atlanta Police Department did not stand behind Burns, firing him less than two weeks after the shooting.   Continue reading “Fmr Atlanta police officer indicted for killing unarmed man”

RT

Clients of Germany’s biggest bank who have invested in the exchange-traded commodity Xetra-Gold are facing problems when they want to obtain physical gold, according to German analytic website Godmode-Trader.de.

Xetra-Gold is a bond on the Deutsche Börse commodities market, and Deutsche Bank is a designated sponsor. On the website, Xetra-Gold says its clients have the right for physical delivery of gold.   Continue reading “Deutsche Bank refuses clients’ demand for physical gold”

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EL CAJON, Calif. (AP) — Nadim Fawzi Jouriyeh took part in a ceremony Sunday in Amman, Jordan, to mark the United States taking in its goal of 10,000 Syrian refugees in a year-old resettlement program.

By Wednesday, the 47-year-old former construction worker and his family were walking grocery aisles, stocking up on roasted chicken, milk and lemons for their new home outside San Diego. It didn’t take long for Jouriyeh, his 42-year-old wife and four children, ages 8 to 14, to feel welcome.   Continue reading “10,000 Syrian refugees find new home in US”

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Georgetown University will give preference in admissions to the descendants of slaves owned by the Maryland Jesuits as part of its effort to atone for profiting from the sale of enslaved people, the president of the prominent Jesuit university in Washington announced Thursday.

The announcement from President John DeGioia came as Georgetown released a report calling on its leaders to offer a formal apology for the university’s participation in the slave trade. In 1838, two priests who served as president of the university orchestrated the sale of 272 men, women and children for $115,000, or roughly $3.3 million in today’s dollars, to pay off debts at the school. The slaves were sent from Jesuit plantations in Maryland to Louisiana, “where they labored under dreadful conditions,” and families were broken up, according to the report.   Continue reading “Georgetown to give slave descendants priority for admission”

RT

The killing of a top figure in the terrorist group Islamic State, Abu Muhammed al-Adnani, was the result of an airstrike conducted by a Russian Su-34 bomber, Russia’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday.

The death of al-Adnani, Islamic State’s spokesman and its leader in Syria, in a bombing in the Syrian province of Aleppo was earlier confirmed by the terrorist organization itself.   Continue reading “Russian airstrike killed senior ISIS leader Abu Muhammad al-Adnani – Moscow”

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SANTA CLARA, Cuba (AP) — The first commercial flight between the United States and Cuba in more than a half century landed in the central city of Santa Clara on Wednesday morning, re-establishing regular air service severed at the height of the Cold War.

Cheers broke out in the cabin of JetBlue flight 387 as the plane touched down. Passengers — mostly airline executives, U.S. government officials and journalists, with a sprinkling of Cuban-American families and U.S. travelers — were given gift bags with Cuban cookbooks, commemorative luggage tags and Cuban flags, which they were encouraged to wave for the TV cameras at the tarmac.   Continue reading “Historic commercial flight from US lands in Cuba”

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NORCO, Calif. (AP) — The Southern California city of Norco markets itself as “Horsetown USA,” and it’s not unusual for cowboy hat-wearing residents to head out for lunch or run errands on horseback in its Old West-styled downtown.

Local leaders celebrate that rural, equestrian lifestyle and are protective of it. Those who build must ensure their property includes Western architectural features such as a metal roof or overhang. But some Indian-Americans are questioning the sincerity of that standard after the City Council rejected a proposal for a hilltop Hindu cultural center on a hilltop partly on grounds that the large, domed building wouldn’t fit in. They think the decision — which came after residents urged the city to keep its culture and questioned why proponents chose the site — is discriminatory.   Continue reading “Indian-Americans clash with cowboy town over proposed center”

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PITTSBURGH (AP) — A woman who was kidnapped at gunpoint by her husband while he was under home confinement on charges he beat and abducted her two months earlier was found dead inside a barn, and he was hospitalized with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, state police said Wednesday.

Police found the couple Tuesday night after searching most of the day for them. Tierne Ewing, 48, was abducted from a home in West Finley Township by Kevin Ewing at about 12:30 a.m., authorities said, and the car they’d been in was found abandoned near a wooded area eight hours after that.   Continue reading “Police: Woman kidnapped by husband found dead, he’s wounded”

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NEW DELHI (AP) — The United States and India agreed Tuesday to boost counterterrorism cooperation by expanding intelligence sharing about known or suspected extremists and terrorist threats. Speaking after conclusion of the second U.S.-India strategic dialogue in New Delhi, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj said the two countries also renewed their commitment to track down and prosecute perpetrators of several terrorist attacks on Indian soil, including the 2008 strike in Mumbai that killed 172 people and a January 2016 attack on the Pathankot Air Force base. India has blamed Pakistan-linked groups for the attacks.   Continue reading “United States, India agree to boost anti-terror cooperation”

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SEATTLE (AP) — Seattle leaders have proposed new rules for retail and food-service businesses with hourly employees, including requiring them to schedule shifts two weeks in advance and compensate workers for some last-minute changes — the latest push by a city that has led the nation in mandating worker benefits.

Seattle was among the first to phase in a $15 hourly minimum wage, mandate sick leave for many companies and offer paid parental leave for city workers. Now, the mayor, city officials and labor-backed groups are targeting erratic schedules and fluctuating hours they say make it difficult for people to juggle child care, school or other jobs, to count on stable income or to plan for the future.   Continue reading “Seattle weighs new rules for businesses with hourly workers”

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TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran has deployed a Russian-made S-300 air defense system around its underground Fordo nuclear facility, state TV reported. Video footage posted late Sunday on state TV’s website showed trucks arriving at the site and missile launchers being aimed skyward. It did not say whether the system was fully operational.

Gen. Farzad Esmaili, Iran’s head of air defense, declined to comment on the report in an interview with another website affiliated with state news. “Maybe if you go to Fordo now, the system is not there,” he was quoted as saying Monday. He added that the S-300 is a mobile system that should be relocated often.   Continue reading “Iran deploys S-300 air defense around nuclear site”

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BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — A permanent cease-fire is taking effect in Colombia on Monday, the latest step in bringing an end to 52 years of bloody combat between the government and the country’s biggest rebel group.

The commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia announced Sunday that his fighters would cease hostilities beginning at 12:01 a.m. as a result of the peace accord the two sides reached at midweek.   Continue reading “Permanent cease-fire taking effect in Colombia under accord”

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Reports of a gunman opening fire that turned out to be false caused panicked evacuations at Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday night, while flights to and from the airport saw major delays.

A search through terminals brought no evidence of a gunman or shots fired, Los Angeles police spokesman Andy Neiman said. The reports were spurred by loud noises only, and police were still investigating to find the source of them, Neiman said.   Continue reading “False report of gunman at Los Angeles airport causes panic”

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ATLANTA (AP) — A judge sentenced a Georgia man to 40 years in prison Wednesday for throwing scalding water on a gay couple sleeping in an apartment, leaving them with severe burns that required surgery.

Jurors deliberated for about 90 minutes before finding Martin Blackwell, 48, guilty of eight counts of aggravated battery and two counts of aggravated assault in the February attack on Anthony Gooden and Marquez Tolbert.   Continue reading “Man gets 40 years for pouring scalding water on gay couple”