July 1, 2019 5:59 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – Democratic lawmakers in the United States, including some running for the White House, say there’s little in President Donald Trump’s diplomatic track to convince them that his meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un may lead to a nuclear breakthrough. Trump is coming under criticism for what Democrats see as his affinity for authoritarian leaders such as Kim and they are skeptical that the Trump-Kim sit-down at the Demilitarized Zone may amount to anything more than a photo opportunity. Sen. Chuck Schumer says “dictators seem to get elevated and people who believe in democracy not.” Former Obama Housing Secretary Julian Castro, a presidential candidate, wonders why Trump appears keen to raise Kim’s profile when, according to Castro, Kim hasn’t abided by past commitments about the North’s weapons programs. And Sen. Bernie Sanders, also a 2020 candidate, says he’s not opposed to sitting down with America’s adversaries, but he tells ABC’s “This Week” that “we need real diplomacy” and he hasn’t seen that under Trump
July 1, 2019 5:46 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Gov. Tom Wolf has signed legislation barring Pennsylvania’s municipalities from taxing or banning the sale or distribution of plastic bags and other containers, wrappings and bags. The measure Wolf signed Friday is a 69-page budget-related bill that lawmakers unveiled two days ago. A three-paragraph provision prohibits municipal bans or taxes on plastic bags or packaging for one year while legislative agencies study the economic and environmental impact. Senate Republican Leader Jake Corman of Centre County says he wanted the provision because his district includes a plastics manufacturer and a township considering a fee on plastic bags. Philadelphia city officials are also considering a ban on plastic bags and a fee on reusable bags that many stores provide. Wolf in 2017 vetoed legislation preventing counties and municipalities from taxing or banning plastic bags.
July 1, 2019 5:38 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale is confirming that he’ll run for Congress and seek next year’s Democratic nomination for the Harrisburg-area 10th District held by four-term Republican Rep. Scott Perry. DePasquale made the announcement on social media Sunday. The Associated Press reported last week DePasquale had told Democratic Party figures that he planned to run. Perry, an Iraq war veteran, owns the most conservative voting record among Pennsylvania’s 18-member U.S. House delegation, according to American Conservative Union ratings. DePasquale’s second four-year term as the state’s elected fiscal watchdog runs through 2020. The 10th District has 23,000 more registered Republican voters than Democrats. Perry won re-election in November by almost 3 percentage points in a tight race against first-time candidate George Scott. Democrat Tom Brier also has announced his candidacy.
July 1, 2019 5:35 am
DALLAS (AP) – Federal officials say two crew members and eight passengers were killed when a small, twin-engine plane crashed into a hangar during takeoff at a Dallas-area airport. National Transportation Safety Board Vice Chairman Bruce Landsberg said the plane crashed at 9:11 a.m. Sunday at the Addison Municipal Airport. He says, “We don’t know a lot about the people on board at this point.” Landsberg says the plane was headed to St. Petersburg, Florida. He also said the plane had recently changed hands so it’s not clear what the proper tail number currently was.
Jennifer Rodi, the NTSB’s lead investigator on the accident, said it had previously been owned by a private charter company in Chicago.
June 30, 2019 11:11 pm
MILWAUKEE (AP) – Prosecutors say a Milwaukee father is accused of fatally punching his 5-year-old son because the boy ate some of the cheesecake he had gotten for Father’s Day. Travis Stackhouse is charged with first-degree reckless homicide in the child’s death last Saturday. The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office determined the boy died from blunt force trauma to the abdomen. A complaint says the 29-year-old father initially told police his son was injured after falling down the stairs. Paramedics didn’t think the boy’s injuries were consistent with a fall. Authorities say Stackhouse became angry his children were eating his cheesecake, went to a bar and returned about 2 a.m., at which time the mother of the child called 911. Court records don’t list an attorney who could speak on the defendant’s behalf.
June 30, 2019 11:10 pm
MATAMOROS, Mexico (AP) – The young family from El Salvador appeared in the Mexican border city of Matamoros over the weekend with fear already on their faces. Another migrant says the family asked about trying to swim across to the U.S., but she tried to discourage them over the danger. Xiomara Mejia says that “I noticed they were really nervous, scared. They had panic on their faces.”
Mejia said Wednesday the family left, saying they would be back. “I didn’t think they were going to decide to cross the river.” But they did try the swim, and the father and young daughter were swept away and drowned. Their bodies were found face down in the Rio Grande, a heartbreaking scene captured in a news photo showing the girl tucked inside her father’s shirt.
June 30, 2019 11:09 pm
MIAMI (AP) – The two Democratic presidential debates featured a historic number of female candidates. Some, including Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris, emerged as top performers.Their showing has emboldened some Democrats who want to do away with questions about whether the party should nominate a woman to face off against President Donald Trump in next year’s general election. Of course, winning one debate is far different than winning the nomination or the general election. Hillary Clinton, for example, dominated most of her debate showdowns throughout the 2016 campaign, including her three faceoffs with Donald Trump, but still lost the election. For some Democrats, Clinton’s loss was a searing experience that has prompted questions about whether the country is ready to elect a female president.
June 30, 2019 11:09 pm
NEW YORK (AP) – The Senate’s top Democrat says the federal government must do more to investigate the deaths of Americans who traveled to the Dominican Republic. Sen. Chuck Schumer says he’s asked the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to step in to lend investigative support after at least eight Americans died this year on the Dominican Republic. Family members of some of the tourists have raised the possibility the deaths may have been caused by adulterated alcohol or misused pesticides. Schumer said Sunday the ATF is uniquely positioned to provide technical and forensic expertise and has offices in the Caribbean. Tourism Minister Francisco Javier García says autopsies show the tourists died of natural causes, though some were pending further analysis. An ATF spokeswoman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
June 30, 2019 11:08 pm
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – The Trump administration has agreed to postpone implementing a rule allowing medical workers to decline performing abortions or other treatments on moral or religious grounds while the so-called “conscience” rule is challenged in a California court. The rule was supposed to take effect on July 22 but the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and its opponents in a California lawsuit mutually agreed Friday to delay a final ruling on the matter for four months. A federal judge in San Francisco permitted the change on Saturday. Opponents contend that the DHHS exceeded its authority with the rule and say it would deny health care to women and to homosexuals by giving prejudice the force of law.
June 30, 2019 11:08 pm
ISLAMABAD (AP) – A Taliban spokesman says the seventh and latest round of peace talks with the U.S. is “critical,” as the militant group meets with Washington’s envoy Zalmay Khalilzad in the Mideastern state of Qatar, where it maintains a political office. Suhail Shaheen told The Associated Press Sunday that both sides are looking for “tangible results” as they try to hammer out the fine print of agreements that will see the eventual withdrawal of over 20,000 U.S. and NATO troops from Afghanistan, and end America’s longest-running war. The agreements are also expected to provide guarantees that Afghanistan will not again harbor terrorists to carry out attacks worldwide.
The talks began on Saturday and are expected to continue into the next week. The U.S. wants a final deal by Sept. 1.
