AP News in Brief at 11:04 p.m. EST | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
Subscribe

Would you like to subscribe to our newsletter?

AP News in Brief at 11:04 p.m. EST

Original Publication Date February 11, 2019 - 9:06 PM

Trump not 'thrilled' with border deal but leaning toward it

WASHINGTON (AP) — Under mounting pressure from his own party, President Donald Trump appeared to be grudgingly leaning toward accepting an agreement Tuesday that would head off a threatened second government shutdown but provide just a fraction of the money he's been demanding for his Mexican border wall.

Trump said he would need more time to study the plan, but he also declared he was not expecting another shutdown this weekend when funding for parts of the government would run out. He strongly signalled he planned to scrounge up additional dollars for the wall by raiding other federal coffers to deliver on the signature promise of his presidential campaign.

"I can't say I'm happy. I can't say I'm thrilled," Trump said of the proposed deal. "But the wall is getting built, regardless. It doesn't matter because we're doing other things beyond what we're talking about here."

Accepting the deal, worked out by congressional negotiators from both parties , would be a disappointment for a president who has repeatedly insisted he needs $5.7 billion for a barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border, saying the project is paramount for national security. Trump turned down a similar deal in December, forcing the 35-day partial shutdown that left hundreds of thousands of federal workers without paychecks and Republicans reeling. There is little appetite in Washington for a repeat.

Lawmakers tentatively agreed Monday night to a deal that would provide nearly $1.4 billion for border barriers and keep the government funded for the rest of the fiscal year, which ends on Sept. 30.

___

Notorious drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman convicted

NEW YORK (AP) — Mexico's most notorious drug lord, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, was convicted Tuesday of running an industrial-scale smuggling operation after a three-month trial packed with Hollywood-style tales of grisly killings, political payoffs, cocaine hidden in jalapeno cans, jewel-encrusted guns and a naked escape with his mistress through a tunnel.

Guzman listened to a drumbeat of guilty verdicts on drug and conspiracy charges that could put the 61-year-old escape artist behind bars for decades in a maximum-security U.S. prison selected to thwart another one of the breakouts that made him a folk hero in his native country.

A jury whose members' identities were kept secret as a security measure reached a verdict after deliberating six days in the expansive case. They sorted through what authorities called an "avalanche" of evidence gathered since the late 1980s that Guzman and his murderous Sinaloa drug cartel made billions in profits by smuggling tons of cocaine, heroin, meth and marijuana into the U.S.

As the judge read the verdict, Guzman stared at the jury, and his wife watched the scene, both with resignation in their faces. When the jurors were discharged and Guzman stood to leave the courtroom, the couple traded thumbs-ups.

U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan lauded the jury's meticulous attention to detail and the "remarkable" approach it took toward deliberations. Cogan said it made him "very proud to be an American."

___

Official: Police detective fatally shot in New York City

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City police detective was shot and killed Tuesday night while responding to a report of a gunpoint robbery at a cellphone store, an official briefed on the matter told The Associated Press. The official was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

A police union, the Police Benevolent Association, tweeted that a detective was killed and a sergeant was wounded in the shooting at a T-Mobile store in the Richmond Hill section of Queens. The suspect was shot and taken into custody.

A police department Twitter account identified the detective as Brian Simonsen. The wounded sergeant is Matthew Gorman, his union said. His wounds are not believed to be life threatening.

Police swarmed to the store around 6:10 p.m. after a 911 caller standing outside reported seeing the suspect take two employees to a back room at gunpoint, according to dramatic dispatch audio. That was followed minutes later by a barrage of shots.

"Shots fired! Shots fired!" an officer is heard yelling. About a minute later, the sergeant tells dispatchers that he's been hit and an officer screams for dispatchers to rush an ambulance to the scene for the mortally wounded detective.

___

National debt hits new milestone, topping $22 trillion

WASHINGTON (AP) — The national debt has passed a new milestone, topping $22 trillion for the first time.

The Treasury Department's daily statement showed Tuesday that total outstanding public debt stands at $22.01 trillion. It stood at $19.95 trillion when President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20, 2017.

The debt figure has been accelerating since the passage of Trump's $1.5 trillion tax cut in December 2017 and action by Congress last year to increase spending on domestic and military programs.

The national debt is the total of the annual budget deficits. The Congressional Budget Office projects that this year's deficit will be $897 billion — a 15.1 per cent increase over last year's imbalance of $779 billion. In the coming years, the CBO forecasts that the deficit will keep rising, top $1 trillion annually beginning in 2022 and never drop below $1 trillion through 2029. Much of the increase will come from mounting costs to fund Social Security and Medicare as the vast generation of baby boomers continue to retire.

The Trump administration contends that its tax cuts will eventually pay for themselves by generating faster economic growth. That projection is disputed by many economists.

___

Virginia politician's accuser on Stanford sex assault panel

STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — A college professor who has accused Virginia's lieutenant governor of sexual assault told a Stanford University audience Tuesday night that she is "deeply disturbed" with attempts to discredit victims' credibility and encouraged victims to share their stories with each other.

"When we hear someone else's story, there's a beauty in it knowing you aren't alone," she said Tuesday during a long-planned symposium on sexual assault.

Tyson didn't directly address her accusation that Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax sexually assaulted her in 2004. Stanford authorities barred audience members from asking Tyson about the matter.

Camera crews greeted audience members arriving to the reception and symposium at Stanford's Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, a usually quiet location tucked high on a hill about a mile from the main campus. The 100 audience members crammed in the main room greeted Tyson with a standing ovation. Dozens more watched a video feed from a nearby room.

Tyson was the first of two women who said last week that Fairfax sexually assaulted them, prompting calls for his resignation. Fairfax has denied the allegations and said he won't resign.

___

Maduro challenger plans caravans for US aid to Venezuela

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Opposition leader Juan Guaido said Tuesday that he will try to run caravans of badly needed food and medicine into Venezuela but won't start for nearly two weeks, a timeline that threatens to deflate momentum toward unseating entrenched President Nicolas Maduro.

Surrounded by thousands of cheering supporters, Guiado set Feb. 23 as the date for bringing in the badly needed U.S. assistance that has been warehoused on the Colombian border since last week, but he provided few details.

The 11-day wait was sure to be a disappointment for Venezuelans desperate for the supplies. More than 2 million people have fled the country's soaring hyperinflation and severe food and medical shortages over the last two years. The minimum wage, which most Venezuelans earn, amounts to less than $6 a month, and it is common to see people scouring garbage for food in the streets of Caracas.

"Right now, I'm going to give this order to the armed forces: Allow in the humanitarian aid. That's an order," Guaido told the mass of people gathered in Caracas.

Despite the authoritative-sounding assertion, there has been little evidence that the allegiance of the security forces — the country's key powerbroker — has swung behind Guaido, a virtually unknown lawmaker until last month, when he took the helm of the National Assembly.

___

NY Fed: Auto loan delinquencies at highest point since 2010

DETROIT (AP) — Borrowers are behind in their auto loan payments in numbers not seen since delinquencies peaked at the end of 2010, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

More than 7 million Americans were 90 or more days behind on their car loans at the end of last year, 1 million more than eight years ago, according to a report from the bank. That's a potential sign of trouble for the auto industry and perhaps the broader economy.

The New York Fed reported that auto loan delinquency rates slowly have been worsening, even though borrowers with prime credit make up an increasing percentage of the loans. The 90-day delinquency rate at the end of 2018 was 2.4 per cent, up from a low of 1.5 per cent in 2012, the bank reported. Also, delinquencies by people under 30 are rising sharply, the report said.

But economists and auto industry analysts say they aren't sounding an alarm yet. The number is higher largely because there are far more auto loans out there as sales grew since the financial crisis, peaking at 17.5 million in 2016. The $584 billion borrowed to buy new autos last year was the highest in the 19-year history of loan and lease origination data, according to the report.

Other signs still point to a strong economy and auto sales that will continue to hover just under 17 million per year for the near term.

___

NASA about to pull plug on Mars rover, silent for 8 months

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA is trying one last time to contact its record-setting Mars rover Opportunity, before calling it quits.

The rover has been silent for eight months, victim of one of the most intense dust storms in decades. Thick dust darkened the sky last summer and, for months, blocked sunlight from the spacecraft's solar panels.

NASA said Tuesday it will issue a final series of recovery commands, on top of more than 1,000 already sent. If there's no response by Wednesday — which NASA suspects will be the case — Opportunity will be declared dead, 15 years after arriving at the red planet.

Team members are already looking back at Opportunity's achievements, including confirmation water once flowed on Mars. Opportunity was, by far, the longest-lasting lander on Mars. Besides endurance, the six-wheeled rover set a roaming record of 28 miles (45 kilometres.)

Its identical twin, Spirit, was pronounced dead in 2011, a year after it got stuck in sand and communication ceased.

___

Gucci creative head breaks silence over 'blackface' sweater

NEW YORK (AP) — Gucci's creative director broke his silence Tuesday over an $890 sweater that resembled blackface, saying racism was never his intention.

Alessandro Michele, a design force at the Italian fashion house, lamented in a letter to employees both his own pain and "that of the people who saw in one of my creative projects an intolerable insult."

The black sweater with a pull-up neck featured a cutout surrounded by cartoonish red lips. Michele wrote that it was not inspired by blackface but by the late Leigh Bowery, a performance artist, club promoter and fashion designer who often used flamboyant face makeup and costumes.

Regardless, Michelle said, he takes "full accountability" for the sweater, which was pulled last week amid widespread criticism.

Gucci has apologized, saying in a previous statement posted on Twitter that it was committed to diversity and considered it a "fundamental value to be fully upheld, respected and at the forefront of every decision we make."

___

Wire fox takes early winning steps toward Westminster title

NEW YORK (AP) — Packed with personality, Burns the longhaired dachshund has all the qualities of a Westminster Kennel Club champion.

He has a great coat. He has a wonderful gait. He has a playful spirit.

But does Burns have the right combination to become the big winner at America's most prestigious dog show?

His body of work says yes. History says no.

"Best in show breeds need the flash to compete," said his handler, Carlos Puig.

News from © The Associated Press, 2019
The Associated Press

  • Popular vernon News
View Site in: Desktop | Mobile