North America

CENTERVILLE, Iowa (AP) — Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar has argued for weeks that Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of a small Indiana city, doesn’t have enough experience to be a serious contender for the Democratic nomination for president. As she heads into a 27-county tour of Iowa, the lead-off caucus state, s he’s seeing some payoff for bringing those frustrations fully into public view.

NEW YORK (AP) — Twitter has identified and removed nearly 6,000 accounts that it said were part of a coordinated effort by Saudi government agencies and individuals to advance the country’s geopolitical interests.

Separately, Facebook said it removed hundreds of Facebook accounts, groups and pages linked to inauthentic behavior from two separate groups, one originating in the country of Georgia and one in Vietnam, which targeted people both in Vietnam and in the U.S.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — A deadly shooting at a city building in Winston-Salem, North Carolina was an act of “workplace violence” by one city employee who targeted a co-worker he’d disliked for a long time, police said Friday.

Winston-Salem Police Chief Catrina Thompson told news reporters the gunman at a city building was killed during a gunfight with police officers who responded to the scene. One officer was wounded. She said 61-year-old Steven Dewayne Haizlip shot and killed another employee, Terry Lee Cobb Jr., whom he had targeted.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Homeland Security’s internal watchdog found no wrongdoing or misconduct by immigration officials in the deaths of two migrant children last December.

The Inspector General for the Department of Homeland Security released two brief statements Friday evening on the deaths of Jakelin Amei Rosmery Caal Maquin, who died Dec. 8, and Felipe Gómez Alonzo, who died Dec. 24.

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — Inmates, some with firearms, rioted at a prison in Honduras on Friday, killing at least 18 people and injuring 16 others, authorities said.

The violence, which occurred in Tela in the Atlántida region on the Caribbean coast, came several days after Honduras declared a state of emergency in its prison system. The measure suspended civilian leaders in prisons and replaced them with a special commission led by military and police officers.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — One of President Donald Trump’s top reelection advisers told influential Republicans in swing state Wisconsin that the party has “traditionally” relied on voter suppression to compete in battleground states, according to an audio recording of a private event obtained by The Associated Press. The adviser said later that his remarks referred to frequent and false accusations that Republicans employ such tactics.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A man convicted of kidnapping a Wisconsin girl and killing her parents told police after his arrest that he never thought Jayme Closs would escape because she was petrified, and that after holding her captive for two weeks, he believed he’d get away with his crimes, according to a transcript of a police interview.

“I know that she was just (expletive) terrified of me,” Jake Patterson said following his arrest in January.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday celebrated the launch of Space Force, the first new military service in more than 70 years.

In signing the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act that includes Space Force, Trump claimed a victory for one of his top national security priorities just two days after being impeached by the House.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is in sunny Florida after his historic impeachment, while plans for his speedy trial back in Washington remained clouded. Senate leaders jockeying for leverage have failed to agree on procedures for the trial.

Trump is still expected to be acquitted of both charges in the Senate, where Republicans have the majority, in what will be only the third presidential impeachment trial in U.S. history. Proceedings are expected to begin in January.

20 Dec 2019; MEMO: US Senator Bernie Sanders, a leading candidate to be the Democratic presidential candidate, slammed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a “racist” yesterday.