North America

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration imposed sanctions Tuesday on Iran’s space agency for the first time, accusing it of developing ballistic missiles under the cover of a civilian program to launch satellites into orbit.

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — A Texas death row inmate is set to be executed Wednesday for fatally stabbing an 89-year-old woman and her daughter more than 16 years ago in their Fort Worth home.

Billy Jack Crutsinger, 64, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection Wednesday evening for the 2003 killings of Pearl Magouirk and her 71-year-old daughter Patricia Syren. Authorities say Crutsinger killed the women then stole Syren’s car and credit card. He was arrested three days later at a bar in Galveston, more than 300 miles (480 kilometers) away.

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) — High school students, a science teacher and his daughter, an adventurous marine biologist and a family of five celebrating a birthday are among those presumed to have died when fire tore through a scuba diving boat off the Southern California coast, trapping dozens of sleeping people below deck.

Authorities on Tuesday ended the search for survivors of Monday’s pre-dawn fire aboard the Conception. It was presumed that 34 people were dead.

ODESSA, Texas (AP) — The gunman in a West Texas rampage that left seven dead obtained his AR-style rifle through a private sale, allowing him to evade a federal background check that blocked him from getting a gun in 2014 due to a “mental health issue,” a law enforcement official told The Associated Press.

The official spoke to The Associated Press Tuesday on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation. The person did not say when and where the private sale took place.

FREEPORT, Bahamas (AP) — Relief officials reported scenes of utter ruin Tuesday in parts of the Bahamas and rushed to deal with an unfolding humanitarian crisis in the wake of Hurricane Dorian, the most powerful storm on record ever to hit the islands. At least seven deaths were reported, with the full scope of the disaster still unknown.

The storm’s punishing winds and muddy brown floodwaters destroyed or severely damaged thousands of homes, crippled hospitals and trapped people in attics.

NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart has won praise from gun control advocates for its decision to discontinue sales of certain gun ammunition and request that customers no longer openly carry firearms in its stores. But whether the moves will translate into fewer guns on the street remains an open question.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A total of 127 military construction projects are being sidelined by a Pentagon decision to shift $3.6 billion to build part of President Donald Trump’s border wall.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper approved the transfer of funds on Tuesday. Officials say details about the projects losing their funding will be released after Congress is notified.

The Pentagon comptroller says the projects are being “deferred” and not cancelled, though there is no guarantee the funding will be restored by Congress.

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) — Flames roared through a boat of sleeping scuba divers so quickly that it appears none of the 34 people below deck could escape, authorities said Tuesday as they ended their search without finding anyone who was missing still alive from the Labor Day tragedy off the Southern California coast.

FREEPORT, Bahamas (AP) — Bahamians rescued victims of Hurricane Dorian with jet skis and a bulldozer as the U.S. Coast Guard, Britain’s Royal Navy and a handful of aid groups tried to get food and medicine to survivors and take the most desperate people to safety.

Airports were flooded and roads impassable after the most powerful storm to hit the Bahamas in recorded history parked over Abaco and Grand Bahama islands, pounding them with winds up to 185 mph (295 kph) and torrential rain before finally moving into open waters Tuesday on a course toward Florida.

3 Sep 2019; MEMO: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to arrange “a dramatic diplomatic gesture” from US President Donald Trump to help him win the upcoming Israeli election, reported Haaretz.