North America

Attorney: Man killed at Costco was mentally ill, off meds: USA

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A man fatally shot in a Southern California Costco store was mentally ill and off his medication when he pushed or slapped an off-duty police officer who opened fire and killed the man and critically wounded the man’s parents, the lawyer for the man’s family said Tuesday.

Trump says he’ll talk trade with Xi next week in Japan

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said he’ll hold trade talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping next week at a summit of nations in Japan. And U.S. and Chinese negotiators will resume talks before the leaders meet.

Financial markets greeted the news with relief Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1.4% higher, adding 353 points.

Facebook’s currency Libra faces financial, privacy pushback

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Facebook is getting a taste of the regulatory pushback it will face as it creates a new digital currency with corporate partners.

Just hours after the social media giant unveiled early plans for the Libra cryptocurrency, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire insisted that only governments can issue sovereign currencies. He said Facebook must ensure that Libra won’t hurt consumers or be used for illegal activities.

“We will demand guarantees that such transactions cannot be diverted, for example for financing terrorism,” he said on Europe-1 radio.

US, Iran voice resolve in brinkmanship, say war not sought

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States and Iran said Tuesday they were not seeking war with each other as tensions simmered between the two in the Persian Gulf and President Donald Trump vowed the U.S. would respond to any attack.

“We have a lot of things going with Iran,” Trump told reporters as he left the White House for a campaign event in Florida. “We’ll see what happens. Let me just say this: We are very prepared.”

Trump could have tough time meeting his deportation threat

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump could have a tough time making good on his threat to deport millions of people living in the U.S. illegally. But maybe that wasn’t his point.

Trump’s late-night messages Monday promised that starting next week his administration “will begin the process of removing the millions of illegal aliens who have illicitly found their way into the United States. They will be removed as fast as they come in.”

Fed could signal a policy shift toward future rate cuts

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve seems poised to pivot from keeping interest rates steady to holding out the option of cutting rates if it were to decide that the economic expansion needs support.

The Fed isn’t considered ready to announce that it’s reducing rates for the first time in more than a decade. But when it ends its latest policy meeting Wednesday, the central bank is expected to signal an inclination to ease credit sometime within the next several months. What it won’t likely do is indicate when that might happen.

Russia, China block UN from saying NKorea violated sanctions

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Russia and China have blocked the U.N. Security Council committee monitoring sanctions against North Korea from declaring that Pyongyang breached the annual limit for importing refined petroleum products which are key for its economy, two U.N. diplomats said Tuesday.

The diplomats said the Russians and Chinese notified the committee before Tuesday’s deadline for objections.

Prosecutor: Navy SEAL bragged about killing captive in Iraq

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A decorated Navy SEAL stabbed to death a wounded and captive teenage Islamic State fighter in Iraq and then bragged about it, a military prosecutor told jurors Tuesday during opening statements in a politically charged court-martial.

Lt. Brian John projected photos of the dead prisoner in the military courtroom, along with a text message Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher sent to friends with the image.

“Good story behind this,” Gallagher wrote. “Got him with my hunting knife.”

In 2020 debut, Trump exaggerates growth

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump officially opened his 2020 campaign Tuesday with a speech exaggerating what he’s done for the economy and against illegal immigration.

Some claims from his rally in Orlando, Florida:

ECONOMY

TRUMP: “It’s soaring to incredible new heights. Perhaps the greatest economy we’ve had in the history of our country.”

THE FACTS: The economy is not one of the best in the country’s history.

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