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Pentagon announces F-35 jet prices for next three years

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon announced pricing details on Tuesday for its agreement with Lockheed Martin Co (LMT.N) that lowers the cost of the F-35 jets it plans to purchase through 2022 by 12.7%, which may encourage other nations to buy warplanes.

Lockheed executives have said that any country with an F-16 jet, the predecessor to the F-35, is a potential customer.

Callamard disappointed with UN’s handling of Khashoggi’s case

29 Oct 2019; MEMO: The UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Agnes Callamard, said she was disappointed that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the international community had not taken advantage from her report on the assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi to launch an international investigation.

UN voices concern over safety of civilians in NE Syria

UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations on Monday voiced deep concern over the safety and protection of civilians in northeast Syria following reports of sporadic fighting, a spokesman said.

Some 106,000 people remain displaced of the over 180,000 previously reported, said Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Elected Arizona official accused of selling babies suspended

PHOENIX (AP) — An elected official in Arizona was suspended Monday after he was charged with running a human smuggling scheme that brought pregnant women from the Marshall Islands to the U.S. to give birth and then paid them to give up their children for adoption.

Leaders in Arizona’s most populous county suspended Assessor Paul Petersen without pay for 120 days. The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors doesn’t have the power to permanently remove him from his office, which determines the value of properties for tax purposes in Phoenix and its suburbs.

Utility says power lines may have started 2 California fires

SANTA ROSA, Calif. (AP) — Pacific Gas & Electric Co. power lines may have started two wildfires over the weekend in the San Francisco Bay Area, the utility said Monday, even though widespread blackouts were in place to prevent downed lines from starting fires during dangerously windy weather.

The fires described in PG&E reports to state regulators match blazes that destroyed a tennis club and forced evacuations in Lafayette, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) east of San Francisco.

NSC staffer recounts administration pressure on Ukraine

WASHINGTON (AP) — For only the fourth time in U.S. history, the House of Representatives has started a presidential impeachment inquiry. House committees are trying to determine if President Donald Trump violated his oath of office by asking a foreign country to investigate a political opponent.

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North Carolina judges block current congressional map

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina judges on Monday blocked the state’s congressional map from being used in the 2020 elections, ruling that voters had a strong likelihood of winning a lawsuit that argued Republicans unlawfully manipulated district lines for partisan gain.

The panel of three Superior Court judges issued a preliminary injunction preventing elections under the district lines, starting with the March 3 primary.

Crews battle California blazes before windstorms return

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Crews fought Tuesday to drown, slash and smother wildfires that have incinerated dozens of homes in Northern and Southern California before returning windstorms can blow them back into furious life.

In California’s wine country, firefighters worked to reinforce fire lines in western Sonoma County while rushing to shore up the eastern side that could be the new focus as winds switched direction.

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