USA

TEXAS (AP) —  Most mass shooters in the U.S. acquired the weapons they used legally because there was nothing in their backgrounds to disqualify them, according to James Alan Fox, a criminologist with Northeastern University who has studied mass shootings for decades.

But in several attacks in recent years gunmen acquired weapons as a result of mistakes, lack of follow-through or gaps in federal and state law.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Republican leaders in Nevada, South Carolina and Kansas have voted to scrap their presidential nominating contests in 2020, erecting more hurdles for the long-shot candidates challenging President Donald Trump.

“What is Donald Trump afraid of?” asked one of those rivals, former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld.

Canceling primaries, caucuses and other voting is not unusual for the party of the White House incumbent seeking a second term. Doing so allows Trump to try to consolidate his support as Democrats work to winnow their large field of candidates.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — The director of a prestigious research lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology resigned Saturday, and the school’s president ordered an independent investigation amid an uproar over the lab’s ties to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Joi Ito, director of MIT’s Media Lab, resigned from both the lab and from his position as a professor at the Cambridge school, university President L. Rafael Reif said. The resignation was first reported by The New York Times.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is saying he has called off a secret Camp David meeting with Taliban and Afghanistan leaders.

Trump tweeted Saturday that a meeting slated for the following day was canceled because of a Taliban attack in Kabul on Thursday that killed 11 people, including a U.S. soldier.

The president tweeted that he “called off peace negotiations” and demanded to know who “would kill so many in order to seemingly strengthen their bargaining position” in the negotiations.

7 Sep 2019; MEMO: The US State Department has decided to release $1.3 billion in military aid to Egypt, despite continuous human rights violations and thousands still being detained on political grounds.

The American news website, Al-Monitor, cited a human rights violation exemption waiver in reporting the release of the $1.3 billion in aid.

NEW YORK, Sep 07 (APP): The Pakistan Mission to the UN and the Consulate General in New York Friday commemorated the ‘Defence of Pakistan and ‘Kashmir Solidarity Day’ as a remembrance of the armed forces’ bravery and sacrifices made in defending the country, and to reaffirm full support to Kashmiri people suffering under the tight lockdown imposed by the Indian occupation forces for over a month now.

The solemn commemoration, held at the Pakistan Mission, began with a recitation from the holy Quran.

New York, Sep 7 (AFP) Boeing has suspended testing on its new long-haul 777X aircraft, the company said Friday, a setback that comes as it battles to rebound from the crisis surrounding the 737 MAX.

The so-called "final load" tests are part of the aircraft certification process, overseen by inspectors from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and meant to subject the plane to "loads and stresses well beyond normal operational loads," a Boeing spokesman told AFP in an email.

7 September 2019; AFP: Boeing has suspended testing on its new long-haul 777X aircraft, the company said Friday, a setback that comes as it battles to rebound from the crisis surrounding the 737 MAX.

The so-called "final load" tests are part of the aircraft certification process, overseen by inspectors from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and meant to subject the plane to "loads and stresses well beyond normal operational loads," a Boeing spokesman told AFP in an email.

NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump doesn’t make mistakes. At least according to him.

Trump’s relentless justifications of his erroneous warnings that Hurricane Dorian was threatening Alabama on Sunday, which created days of ridicule and skepticism, are just the latest example of the president’s lifelong reluctance to admit an error, no matter how innocuous.

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) — Dozens of people trapped on a scuba diving boat that caught fire off the Southern California coast appear to have died from smoke inhalation, not burns, authorities said Friday.

The 34 people who died were sleeping in a cramped bunkroom below the main deck of the Conception when the fire broke out before dawn Monday and quickly engulfed the boat.