USA

15 Aug 2019; MEMO: The New York Times has released a damning report detailing the intimate links and connections between a Lebanese-American businessman and backdoor diplomat working with the United Arab Emirates, and an American businessman and fundraiser for President Donald Trump. The report also provides details of the extent of their collusion.

MEXICO CITY, Aug 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Mexico’s government amplified its assertion that the Aug 3 mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, was an act of terrorism against Mexicans, urging the United States to ensure the attack was designated as such.

Speaking after meetings on Tuesday between U.S. and Mexican government officials about the incident, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard told a regular government news conference that steps needed to be taken to prevent future killings.

SUPERIOR, Mont. (AP) — An Army veteran pleaded not guilty Wednesday to assaulting a 13-year-old boy who the suspect said refused to remove his hat during the national anthem at a rodeo in Montana.

Attorney Lance Jasper has told the Missoulian that defendant Curt Brockway, who suffered a traumatic brain injury from an automobile crash while he was stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington, believed he was doing what President Donald Trump wanted him to do.

EL PASO, Texas (AP) — Leaders from both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border told thousands of people gathered in a baseball stadium in El Paso Wednesday that love will triumph over hatred in the wake of a mass shooting by a man who authorities believe targeted Mexicans at a Walmart store in the Texas border city.

People lined up hours before the memorial and packed the stadium in downtown El Paso that could hold about 8,000.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Financial markets are flashing a key warning sign of a recession, and the global economy is weakening as the U.S.-China trade war intensifies.

All of which is heightening fear about the U.S. economy and about whether the 10-year expansion, the longest on record, is nearing an end.

On Wednesday, a rare realignment in interest rates intensified those worries: The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note briefly fell below the yield on the 2-year Treasury for the first time since 2007.

UPHAM, N.M. (AP) — Spaceport America is no longer just a shiny shell of hope that space tourism would one day launch from this remote spot in the New Mexico desert.

The once-empty hangar that anchors the taxpayer-financed launch and landing facility has been transformed into a custom-tailored headquarters where Virgin Galactic will run its commercial flight operations.

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — When Chad Johansen voted for Donald Trump in 2016, he hoped he was picking someone who could help small-business owners compete with bigger companies. But that hasn’t happened, and now the 26-year-old owner of NH iPhone Repair feels what he calls “Trumpgret.”

CHARLOTTE AMALIE, U.S. Virgin Islands (AP) — Jeffrey Epstein’s armed guards and the sharp rocks that lie beneath the turquoise waters glistening around his Caribbean island have long deterred boaters from the area, but curiosity has overcome concern since the financier apparently killed himself in jail as he awaited trial in New York on sex trafficking charges.

DENVER (AP) — John Hickenlooper will drop out of the Democratic presidential primary on Thursday, according to a Democrat close to him.

The two-term former Colorado governor, who ran as a moderate warning of the perils of extreme partisanship, struggled with fundraising and low polling numbers. His planned departure from the 2020 race was confirmed Wednesday night by a Democrat who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly before the announcement and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump suggested Wednesday that trade talks with China can wait until tensions in Hong Kong have eased, tweeting: “Of course China wants to make a deal. Let them work humanely with Hong Kong first!”

Trump also praised Chinese President Xi Jinping, calling him a “great leader” and saying he could quickly resolve the unrest in Hong Kong if he wanted to. “I have ZERO doubt that if President Xi wants to quickly and humanely solve the Hong Kong problem, he can do it. Personal meeting?” Trump tweeted.