USA

18 July 2019; DW: Drug overdose deaths in the US have dropped for the first time in two decades, according to preliminary data. The drop was due to a decline in deaths from prescription opoid painkillers.

Drug overdose deaths in the United States declined by 5.1% in 2018, according to preliminary data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday.

There were an estimated 68,557 deaths last year, down from 72,224 in 2017.

18 July 2019; DW: The leak of sexist and homophobic texts sent by Governor Ricardo Rossello sparked outrage on the island. His government has also been accused of corruption and mishandling of the aftermath of hurricane Maria.

Thousands of people marched to the governor's residence in Puerto Rico's capital of San Juan on Wednesday to demand the resignation of Governor Ricardo Rossello.

SAN FRANCISCO, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Top U.S. aircraft manufacturer Boeing said Wednesday it will give 50 million U.S. dollars in near-term financial relief to the families of passengers and crew members who died in two deadly air crashes.

The money "represents the initial expenditure of a 100 million dollar pledge by Boeing to address family and community needs of those affected by the accidents," said the company in a statement.

UNITED NATIONS, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Wednesday told a United Nations high-level meeting that Iranian people are subjected to the most brutal form of "economic terrorism."

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a major break with a longtime ally, the Trump administration on Wednesday said Turkey is being kicked out of an American-led fighter aircraft program because it is buying a Russian air defense system that would aid Russian intelligence.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress is heading for a showdown with President Donald Trump after the House voted on Wednesday to block his administration from selling billions of dollars in weapons and maintenance support to Saudi Arabia.

Trump, who has sought to forge closer ties with Riyadh, has pledged to veto the resolutions of disapproval that passed the Democratic-led House largely along party lines. Two of the resolutions passed with 238 votes, while a third was approved with 237. Each of the measures garnered just four Republican backers.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The House easily killed a maverick Democrat’s effort Wednesday to impeach President Donald Trump for his recent racial insults against lawmakers of color, a vote that provided an early snapshot of just how divided Democrats are over ousting him as the 2020 presidential and congressional campaigns rev up.

Democrats leaned against the resolution by Texas Rep. Al Green by 137-95.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday misrepresented words from Rep. Ilhan Omar to make her sound like an al-Qaida sympathizer and exaggerated the performance of the economy under his watch.

A look at claims from his rally in North Carolina:

OMAR

TRUMP quotes Omar as saying: “You don’t say ‘America’ with this intensity. You say ‘al-Qaida,’ it makes you proud. Al-Qaida makes you proud. You don’t speak that way about America.”

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Is a peek into the future worth your privacy in the present? That concern was pushed to the spotlight this week with the resurgence of a smartphone app that uses artificial intelligence to transform your current face into your younger and older selves.

People raised fears on Twitter and other social media sites that on iPhones, FaceApp would be able to see and upload all your photos, including screenshots with sensitive financial or health information or photos of kids with the names of their schools in the background.

PEORIA, Ill. (AP) —  Jurors began deliberating but didn’t reach a decision Wednesday on whether a former University of Illinois doctoral student should be put to death for the brutal slaying of a scholar from China he abducted at a bus stop.

Brent Christensen’s attorney, Elisabeth Pollock, teared up earlier in the day during closing arguments in the penalty phase in U.S. District Court in Peoria, at one point walking behind her 30-year-old client and putting her hands on his shoulders.