USA

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on The United States and Iran’s tensions over the shootdown of a massive U.S. drone (all times local):

8 a.m.

European Council President Donald Tusk is denying that the EU has been too passive in its response to rising tensions between the United States and Iran.

After chairing a summit of EU leaders in Brussels Friday, Tusk said that “sometimes it’s better not to intervene. The biggest problems in our history (were) always provoked by too active politics, not too passive.”

21 June 2019; MEMO: The United States yesterday added Saudi Arabia to a blacklist of countries that do not play a sufficient role in fighting human trafficking.

According to the US’ annual report on human trafficking, Saudi Arabia has failed to prevent large scale violations committed against its foreign labour force, Lebanese newspaper the Daily Star reported.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — When the prosecution called a special forces medic to testify, they expected him to bolster their murder case against a decorated Navy SEAL accused of stabbing an Islamic State fighter in his care.

Corey Scott delivered on that count, saying Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher had unexpectedly plunged a knife into the adolescent detainee after treating his wounds in 2017 in Iraq.

WASHINGTON (AP) — When President Donald Trump and Canada’s prime minister sat down in the Oval Office to discuss trade, Iran and other pressing matters, a model airplane dominated the coffee table in front of them.

Before Trump would answer reporters’ questions about Iran’s downing of a U.S. drone on Thursday, he made an aeronautical detour.

DENVER (AP) — A high school student charged in a classmate’s death during a Colorado school shooting told police that he planned the attack for weeks and intended to target classmates who repeatedly mocked his gender identity.

Written summaries of police interviews with the two suspected shooters portray 16-year-old Alec McKinney as the leader of the attack, enlisting 18-year-old Devon Erickson in the plan to kill the students who bullied McKinney, who identifies as male.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House intelligence committee is set to interview Russia-born business executive Felix Sater about his behind-the-scenes role in Donald Trump’s effort to build a skyscraper in Moscow during the presidential election.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A Syrian refugee charged with plotting to bomb a Pittsburgh church to inspire followers of the Islamic State of Iraq is due in federal court Friday.

A criminal complaint alleges Mustafa Mousab Alowemer planned to bomb an unidentified church on Pittsburgh’s north side, and purchased materials he thought were necessary to build a bomb. He also allegedly provided plans and a map to an undercover FBI agent he thought was a fellow Islamic State supporter.

WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s a difficult time for the Pentagon to be without a permanent U.S. defense secretary.

The Trump administration is grappling with an escalating crisis with Iran, an unusual and controversial deployment of troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, the nearly two-decade-old war in Afghanistan and stalled talks with North Korea over its nuclear weapons program.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Cory Booker’s supporters have spent months waiting for a moment when the charismatic senator could break through a crowded field of Democratic presidential candidates. That opening came when Joe Biden clumsily talked about segregationists, prompting Booker to push back at his 2020 rival to great effect.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. official said the military made preparations Thursday night for limited strikes on Iran in retaliation for the downing of a U.S. surveillance drone, but approval was abruptly withdrawn before the attacks were launched.

The official, who was not authorized to discuss the operation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the targets would have included radars and missile batteries.