North America

WASHINGTON (AP) — In less than three years, President Donald Trump has named more former lobbyists to Cabinet-level posts than his most recent predecessors did in eight, putting a substantial amount of oversight in the hands of people with ties to the industries they’re regulating.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The first impeachment hearing held by House Democrats quickly turned hostile on Tuesday as their sole witness, former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, stonewalled many of their questions and declared they were “focusing on petty and personal politics.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration tried to balance diplomacy with fresh talk of military action Tuesday in response to the fiery missile and drone attack on the heart of Saudi Arabia’s oil industry — a strike marking the most explosive consequence yet of the “maximum pressure” U.S. economic campaign against Iran.

17 Sep 2019; MEMO: US President Donald Trump said on Monday said it looked like Iran was behind attacks on oil plants in Saudi Arabia but stressed he did not want to go to war, as the attacks sent oil prices soaring and raised fears of a new Middle East conflict.

Iran has rejected US charges it was behind the strikes on Saturday that damaged the world’s biggest crude-processing plant and triggered the largest jump in crude prices in decades.

17 Sep 2019; MEMO: US President Donald Trump said yesterday that America has become such a big oil producer that it no longer needs petrol from the Middle East.

Writing on Twitter, Trump said: “Because we have done so well with Energy over the last few years (thank you, Mr. President!), we are a net Energy Exporter, & now the Number One Energy Producer in the World.

17 September 2019; AFP: A senior police intelligence officer arrested last week for allegedly stealing sensitive documents had access to information from Canada's foreign allies, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said Monday.

Cameron Ortis, who was arrested Thursday, served as the Director General of the RCMP's National Intelligence Coordination Centre and "had access to information the Canadian intelligence community possessed," the RCMP commissioner said in a statement.

HAVANA, Sept 17 (NNN-Xinhua) — US sanctions on oil shipments to Cuba are causing a fuel shortage in the Caribbean nation, said Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez.

Rodriguez denounced the imposition of stiff fines on vessels and shipping lines that supply fuel to Cuba, saying they were part of a larger plan to harm Cuba.

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- The top UN envoy for Yemen on Monday warned that the attack on Saudi oil facilities may drag Yemen into "a regional conflagration."

The sudden military escalation has made the task of finding a political solution to the conflict in Yemen even more compelling, Martin Griffiths told the Security Council in a briefing.

Saturday's attack on Aramco oil facilities in Saudi Arabia has consequences well beyond the region, he warned. "At a minimum, this kind of action carries the risk of dragging Yemen into a regional conflagration."

FARMINGTON, Maine (AP) — A fierce propane explosion leveled a newly constructed building after fire crews arrived to investigate the smell of gas Monday, killing one firefighter and injuring at least eight other people, including fellow firefighters, officials said.

The blast was so powerful it blew a vehicle across an intersection and damaged nearby buildings. Paper, insulation and building debris rained on the area.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Three women shot in the head, each dumped a month a part — the 2006 killings scared Daytona Beach’s street people so badly that they memorized suspicious men’s license plate numbers and gave them to police. And then suddenly the slayings stopped.