North America

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ending a second day of tense negotiations, U.S. and Mexican officials failed Thursday to reach a deal to avert import tariffs that President Donald Trump is threatening to impose as he tries to strong-arm Mexico into stemming the flow of Central American migrants across America’s southern border.

Vice President Mike Pence, monitoring the talks from his travels in Pennsylvania, said the U.S. was “encouraged” by Mexico’s latest proposals but, so far, tariffs still were set to take effect Monday.

The federal government is opening a new mass facility to hold migrant children in Texas and considering detaining hundreds more youths on three military bases around the country, adding up to 3,000 new beds to the already overtaxed system.

The new emergency facility in Carrizo Springs, Texas, will hold as many as 1,600 teens in a complex that once housed oil field workers on government-leased land near the border, said Mark Weber, a spokesman for Office of Refugee Resettlement.

6 June 2019; MEMO: The Israeli government is working to “prevent the Senate from passing a bipartisan resolution endorsing a two-state solution”, according to a report in Axios.

6 June 2019; AFP: YouTube announced Wednesday it would ban videos promoting or glorifying racism and discrimination as well as those denying well-documented violent events, like the Holocaust or the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting.

The announcement by the Google-owned video-sharing platform was the latest of a series of tech industry moves to filter out hateful and violent content, which have spurred calls for tougher regulation.

Washington, June 5 (IANS/GANASHAKTI) A US aircraft flying in international airspace over the Mediterranean Sea was intercepted three times by a Russian fighter jet in three hours, according to the US 6th Fleet.

"On June 4, 2019, a US P-8A Poseidon aircraft flying in international airspace over the Mediterranean Sea was intercepted by a Russian SU-35 three times over the course of 175 minutes," the 6th Fleet said in a statement on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The political clock is a significant factor in whether majority House Democrats launch any impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Amazon said Wednesday that it plans to use self-piloted drones to deliver packages to shoppers’ home in the coming months.

The online shopping giant did not give exact timing or say where the drones will be making deliveries.

Amazon said its new drones use computer vision and machine learning to detect and avoid people or clotheslines in backyards when landing.

“From paragliders to power lines to a corgi in the backyard, the brain of the drone has safety covered,” said Jeff Wilke, who oversees Amazon’s retail business.

HAVANA (AP) — Drivers of classic cars, restaurateurs, tour guides and owners of bed-and-breakfasts are all saying the Trump administration’s new restrictions on U.S travel to Cuba will be a severe blow to their businesses.

The restrictions announced Tuesday eliminate U.S. cruise travel to Cuba. They also wipe out the most popular category of legal travel to the island, the group educational trips known as people-to-people travel.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senior U.S. officials warned Wednesday that climate change is an increasing threat to national security, a message at odds with a broader Trump administration effort to downplay the threat from global warming.

Military and intelligence officials outlined a range of long-term threats arising from climate change, including food and water shortages that can produce political turmoil and land disputes, as well as melting ice in the Arctic that Russia and other adversaries could exploit for commercial gain.

MIAMI (AP) — The Trump administration’s new restrictions on travel to Cuba will sting the cruise industry, taking away a new and increasingly popular destination at the start of the critical summer vacation season.

Major cruise lines on Wednesday immediately began dropping stops in Cuba from their itineraries and hastily rerouting ships to other destinations including Mexico.

The changes affect thousands of passengers already on cruises or booked for future trips, according to the Cruise Lines International Association, an industry trade group.