Breaking silence, Biden team leans in on potential 2016 run ADVERTISING Breaking silence, Biden team leans in on potential 2016 run WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Biden is sending out an unmistakable “forget-me-not” plea for 2016, brushing past signs of a
Breaking silence, Biden team leans in on potential 2016 run
WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Biden is sending out an unmistakable “forget-me-not” plea for 2016, brushing past signs of a Hillary Rodham Clinton resurgence with fresh and direct suggestions he could be on the verge of entering the presidential race.
The vice president’s political team broke its months-long silence on the subject with a letter circulated by one of Biden’s closest friends and top advisers. In the letter, though Biden is still officially undecided, former Sen. Ted Kaufman describes a “campaign from the heart” that Biden would wage and says a decision isn’t far off.
“If he decides to run, we will need each and every one of you — yesterday,” Kaufman said temptingly, alluding to the breakneck speed at which Biden would have to ramp up a campaign.
Turkish jets shoot down drone at its border with Syria
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey shot down an unidentified drone that flew into its airspace Friday near the Syrian border. A U.S. official said the downed drone was Russian, but Moscow staunchly rejected the claim.
The incident underlined the potential dangers of clashes involving Russian, Syrian and U.S.-led coalition planes in the increasingly crowded skies over Syria. Russian and U.S. military officials have been working on a set of rules to prevent any problems.
The Turkish military said it issued three warnings before shooting down the aircraft with its fighter jets. It didn’t specify how it relayed the warnings to the operators of the drone.
The drone crashed about 2 miles inside Turkish territory, said Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioglu. “We have not been able to establish who the drone belongs to, but we are able to work on it because it fell inside Turkish territory,” he added.
Police: Victim was beaten for trying to leave his church
NEW HARTFORD, N.Y. (AP) — A mother and father whipped their 19-year-old son in church with an electrical cord and what appeared to be a belt during a deadly, all-night spiritual counseling session triggered by his desire to leave the fold, according to witness testimony and police Friday.
Church deacon Daniel Irwin testified that he peered through a doorway window in the sanctuary at one point during the more than 12-hour ordeal at the Word of Life Christian Church, and saw Lucas Leonard bleeding and in apparent agony.
“Lucas was rolling himself back and forth on the floor and making a sustained, monotone moaning,” Irwin said.
Within hours, the young man would be dead — killed by blows inflicted by his parents, sister and fellow church members, authorities said. His mother told police the group took turns hitting him and holding him down, state police investigator Jason Nellis testified.
The testimony came at a court hearing for the victim’s parents, Bruce and Deborah Leonard, on manslaughter charges. At the conclusion of the hearing, a judge ruled there was sufficient evidence to sustain the charges.
US envoy says recent Iran missile test violated UN sanctions
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Iran’s recent ballistic missile test was “a clear violation” of U.N. sanctions, and the United States will seek action from the Security Council, U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power said Friday.
Power said that after reviewing available information, the United States has confirmed that the medium-range ballistic missile launched on Oct. 10 was “inherently capable of delivering a nuclear weapon.” She said this violated a U.N. Security Council resolution adopted on June 9, 2010 which imposed a fourth round of sanctions on Iran.
It was Iran’s first missile test since the historic nuclear deal reached July 14 between Iran and world powers. While condemning the ballistic missile test, the Obama administration made clear that it is “entirely separate” from the nuclear deal, which is aimed at preventing Iran from developing atomic weapons.
The 2010 U.N. resolution bans Iran from undertaking “any activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using ballistic missile technology.”
VW hires anti-corruption exec as it deals with scandal
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Volkswagen is hiring a top anti-corruption manager from competitor Daimler as it struggles to clean up a scandal over cheating on U.S. diesel emissions tests.
The company said Friday it would hire lawyer Christine Hohmann-Dennhardt as an executive on its top management body tasked with integrity and legal affairs. She begins Jan. 1.
Before working for Daimler, Hohmann-Dennhardt, 65, served as a judge on Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court and as justice minister in the state of Hesse in southwestern Germany.
Daimler said it was agreeing to release her from her contract as compliance executive in the interests of good corporate governance.
Naming a compliance executive was a step taken by Daimler AG and German industrial equipment maker Siemens after bribery scandals at those companies. The idea is to put someone responsible for clean business practices at the very top level of management. German corporations are run by a management board comprised of the top executives, such as the CEO and the chief financial officer.
U.S. officials say Volkswagen AG programmed diesel engines on 482,000 cars to disable emission controls when the vehicles were not being tested. The company is recalling 2.4 million 2009-2015 model year cars with the deceptive software in Germany and 8.5 million of them in total across Europe.
