US steps up security amid fears of Brussels copycat attacks
US steps up security amid fears of Brussels copycat attacks
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration stepped up security at major transit hubs across the country after Tuesday’s airport and subway bombings in Brussels, as top U.S. intelligence officials warned of the risk for copycat attacks at home. President Barack Obama vowed to help Belgium track down those responsible for the deadly explosions.
Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson stressed there is no “specific, credible intelligence” pointing to a similar plot in America, but he said the Transportation Security Administration would deploy additional security at major airports and rail stations in different cities. Officials also reviewed additional security measures for travelers from Belgium, among more than three dozen countries whose citizens generally don’t need a visa to enter the U.S.
The attacks in the Belgian capital underscored the growing threat posed by the Islamic State group on both sides of the Atlantic. The bombs in Brussels’ airport and subway locked down the European Union’s capital just a few months after attacks shocked Paris and San Bernadino, California.
“We will do whatever is necessary to support our friend and ally Belgium in bringing to justice those who are responsible,” Obama declared in Havana, where he was closing his historic, three-day visit. The attack immediately overshadowed events on the island, with Obama addressing the tragedy at the top of a keynote speech to the Cuban people and again at an exhibition baseball game.
“The world must unite,” Obama said after offering his condolences in a telephone call with Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel. “We can and we will defeat those who threaten the safety and security of people all around the world.”
In Cuba, Obama calls for burying ‘last remnant’ of Cold War
HAVANA (AP) — Capping his remarkable visit to Cuba, President Barack Obama on Tuesday declared an end to the “last remnant of the Cold War in the Americas” and openly urged the Cuban people to pursue a more democratic future for this communist nation 90 miles from Miami.
With Cuban President Raul Castro watching from a balcony, Obama said the government should not fear citizens who speak freely and vote for their own leaders. And with Cubans watching on tightly controlled state television, Obama said they would be the ones to determine their country’s future, not the United States.
“Many suggested that I come here and ask the people of Cuba to tear something down,” Obama said. “But I’m appealing to the young people of Cuba who will lift something up, build something new.”
On the streets of Havana, the president’s address sparked extraordinarily rare public discussions about democracy, and some anger with Cuba’s leaders. Cubans are used to complaining bitterly about economic matters but rarely speak publicly about any desire for political change, particularly in conversations with foreign journalists.
Juan Francisco Ugarte, Oliva, a 71-year-old retired refrigeration technician, said the American president “dared to say in the presence of the leaders, of Raul Castro, that (Cubans) had the right to protest peacefully without being beaten or arrested.”
Infamous ex-Toronto mayor Rob Ford dies after cancer fight
TORONTO (AP) — Knocking over a grandmother while rushing to the defense of his brother, who was insulting spectators in the City Council chamber. Threatening “murder” in a profane, incoherent rant captured on video. Swearing and slurring, calling the police chief a derogatory name and trying to imitate a Jamaican accent.
One after another, Rob Ford’s statements and actions became nightly fodder for TV comedians and an embarrassment to many of the suburbanites he championed as Toronto’s mayor.
But as he sought a second term in 2014, Ford was diagnosed with a rare cancer. Malignant liposarcoma in his abdomen forced him to do what months of scandals could not — drop his bid for re-election. Ford underwent aggressive chemotherapy treatments but succumbed to the illness on Tuesday. He was 46.
“With heavy hearts and profound sadness, the Ford family announces the passing of their beloved son, brother, husband, and father, Councillor Rob Ford, earlier today,” a statement from his family said. “A dedicated man of the people, Councillor Ford spent his life serving the citizens of Toronto.”
Current Toronto Mayor John Tory said Ford was a “profoundly human guy” and said “the city is reeling with this news.”
Minnesota lawmakers look for answers to black wealth gap
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — When a young black man was killed in a confrontation with two police officers last November, Minneapolis became the latest city to endure weeks of street protests.
But the unrest over 24-year-old Jamar Clark’s death evolved beyond his case to include demands that city and state leaders do more about the persistent poverty seen as the root of racial tensions, especially on the city’s predominantly black north side.
Now, with a boost from Minnesota’s liberal governor and the muscle of a nearly $1 billion surplus, the state is considering plowing millions of dollars into initiatives intended to help more black residents catch the economic tide that has pushed statewide unemployment below 4 percent — even as African-Americans are four times as likely to be out of work.
Democratic Sen. Bobby Champion, one of three black lawmakers in Minnesota’s 201-member Legislature, said too many activists focus on the circumstances of Clark’s shooting and press for release of video footage of his tussle with police.
“If they release the videotape, does that change your economic circumstances? If they decide to indict the police officer, does that change your graduation rates?” he asked. “Police brutality should be included. But the common denominator is poverty.”