Police break up skirmishes among demonstrators in Cleveland
Police break up skirmishes among demonstrators in Cleveland
CLEVELAND (AP) — Police broke up scuffles between groups of demonstrators a few blocks from the Republican National Convention as crowds in the hundreds gathered Tuesday afternoon. There was no immediate word on any arrests or injuries.
A skirmish broke out when right-wing conspiracy theorist and radio show host Alex Jones started speaking in downtown’s Public Square through a bullhorn. Police on bicycles pushed back a surging crowd, and Jones was whisked away.
Minutes later, more officers on bicycles formed a line between a conservative religious group and a communist-leaning organization carrying a sign that read, “America Was Never Great.”
The demonstrators appeared outnumbered by police and members of the media. Police on bike and on foot formed lines to keep pockets of protesters separated.
Demonstrators soon spilled into the streets, and some appeared to be making their way toward the arena where the convention is being held.
Pence seeks to reassure conservatives about Trump
CLEVELAND (AP) — Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, making his first appearance in Cleveland since being named Donald Trump’s running mate, tried to reassure Republicans nervous about the celebrity businessman’s conservative credentials by vouching for his character and comparing him to Ronald Reagan.
Pence, long a conservative darling, made a surprise appearance Tuesday in front of a powerful conservative lobbying group to vow “that Donald Trump will be a great president of the United States of America because his heart beats with the heart of the American people.”
“He’s a builder. He’s a fighter. He’s a father and a patriot,” Pence said of Trump in what may be a preview of his vice presidential acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday. “Trust me when I say this. When we come together as a party, we’ll re-elect strong conservative majorities in the House and the Senate and elect this good man as the 45th president of the United States, and I know in my heart that we will make America great again.”
Trump picked Pence as his running mate last week after days of unusual and very public deliberations. Those in Trump’s camp who advocated for Pence framed his selection as a step toward party unity, touting his popularity among conservatives, including those who were skeptical of Trump and supported other candidates during the bruising Republican primary battle.
Pence seized the task of selling Trump to the conservatives gathered for a luncheon hosted by The American Conservative Union Foundation. He immediately compared Trump to the former president whose has been deified by many conservatives.
Turkey fires tens of thousands in coup plotters hunt
ISTANBUL (AP) — Asserting that “all the evidence” points to a U.S.-based Muslim cleric as the mastermind of last week’s failed coup, Turkey’s government on Tuesday fired tens of thousands of teachers, university deans and others accused of ties to the plot and demanded the cleric’s extradition.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan raised the issue in a phone call with U.S. President Barack Obama, and his spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin, said the government was preparing a formal extradition request for the cleric, Fethullah Gulen. But he also suggested that the U.S. government shouldn’t require the facts before extraditing him.
“A person of this kind can easily be extradited on grounds of suspicion,” Kalin said. “And there is very strong suspicion for his involvement, for Gulen’s involvement, in this coup attempt. So this is sufficient ground.”
Later, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said that Turkey had submitted materials related to Gulen and the administration was reviewing them to determine whether they amounted to a formal extradition request. Earnest added that a decision on whether to extradite would be made under a longstanding treaty between the two countries, and wouldn’t be made by Obama.
The extradition demand is likely to put strains on U.S. ties as the Obama administration refers the matter to the Justice Department, which will review the documents to determine whether the Turkish government has established probable cause that a crime was committed. Gulen has denied any knowledge of the failed coup.
Kansas City, Kansas, officer dies after shot in police car
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — An officer with the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department died Tuesday after he was shot in his car as he approached people matching the description of suspects in an earlier shooting.
Capt. Robert Melton was brought to the University of Kansas Hospital just before 2:30 p.m., but resuscitation efforts did not work, trauma surgeon James Howard said at a Tuesday afternoon news conference.
“There’s a lot of pain and brokenness in our community and our nation right now, and we just want to ask everyone to be prayerful and thoughtful right now,” Mayor Mark Holland of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County said.
Melton had responded to a report of person being shot at by several people in a vehicle, the police department said in a news release. When he and other officers arrived on the scene, the three or four occupants of the car jumped out and ran away.
About a half-hour after the initial call, Melton saw people who matched the suspects’ descriptions about 20 blocks from the original scene and pulled up to them, police spokesman Tom Tomasic said. Before he could get out of his car, he was shot multiple times.
Crane collapses on lanes of Tappan Zee Bridge in NYC suburbs
NEW YORK (AP) — A huge crane toppled off the new Tappan Zee Bridge under construction and collapsed across the busy span it is replacing, bringing cars to a halt midday Tuesday on the key Hudson River crossing north of New York City.
“Miraculously, there were no serious injuries,” said Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who briefed reporters at the scene. “If you said to me that a boom could fall across the Tappan Zee Bridge at noon, not hit a car… I would not believe it.”
Cuomo said the crane was performing routine work on the new bridge, driving pilings into the river bottom, and it was unclear what caused the crane’s boom to fall across the entire 90-foot, seven-lane width of the old bridge. Cars swerved to avoid the machinery, and at least one person was loaded into an ambulance, but no one was seriously hurt.
Cuomo said he would not allow traffic back on the bridge until inspectors determine it is safe. It wasn’t clear when that inspection would be complete, but Cuomo said it would take at least several hours.
“As you know it’s an old bridge,” he said. “That’s why we’re replacing it in the first place.”