Clinton says criticisms are behind her; Trump begs to differ
Clinton says criticisms are behind her; Trump begs to differ
NEW YORK (AP) — Hillary Clinton vigorously defended her family’s foundation against Donald Trump’s criticism Friday and declared she’s confident there will be no new blockbuster accusations on the foundation, her emails or anything else that could undermine her chances of defeating him in November.
She said the private Clinton Foundation’s charitable programs would continue if she’s elected, even as Trump and other critics argue they would present a conflict of interest.
During an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” the Democratic presidential nominee kept up her verbal assault on Trump’s campaign, asserting it is built on “prejudice and paranoia” and caters to a radical fringe of the Republican Party.
Clinton is looking to counter Trump’s attempts to win over moderate voters unsettled by his controversial remarks and policy proposals. In the meantime, he has been softening his tone on immigration and reaching out to African-Americans, a traditional Democratic constituency.
Clinton also is targeting moderate voters — and especially Republicans — by depicting Trump and his supporters as extremists, and casting the race as “not a normal choice between a Republican and a Democrat.”
Quake damaged roads threaten access to town
AMATRICE, Italy (AP) — Rescue workers acknowledged Friday they might not find any more survivors from Italy’s earthquake as they confronted a new obstacle to their recovery work: a powerful aftershock that damaged two key access bridges to hard-hit Amatrice, threatening to isolate it.
Mayor Sergio Pirozzi, warned if new roads weren’t quickly cleared to bypass the damaged ones, Amatrice risked being cut off at a time it needs as many transport options as possible to bring emergency crews in and some of the 281 dead out.
“With the aftershocks yesterday but especially this morning, the situation has worsened considerably,” Pirozzi told reporters.
The biggest aftershock struck at 6:28 a.m., one of the more than 1,000 that have hit the area since Wednesday’s quake. The U.S. Geological Service said it had a magnitude of 4.7, while the Italian geophysics institute measured it at 4.8.
Rebels, civilians leave town after 4-year siege
DARAYA, Syria (AP) — Escorted by armed troops, dozens of insurgents and their families left this war-wrecked suburb of the Syrian capital on Friday as part of a forced evacuation deal struck with the government to end a four-year siege and aerial campaign that has left the area in ruins.
The capitulation by rebel forces in Daraya, an early bastion of the uprising against President Bashar Assad, provides another boost for his forces amid a stalemate in the fight for Aleppo, Syria’s largest city.
It also improves security around Assad’s seat of power, pacifying an entire region southwest of Damascus that was once a backbone of the rebellion. Daraya was the last remaining rebel holdout in the region known as western Ghouta — and the closest to the capital.
The mass relocation of the suburb’s residents reflects the government’s ongoing military strategy to break up Sunni population areas, weakening the rebellion against it. It also highlights concerns over the forced displacement of members of the Sunni majority, seen by some as a government policy to strengthen its base and create a corridor made up of its minority supporters.
Following the deal struck late Thursday, Daraya’s rebels began evacuating in government buses on Friday, a process expected to take several days. Around 700 gunmen are to be allowed safe passage to the opposition-held northern province of Idlib, while some 4,000 civilians will be taken to temporary shelter in government-controlled Kisweh, south of Daraya.
Kerry: ‘Clarity’ achieved with Russia on Syria truce steps
GENEVA (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says he and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov “have achieved clarity” on a path to restore a truce in Syria but details remain to be worked out.
After meeting off-and-on with Lavrov for nearly 10 hours in Geneva on Friday, Kerry said the “vast majority” of technical discussions on steps to reinstate a ceasefire and improve humanitarian access have been completed. Kerry says experts will remain in Geneva with an eye toward finalizing the unresolved steps in the coming days.
Lavrov echoed that, saying “we still need to finalize a few issues” and pointed to the need to separate fighters from the al-Nusra Front, which has ties to al-Qaida, from U.S.-backed fighters who hold parts of northwest Syria.
Lavrov insisted that a resumption of U.N.-mediated talks between the Syrian government and the U.S.-backed opposition that were suspended in April should help reduce hostilities that have flared in recent months. He also hailed an improved atmosphere between Moscow and Washington.
“We have continued our efforts to reduce the areas where we lack understanding and trust, which is an achievement,” Lavrov said. “The mutual trust is growing with every meeting.”
US wants to force lower speeds on truck and bus drivers
DETROIT (AP) — The U.S. is seeking to forcibly limit how fast trucks, buses and other large vehicles can travel on the nation’s highways.
A new proposal Friday would impose a nationwide limit by electronically capping speeds with a device on newly made U.S. vehicles that weigh more than 26,000 pounds. Regulators are considering a cap of 60, 65 or 68 mph, though that could change. Whatever the speed limit, drivers would be physically prevented from exceeding it. The proposal, which comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, does not force older heavy vehicles to add the speed-limiting technology, but the regulators are still considering it.
The government said capping speeds for new large vehicles will reduce the 1,115 fatal crashes involving heavy trucks that occur each year and save $1 billion in fuel costs.
While the news is being welcomed by some safety advocates and non-professional drivers, many truckers said that such changes could lead to dangerous scenarios where they are traveling at much lower speeds than everyone else.
The rule has been ensnared in a regulatory maze in the decade since the nonprofit group Roadsafe America issued its first petition in 2006. The group was founded by Atlanta financial adviser Steve Owings and his wife Susan, whose son Cullum was killed by a speeding tractor-trailer during a trip back to school in Virginia after Thanksgiving in 2002. The nonprofit was later joined by the American Trucking Associations, the nation’s largest trucking industry group.
Photograph of separated elderly Canada couple gets attention
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — A photograph of a crying elderly Canadian couple in wheelchairs, separated into two different care homes after 62 years of marriage because no beds were available together, has received international attention.
Wolfram Gottschalk, 83, of Surrey, British Columbia was put in an assisted living home in January after he suffered dementia health complications making it impossible for wife Anita, 81, to care for him at home. Four months later, Anita entered a different facility despite family efforts to keep them together.
The facilities are half an hour apart, with family driving Anita to see Wolfram several times a week.
Granddaughter Ashley Bartyik took “the saddest photo I have ever taken” when her grandparents were brought together recently. She notes that he reaches and cries out for her.
Wolfram was diagnosed with lymphoma Aug. 23. Now, the family is desperate for the couple to be together to live out their remaining days.