Nation and world news in brief for July 19
Lou Dobbs, former Fox and CNN host, dead at 78
(Reuters) – Lou Dobbs, a former Fox Business and CNN host who was a vocal supporter of Republican former President Donald Trump, has died at the age of 78, his friends and a statement posted on his social media account said on Friday. The cause and place of his death were not disclosed in the statements.
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NASA, Boeing complete ground tests on Starliner’s problematic thrusters
ORLANDO, Fla. (TNS) — NASA and Boeing completed tests on the ground looking to mirror conditions that led to problems with the CST-100 Starliner that still awaits the go to bring home a pair of astronauts from the International Space Station. What was originally planned to be just an eight-day stay on board the ISS has stretched to more than six weeks because of issues with helium leaks and thruster shutdowns on Starliner’s propulsion module as it approached the station.
More gas cars and trucks as automakers change plans
(NYT) — For much of the last five years, automakers have been spending billions of dollars in a frantic race to develop electric vehicles and build factories to produce them, with expectations that consumers would flock to these new models. But in the past 12 months, the growth rate of electric vehicle sales has slowed, as some car buyers have balked at the high prices of electric cars and trucks and the hassles of charging them.
The shift in consumer sentiment is now forcing many automakers to pull back on aggressive investment plans and pivot, at least partly, back to the internal-combustion engine vehicles that still account for most new car sales and a large share of corporate profits.
The latest example came Thursday when Ford Motor said it would retool a plant in Canada to produce large pickup trucks rather than the electric sport utility vehicles it had previously planned to make there. Ford’s move comes a day after General Motors said it expected to make 200,000 to 250,000 battery-powered cars and trucks this year, about 50,000 fewer than it had previously forecast.
Russia sentences US citizen to 13 years in drug case
(TNS) — A Russian court sentenced a U.S. citizen to 13 years in prison for attempting to sell narcotics, the latest in a series of cases against Americans.
Michael Travis Leake was found guilty of attempting to sell drugs on a large scale, the Tass news service reported Thursday, citing the court in Moscow. Leake was ordered to serve the term in a maximum security penal colony, the agency reported.
Leake, who was detained in June 2023, is a musician and former paratrooper who has lived in Russia for many years, the BBC has reported.
Earlier this month, another Russian court sentenced U.S. citizen Robert Woodland Romanov to 12 years and six months for attempted drug trafficking.
Photo of Fani Willis found on Trump shooter’s cellphone
(TNS) — At least one photo of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was found on the phone of Thomas Matthew Crooks, the man accused of attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania, according to a CNN report.
Crooks’ phone also contained pictures of several other politicians, including Trump, President Joe Biden, House Speaker Mike Johnson, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, among others.
The pictures were not accompanied by threatening language or messages, CNN reported, and almost all appeared to have been downloaded from the internet.
