US to deploy B-52s, warships to Middle East as aircraft carrier departs
WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The United States said on Friday it will deploy B-52 bombers, fighter jets, refueling aircraft and Navy destroyers to the Middle East, in a readjustment of military assets as the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group prepares to leave the region.
The Pentagon said in a statement that deployments would take place in the coming months and demonstrated the flexibility of the U.S. military movements around the world.
“Should Iran, its partners, or its proxies use this moment to target American personnel or interests in the region, the United States will take every measure necessary to defend our people,” Pentagon spokesperson Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder said in a statement.
The United States has had as many as two aircraft carriers in the Middle East during the past year of soaring tensions since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in Oct. 2023.
US blames Russia over video falsely alleging fraudulent voting in Georgia
WASHINGTON (Reuters) — U.S. intelligence agencies issued a joint statement on Friday blaming Russia for making a video that falsely purports to show a Haitian immigrant claiming to have voted multiple times in the U.S. state of Georgia.
Georgia is one of seven battleground states in Tuesday’s U.S. presidential election between Republican former President Donald Trump and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.
“This judgment is based on information available to the IC (intelligence community) and prior activities of other Russian influence actors, including videos and other disinformation activities,” the agencies said in the statement, issued jointly by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).
The office of Georgia’s secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, on Thursday called the video “targeted disinformation” and said it likely was produced by “Russian troll farms.”
Ten states press US to take tougher stance in UN plastic treaty
WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Ten states on Friday called on the U.S. government to go beyond backing production caps in a global plastic treaty, and support a pact that rejects “false” solutions like forms of recycling and protects communities burdened by plastic production.
In a letter sent ahead of the final round of negotiations on a U.N. treaty in Busan, South Korea, later this month, New York Attorney General Letitia James and the attorneys general of California, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and others, urged the U.S. delegation to go beyond its stated positions at the talks.
In August, the U.S. said it would support a treaty at the talks known as INC-5 that would set global caps on plastic production, a break from its previous stance that it should be left to countries to decide.
“I applaud our nation’s delegation to INC-5 for their support of a global plastics treaty that will establish meaningful caps on plastic production,” the letter said. “I encourage the delegation to heed our additional recommendations so we can build toward a more sustainable future.”
Two dead, 6 injured in Florida shooting amid Halloween celebration
ORLANDO, Fla. (TNS) — A 17-year-old faces murder charges after a pair of downtown Orlando shootings during crowded Halloween celebrations early Friday ended with two people dead and six others injured.
The suspect, who the Orlando Police Department identified as 17-year-old Jaylen Edgar, was tackled and handcuffed as he tried to follow the fleeing crowd from the scene. He faces two charges of first-degree murder and six counts of attempted murder, OPD announced Friday afternoon.
Police Chief Eric Smith said police were on scene at 1:07 a.m. when officers reported shots fired at Central Boulevard and Orange Avenue. Minutes later, more shots were witnessed south of Washington Street on Orange Avenue where a suspect was taken into custody.
North Korean envoy promises to stick with Russia until ‘victory’
(TNS) — North Korea’s foreign minister promised to stick with Russia until “victory” during talks with her Russian counterpart in Moscow, as Western concerns escalate over defense cooperation that includes Pyongyang sending thousands of troops to help in the war against Ukraine.
“North Korea assures Russia that it will always be with the Russian comrades until the day of victory,” Choe Son Hui said on Friday as she met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Lavrov greeted his counterpart in the city’s Yaroslavsky railway station ahead of talks in a building used by the Foreign Ministry for such meetings. He said there was “close” cooperation between the two countries’ militaries and intelligence services, while Choe hailed ties she said were moving to a new level.
Russia on Thursday declined to comment on whether it’s providing missile technology to North Korea in return for military assistance. The isolated Communist state hours earlier had fired an intercontinental ballistic missile that flew longer than any previous one tested by Kim Jong Un’s regime, adding to the tensions over its dispatch of troops to Russia.
Arizona prosecutor investigating Trump for saying Cheney should face gunfire
(Reuters) — Arizona’s top prosecutor, a Democrat, said on Friday that her office was investigating whether Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump violated state law for suggesting a prominent critic should face gunfire in combat.
Trump has drawn outrage for comments he made about former lawmaker Liz Cheney at a campaign event in the battleground state of Arizona on Thursday. His campaign said the former president was criticizing Cheney as a warmonger, but critics condemned the remarks as evidence he would target his enemies if he wins next week’s election against Democrat Kamala Harris.
“She’s a radical war hawk,” Trump said of Cheney. “Let’s put her with a rifle standing there, with nine barrels shooting at her, okay? Let’s see how she feels about it, you know, when the guns are trained on her face.”
Speaking to a local TV station on Friday, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said Trump might have violated state laws that prohibit death threats.
“I have already asked my criminal division chief to start looking at that statement, analyzing it for whether it qualifies as a death threat under Arizona’s laws,” Mayes told 12News.
Mayes said it was not yet clear whether Trump’s comment amounted to protected free speech or a criminal threat.
Power mostly restored as Spain grapples with aftermath of deadly flood
ALFAFAR, Spain (Reuters) — More than 90% of the households in eastern Spain hit by catastrophic floods that killed at least 205 had regained power on Friday, utility Iberdrola said, though thousands still lacked electricity in cut-off areas that rescuers struggled to reach.
Spanish rescuers opened a temporary morgue in a convention centre and battled to reach areas still cut off on Friday as the death toll rose to 205 people, most of them in Valencia, the eastern region that bore the brunt of the devastation.
Some 500 soldiers were deployed to search for people who are still missing and help survivors of the storm, which triggered a fresh weather alert in the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Valencia, where rains are expected to continue during the weekend.