Nation and World briefs for May 10

Trump ax falls on FBI’s Comey amid Russian investigation

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump abruptly fired FBI Director James Comey Tuesday, dramatically ousting the nation’s top law enforcement official amid an FBI investigation into whether Trump’s campaign had ties to Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

In a letter to Comey, Trump said the firing was necessary to restore “public trust and confidence” in the FBI. Comey came under intense scrutiny in recent months for his public comments about an investigation into Democrat Hillary Clinton’s email practices, including a pair of letters he sent to Congress on the matter in the closing days of last year’s campaign.

Trump made no mention of Comey’s role in the Clinton investigation, which she blamed in part for the election result. But in announcing the firing, the White House circulated a scathing memo, written by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, criticizing Comey’s handling of the Clinton probe, including the director’s decision to have a news conference announcing its findings and releasing “derogatory information” about Clinton.

Since Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from the bureau’s Trump-Russia probe, Rosenstein has been in charge.

This is only the second firing of an FBI director in history. President Bill Clinton dismissed William Sessions amid allegations of ethical lapses in 1993.

Trump OKs arms for Syrian Kurds, despite Turkish objections

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration announced Tuesday it will arm Syria’s Kurdish fighters “as necessary” to recapture the key Islamic State group stronghold of Raqqa, despite intense opposition from NATO ally Turkey, which sees the Kurds as terrorists.

The decision is meant to accelerate the Raqqa operation but undermines the Turkish government’s view that the Syrian Kurdish group known as the YPG is an extension of a Kurdish terrorist organization that operates in Turkey. Washington is eager to retake Raqqa, arguing that it is a haven for IS operatives to plan attacks on the West.

Dana W. White, the Pentagon’s chief spokeswoman, said in a written statement that President Donald Trump authorized the arms Monday. His approval gives the Pentagon the go-ahead to “equip Kurdish elements of the Syrian Democratic Forces as necessary to ensure a clear victory over ISIS” in Raqqa, said White, who was traveling with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis in Europe.

The U.S. sees the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, as its most effective battlefield partner against IS in northern and eastern Syria. White said they’re “the only force on the ground that can successfully seize Raqqa in the near future.”

While White did not mention the kinds of arms to be provided to the Kurds, other officials had indicated in recent days that 120mm mortars, machines guns, ammunition and light armored vehicles were possibilities. They said the U.S. would not provide artillery or surface-to-air missiles.

Syrian troops shift focus to IS-controlled east

BEIRUT (AP) — Syria’s military launched a new assault Tuesday aimed at reasserting its authority in the east of the country, battling U.S.-backed opposition fighters in the remote desert near the borders with Iraq and Jordan. The government forces’ ultimate goal is to insert itself in the fight against the Islamic State group in the oil-rich region.

The government offensive came as the Trump administration announced it would arm Syria’s Kurdish fighters “as necessary” to recapture the key Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa. The decision is meant to accelerate the Raqqa operation, but is strongly opposed by key NATO ally Turkey, which sees the Syrian Kurdish group, known as the YPG, as an extension of the Kurdish insurgency raging in its southeast.

The decision is likely to complicate the way going forward, as the U.S. has deployed additional troops to act as a buffer between Syria’s Kurds and Turkey along the country’s northern border.

Dana W. White, the Pentagon’s chief spokeswoman, said in a written statement that President Donald Trump’s authorization of arms to the Syrian Kurds gives the Pentagon the go-ahead to “equip Kurdish elements of the Syrian Democratic Forces as necessary to ensure a clear victory over ISIS” in Raqqa. The U.S. sees the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, which also includes Arab fighters, as its most effective battlefield partner against IS in northern and eastern Syria.

The statement did not specify the kinds of arms to be provided, but other officials have indicated that 120mm mortars, machine guns, ammunition and light armored vehicles were possibilities. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to publicly discuss the matter, said the U.S. would not provide artillery or surface-to-air missiles.

Amtrak engineer won’t be charged in deadly crash

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The speeding Amtrak engineer involved in a derailment that killed eight people and injured about 200 others won’t face criminal charges, the city district attorney’s office said Tuesday.

Prosecutors said they can’t prove engineer Brandon Bostian acted with “conscious disregard” when he accelerated the train to 106 mph on a 50 mph curve in Philadelphia.

Federal investigators concluded that Bostian lost track of his location, or “situational awareness,” before the May 12, 2015, crash after learning that a nearby commuter train had been struck with a rock. They found no evidence he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol or distracted by a cellphone.

Lawyers Thomas R. Kline and Robert Mongeluzzi, who represent more than 30 victims and their families, described their clients as bitterly disappointed and said many remain in constant pain two years later.

“There is a longing for accountability when you are disabled and in excruciating pain every day,” Mongeluzzi said. “The person who was the primary and sole cause of this escaped punishment and you paid the price.”

Liberal claims victory in South Korea presidential election

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Hours after celebrating his election win with thousands of supporters in wet Seoul streets, newly elected South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday will be thrown into the job of navigating a nation deeply split over its future and faced with growing threats from North Korea and an uneasy alliance with the United States.

Moon, whose victory capped one of the most turbulent political stretches in the nation’s recent history and set up its first liberal rule in a decade, will begin his presidential duties after the National Election Commission officially declares him as winner in a meeting scheduled on Wednesday morning. The election body had finished voting as of 6 a.m., with Moon gathering 41 percent of the votes, comfortably edging conservative Hong Joon-pyo and centrist Ahn Cheol-soo, who gathered 24 percent and 21 percent of the votes, respectively.

Moon’s first schedule as president was expected to be a morning visit to the National Cemetery in the central city of Daejeon, where the country’s independence fighters and war heroes are buried. He will then return to capital Seoul for an inauguration ceremony at the National Assembly.

South Korea might see a sharp departure from recent policy under Moon, who favors closer ties with North Korea, saying hard-line conservative governments did nothing to prevent the North’s development of nuclear-armed missiles and only reduced South Korea’s voice in international efforts to counter North Korea.

This softer approach might put him at odds with South Korea’s biggest ally, the United States. The Trump administration has swung between threats and praise for North Korea’s leader.

Harsher sentences could result from guidance weighed by US

WASHINGTON (AP) — Justice Department officials have been weighing new guidance that would encourage prosecutors to charge suspects with the most serious offenses they can prove, a reversal of Obama-era policies that aimed to reduce the federal prison population and show more leniency to lower-level drug offenders.

If embraced by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, this could result in an increased use of rigid mandatory minimum sentences that critics have called unnecessarily harsh.

The guidance is taking shape in the form of a memo that ultimately will be shared with the nation’s federal prosecutors, but the timeframe for release is unclear. Drafts of the memo have been circulating for weeks and have undergone revisions, so the final language is not yet certain.

A person involved in the discussions described one version to The Associated Press speaking only on condition of anonymity because the guidance has not been publicly announced. As outlined, that version would encourage prosecutors to charge people with the most serious, provable offenses — something more likely to trigger mandatory minimum sentences. Those rules limit a judge’s discretion and are typically dictated, for example, by the quantity of drugs involved in a crime.

Such a policy shift has been expected since Sessions was appointed and is in keeping with his tough-on-crime public posture, resistance to proposals he sees as overly lenient and repeated statements about running a Justice Department that enforces laws as they’re written. In 2003, Attorney General John Ashcroft enacted a similar policy that directed prosecutors to “pursue the most serious, readily provable offense in all federal prosecutions.”

Deacon candidate accuses Minnesota bishop of blackmail

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota man alleged Tuesday that his Catholic bishop blackmailed him, threatening to block his path to becoming a deacon and harm his son’s priesthood career if he told anyone about being abused by a beloved priest decades earlier.

Ronald Vasek filed a lawsuit Monday against Bishop Michael Hoeppner and the Diocese of Crookston in northwestern Minnesota. His attorney, Jeff Anderson, said it’s the first time a U.S. bishop has been sued individually for coercion.

Vasek said the 2010 threat kept him quiet for years until he was called to a meeting with Hoeppner this past March and told his pastor no longer supported his ordination. To Vasek, the reasons given made no sense, so he decided to end his silence.

His voice choked with emotion during a news conference announcing the lawsuit, Vasek said he finally told his wife, Patty, and a trusted priest, the Rev. Robert Schreiner. He said his deep faith required him to come forward.

“If I’m not ordained a deacon, at least I can be a servant to those who have been abused, in some way,” Vasek said.

Phoenix serial killings suspect: ‘I’m innocent’

PHOENIX (AP) — A former city bus driver suspected in a string of nine deadly shootings that spread fear in Phoenix declared “I’m innocent” as residents of the terrorized neighborhoods Tuesday expressed both relief over the arrest and frustration that it took so long.

Aaron Saucedo, 23, spoke up during a brief court appearance late Monday night after his arrest on suspicion of being the killer dubbed the Serial Street Shooter. A judge ordered him held without bail.

Police say Saucedo killed nine people and carried out 12 shootings from August 2015 to July 2016, gunning down victims after dark as they stood outside their homes or sat in their cars. Most of the killings were in a Latino neighborhood.

Police gave no details on a motive. Saucedo knew only the first victim, and the other killings were random, authorities said.

Because of the shootings last summer, some residents stayed inside after dark. Others were afraid to come forward because many are immigrants in the U.S. illegally or don’t have their paperwork in order.

Sale of Trump Caribbean property revives ethics concerns

WASHINGTON (AP) — For sale: Luxury waterfront escape. Comes with two villas and five acres of paradise. And perhaps a bit of goodwill from the president of the United States?

President Donald Trump’s corporate trust is selling a multimillion-dollar Caribbean resort, presenting an enticing new way for a wealthy interest to get the president’s attention and creating a fresh ethical dilemma for a first family dogged by the repeated collision of its corporate ties and public service.

Just in the past few days, the Kushner Companies, the real estate company run by Trump’s in-laws, apologized for advertising its connections to the White House during a pitch to Chinese investors. Ivanka Trump and other government employees are hawking her new book on social media — despite her assertion that she won’t promote it.

Last weekend was the president’s 14th at a Trump-branded property, riling ethics experts who say the visits amount to in-kind advertising.

It’s all part of a push and pull that has only intensified as the Trump administration wades deeper into policymaking. Although the family appears to be following the letter of the law to avoid conflicts of interest, Trump, his daughter and son-in-law Jared Kushner — the latter two White House advisers — haven’t always been able to keep their former business interests from creeping in.