HOUSTON – United Airlines paid tribute to former President George H.W. Bush on the day of his funeral.
To honor the 41st president, the airline suspended operation at gate 41 Wednesday at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. The gate was closed on what President Donald Trump has declared a national day of mourning.
A photo at the airport shows a portrait of George H.W. Bush hoisted at the gate, accompanied by an American flag and a funeral wreath.
In a separate part of the airport, flowers were placed around statue of the late president.
President Trump shocked the world, accepting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s invitation to discuss a nuclear-free Korean peninsula. It’s historic and high-stakes. Just the FAQs
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration declared Wednesday that it’s up to North Korea to follow through on its threats to cancel a summit with Kim Jong Un, saying the United States remains prepared to meet.
“We’ll see what happens,” Trump told reporters during a photo opportunity with the president of Uzbekistan, adding that he will insist on North Korean “denuclearization” as a condition of talks.
Earlier, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said of the North Koreans: “If they want to meet we’ll be ready and if they don’t, that’s OK too.”
Suggesting that the threats by Kim’s government may be pre-summit posturing, Sanders also said, “this is something that we fully expected,” and that the administration remains “hopeful” the June 12 meeting will happen.
Trump and Sanders both said the administration has not received formal notification from the North Koreans about potential problems with the summit.
Hours after protesting U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises, the North Koreans issued a second threat to cancel the Trump-Kim meeting by rejecting the idea that they would unilaterally give up nuclear weapons, saying their country would end up like Libya or Iraq.
“If the U.S. is trying to drive us into a corner to force our unilateral nuclear abandonment, we will no longer be interested in such dialogue and cannot but reconsider our proceeding to the DPRK-U.S. summit,” said the translated statement attributed to Kim Kye Gwan, North Korea’s first vice-minister of Foreign Affairs.
Trump announced last week he would meet with Kim June 12 in Singapore to discuss an agreement on nuclear weapons. For months, the American president has urged China and other countries to cut off economic aid to North Korea until Kim gives up his weapons programs.
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A woman dressed in a traditional gown pays her respects at statues of late North Korean leaders, Kim Il Sung, left, and Kim Jong Il, in Pyongyang, North Korea, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017. Unaware of reports his eldest son – and current leader Kim Jong Uns half-brother – was killed just days ago in what appears to have been a carefully planned assassination, North Koreans marked the birthday of late leader Kim Jong Il on Thursday as they do every year. Eric Talmadge, AP
Azalea, whose Korean name is “Dalle”, a 19-year-old female chimpanzee, smokes a cigarette at the Central Zoo in Pyongyang, North Korea Oct. 19, 2016. According to officials at the newly renovated zoo, which has become a favorite leisure spot in the North Korean capital since it was re-opened in July, the chimpanzee smokes about a pack a day. They insist, however, that she does not inhale. Wong Maye-E, AP
A picture released by the Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the ruling North Korean Workers Party, on Sept. 8, 2015, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center front, and Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, second from right, a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and first vice-president of the Council of State, watching an art performance by the Moranbong Band and the State Merited Chorus in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Sept. 7, 2015. Bermudez led a Cuban delegation to North Korea to mark the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between North Korea and Cuba. Rodong Sinmun, European Pressphoto Agency
Men and women pump their fists in the air and chant “defend!” as they carry propaganda slogans calling for reunification of their country during the “Pyongyang Mass Rally on the Day of the Struggle Against the U.S.,” attended by approximately 100,000 North Koreans to mark the 65th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War at the Kim Il Sung stadium, Thursday, June 25, 2015, in Pyongyang, North Korea. The month of June in North Korea is known as the “Struggle Against U.S. Imperialism Month” and it’s a time for North Koreans to swarm to war museums, mobilize for gatherings denouncing the evils of the United States and join in a general, nationwide whipping up of the anti-American sentiment. Wong Maye-E, AP
North Koreans gather in front of a portrait of their late leader Kim Il Sung, left, and Kim Jong Il, right, paying respects to their late leader Kim Jong Il, to mark the third anniversary of his death, Wednesday Dec. 17 at Pyong Chon District in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Korea marked the end of a three-year mourning period for the late leader Kim Jong Il on Wednesday, opening the way for his son, Kim Jong Un, to put a more personal stamp on the way the country is run. Kim Kwang Hyon, AP
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National Security Adviser John Bolton in particular, for promoting what the North Koreans called “the assertions of so-called Libya mode of nuclear abandonment.”
Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi gave up programs for weapons of mass destruction in 2003. He was deposed and killed in 2011 after a rebellion sparked by the Arab Spring.
The U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, based on faulty intelligence about weapons of mass destruction, toppled Saddam Hussein’s government.
More: North Korea threatens to cancel Donald Trump-Kim Jong Un meeting
More: North Korea warns it may cancel summit with Trump if it has to give up nukes
Bolton, a longtime critic of the North Korean regime, has cited the “Libya model” as a potential process by which Kim could dismantle its nuclear programs. Sanders, however, said that is not administration policy: “This is the President Trump model. He’s going to run this the way he sees fit.”
In an earlier statement, North Korea criticized ongoing joint military exercises by the United States and South Korea, and said that was a reason to rethink the Trump-Kim summit.
U.S. officials, caught by surprise, said they have received no formal notification from the North or South Korean governments, and no formal protest of the military exercises from Kim’s government.
The U.S. Defense Department said the military exercises are annual events, designed to help the U.S.-South Korea alliance defend itself in case of attack. “While we will not discuss specifics, the defensive nature of these combined exercises has been clear for many decades and has not changed,” said Army Col. Robert Manning, a Pentagon spokesman.
How serious are the threats?
It’s hard to know how seriously to treat Kim’s threats about the Trump meeting, analysts said.
They could be Kim’s way of pushing back at perceptions that Trump is seeking more from North Korea than he is willing to give.
The two sides have described denuclearization quite differently; while Trump wants North Korea to fully disarm its nukes, the North Koreans have in the past called on the United States to pull back its nuclear defense umbrella across the Korean Peninsula.
Kim could also be working with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who wants to show that he will be a player in the fate of his nuclear-armed neighbor, some analysts speculated.
“I don’t think anybody knows,” said Aaron David Miller, a former State Department negotiator for presidents from both political parties. “There’s a high degree of opacity here.”
Kim may be starting to look at what kinds of concessions he can extract from Trump, said Tom Nichols, professor of National Security Affairs at the Naval War College.
Calling it “a classic ploy,” Nichols said that “the North Koreans waited until a time and a place was set, and for the president to fully commit himself, before they reversed course and withdrew their original offers. Now they’re seeing just how badly the Americans want this meeting.”
Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., speaking on Fox Business Network, described Kim as a “goon” and a “butcher,” but said the North Korean leader needs some kind of deal because sanctions are starving his people. Kennedy described Kim’s threats as part of the negotiating process, and added, “I think China completely controls Kim Jong Un.”
Trump has vowed to keep economic pressure on North Korea throughout the negotiating process.
The North Koreans went ahead and canceled planned meetings Wednesday with South Korean counterparts. The two sides had planned to discuss new efforts to reduce border tensions, including proposals to reunite families separated during the Korean War of the early 1950s.
The South and North Koreans have also talked about a formal peace treaty, as they are technically still at war; the original Korean conflict ended with an armistice signed in 1953.
Put the Nobel on hold
In announcing the cancellation of the meeting with the South Koreans, the North Koreans said that “the United States will also have to undertake careful deliberations about the fate of the planned North Korea-U.S. summit in light of this provocative military ruckus jointly conducted with the South Korean authorities.”
Trump supporters have said he should be considered for the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to bring North Korea to the table.
In its latest threat to cancel the Trump-Kim summit, the North Koreans took aim at Trump’s reputation and alluded to his criticism of previous presidents over their handling of Korean issues.
“If President Trump follows in the footsteps of his predecessors, he will be recorded as more tragic and unsuccessful president than his predecessors, far from his initial ambition to make unprecedented success,” said the translated statement.
Sanders said the decision belongs to North Korea.
“If they want to meet,” she said, “the president will certainly be ready.”
Marilyn L. Glynn, who served as the general counsel at the Office of Government Ethics from 1997 to 2008, said the letter to the Department of Justice is significant and unusual and that if Mr. Trump intentionally filed an inaccurate disclosure last year, he may have violated the law.
But she added that the matter is now unclear — as the referral from the ethics office does not explicitly state that the agency itself has concluded there was a violation and it is hard to know exactly when Mr. Trump learned about the debt.
“What did he know and when did he know it,” she said. “At time he filed it last year, he may not have known this payment was made or that a payment was made at all.”
Mr. Trump’s disclosure of the repaid debt to Mr. Cohen did little to clear up confusion about the total size of the reimbursements. Rudolph W. Giuliani, Mr. Trump’s attorney, said earlier this month that Mr. Cohen was paid $460,000 or $470,000 from Mr. Trump, which also included money for “incidental expenses” that he had incurred on Mr. Trump’s behalf.
Mr. Giuliani said Mr. Trump started paying Mr. Cohen back through a series of monthly installments of roughly $35,000 and that those payments began last year and may have carried into this year. The filing released on Wednesday capped the amount Mr. Trump paid back to Mr. Cohen in 2017 at $250,000, leaving more than $200,000 of the amount Mr. Giuliani mentioned unaccounted for.
The disclosure did not preclude the possibility that federal investigators could determine the payment to Ms. Clifford violated campaign finance laws. If they conclude it was made with the intention of influencing the presidential campaign — making it an effective political contribution — it would violate election law, which caps individual donations to federal candidates at $5,400 per election cycle.
Candidates are allowed to spend as much as they want on their own campaigns. And, according to the filing, Mr. Trump paid Mr. Cohen back, making Mr. Cohen’s initial payment a loan. But campaign finance law treats personal loans as contributions and the $5,400 limit would have applied. Public campaign filings are also supposed to account for all loans, contributions and payments; Mr. Trump’s made no mention of the Cohen arrangement.
The National Weather Service has issued a Tornado Warning for portions of Central New Haven and Middlesex counties until 5:30 p.m. At 507 p.m., a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located over Bethany, or near Naugatuck, moving east at 65 mph, the weather service says. Residents in these areas are urged to take cover now.
The storm could produce a tornado and quarter size hail. The impacts include: “Flying debris will be dangerous to those caught without shelter. Mobile homes will be damaged or destroyed. Damage to roofs, windows, and vehicles will occur. Tree damage is likely.”
* This dangerous storm will be near… Wallingford around 510 PM EDT. Branford and North Haven around 515 PM EDT. Guilford and Durham around 520 PM EDT. North Madison around 525 PM EDT. Chester and East Haddam around 530 PM EDT.
The National Weather Service says, “TAKE COVER NOW! Move to a basement or an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building. Avoid windows. If you are outdoors, in a mobile home, or in a vehicle, move to the closest substantial shelter and protect yourself from flying debris.
“Motorists should not take shelter under highway overpasses. If you cannot safely drive away from the tornado, as a last resort, either park your vehicle and stay put, or abandon your vehicle and lie down in a low lying area and protect yourself from flying debris,” the weather service adds.
A Severe Thunderstorm Warning is in effect until 5:45 p.m. for Southern Connecticut:
At 516 PM EDT, severe thunderstorms were located along a line extending from near Tolland to Plainville to near Hamden to Stamford to Kearny to near White House Station, moving east at 50 mph.
HAZARD…70 mph wind gusts and nickel size hail.
SOURCE…Trained weather spotters and automated surface observations, with numerous reports of wind damage.
IMPACT…Expect considerable tree damage. Damage is likely to mobile homes, roofs, and outbuildings.
Locations impacted include… Newark, Jersey City, Jamaica, Yonkers, Paterson, Bridgeport, New Haven, Elizabeth, Stamford, Flatbush, Waterbury, Norwalk, Danbury, New Rochelle and Flushing.
A Tornado Warning is in effect until 5:30 p.m. for Southern Litchfield County:
* At 447 PM EDT, a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located near New Milford, moving east at 60 mph.
HAZARD…Tornado and quarter size hail.
SOURCE…Radar indicated rotation.
IMPACT…Flying debris will be dangerous to those caught without shelter. Mobile homes will be damaged or destroyed. Damage to roofs, windows, and vehicles will occur. Tree damage is likely.
* This dangerous storm will be near… Woodbury Center around 500 PM EDT. Oakville around 505 PM EDT.
Parts of Hartford and Litchfield counties were issued a Tornado Warning Tuesday afternoon and residents were told to take cover but as of 4:30 p.m. there is some good news as the warnings have been cancelled. However, Tornado Watches remain in effect up until 9 p.m. tonight for Northern Connecticut.
“The storm which prompted the warning has weakened below severe limits, and no longer appears capable of producing a tornado. Therefore, the warning will be allowed to expire. However small hail, gusty winds and heavy rain are still possible with this thunderstorm. A Tornado Watch remains in effect until 900 PM EDT for northern Connecticut,” the National Weather Service says.
A Severe Thunderstorm Warning is in effect for Litchfield, parts of Fairfield and New Haven counties, Hartford, and Tolland counties as a powerful storm rolls in this afternoon.
The weather has forced Bradley Airport to suspend flights due to the tornado warning.
*A Severe Thunderstorm Warning for Tolland and Hartford County’s until 445 PM EDT.
At 422 PM EDT, a severe thunderstorm was located over Enfield, moving east at 40 mph.
HAZARD…Two inch hail and 60 mph wind gusts.
SOURCE…Radar indicated.
IMPACT…People and animals outdoors will be injured. Expect hail damage to roofs, windows, siding, and vehicles. Expect damage to trees and power lines.
Locations impacted include… Hartford, New Britain, West Hartford, Meriden, Bristol, Manchester, East Hartford, Enfield, Southington, Glastonbury, Newington, Vernon, Windsor, Wethersfield, Mansfield, South Windsor, Farmington, Windham, Wolcott and Colchester.
The National Weather Service has just issued a Tornado Warning for Northwestern Litchfield County and residents there are urged to take cover now. The weather service says up until 3:30 p.m. the tornado could produce tennis ball size hail and “flying debris will be dangerous to those caught without shelter. Mobile homes will be damaged or destroyed. Damage to roofs, windows, and vehicles will occur. Tree damage is likely.”
The weather service urges residents there to take cover now. A Tornado Watch remains in effect for the rest of Litchfield County until 8 p.m.
As for the rest of us a Severe Thunderstorm Watch is in effect for all of Southern Connecticut from now until 11 p.m. The big change from this morning is that the watch has been added and the time has been extended up until 11 p.m.
A Tornado Watch has also been issued for Hartford, Tolland and Windham counties up until 9 p.m. tonight. The National Weather Service says that the Severe Thunderstorm Watch means there is a chance for lime size hail, wind gusts up to 80 mph, and a chance of a tornado.
CT State Police said “With the potential for strong winds, downpours and reduced visibility starting this afternoon, use extra caution when driving. Turn on windshield wipers AND headlights, reduce speed, increase following distance and avoid collected water on travel lanes and shoulders.”
In an hour-by-hour forecast, NBC Connecticut projects that the worst of the storm will be from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
ORIGINAL STORY:
The chance for severe thunderstorms across Connecticut this afternoon and evening are increasing, according to the National Weather Service. The timeline of the worst of the weather is expected after 2 p.m. and up until around 8 p.m. tonight. There could be severe thunderstorms, gusty wind, hail, heavy rain, and a tornado can’t be ruled out either, the weather service says.
New advisories have been issued by the weather service this morning.
Southern Connecticut: There is the possibility of severe thunderstorms this afternoon and evening, with the main threat damaging wind gusts and possibly large hail. An isolated tornado cannot be ruled out as well, mainly north and west of New York City. In addition, locally heavy rainfall is possible with any stronger convection. While the main threat is for minor flooding of urban and poor drainage areas, there is a small chance for localized flash flooding.
Hartford, Tolland and Windham counties: Scattered severe thunderstorms are possible this afternoon and evening, roughly between 2 and 9 pm. The area of greatest concern is across western and central Massachusetts into northern Connecticut, but can not rule out across the rest of the region.
The primary threat with any severe thunderstorms will be damaging straight line wind gusts. However, isolated large hail along with heavy rain/street flooding is also a concern. Lastly, there is a low risk of an isolated tornado across western/central MA and northern Connecticut.
Litchfield County: There is a chance of thunderstorms today. Some of these storms may be severe, mainly between the hours of Noon and 7 pm. The main threats will be damaging wind and large hail. An isolated tornado is also possible.
Thunderstorms will generally track from the west, toward the east, at 35 to 45 mph. In addition, torrential downpours will be possible within thunderstorms. This may lead to minor flooding of poor drainage, urban and low lying areas.
Here is the updated stormy forecast for Southern Connecticut:
Today: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 5pm. Some of the storms could be severe. Increasing clouds, with a high near 79. Southwest wind 5 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Tonight: Showers and thunderstorms before 10pm, then a chance of showers. Some of the storms could be severe. Low around 59. North wind 5 to 7 mph becoming calm after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Wednesday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a high near 63. Northeast wind around 8 mph.
Wednesday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly before midnight. Cloudy, with a low around 53. East wind 5 to 8 mph becoming calm after midnight.
Here is the stormy weather forecast for Northern Connecticut:
Today: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms between 4pm and 5pm, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 5pm. Some of the storms could be severe. Mostly sunny, with a high near 86. South wind 8 to 11 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Tonight: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm before 10pm, then a slight chance of showers between 10pm and 11pm. Some of the storms could be severe and produce heavy rainfall. Low around 57. Northwest wind 5 to 8 mph becoming calm after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Wednesday: A slight chance of showers between 9am and 10am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 66. Northeast wind 3 to 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Wednesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 53. Southeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Israel on Tuesday faced a torrent of international criticism for its deadly response to protests in Gaza this week, as the Netanyahu government defended the country’s right to secure its borders.
Palestinians in Gaza buried their dead Tuesday after violent clashes with Israel’s military at the border fence a day earlier left some 60 people dead and injured thousands more. Officials in Gaza said that hospitals were overwhelmed by those hurt, with many running out of essential supplies such as drugs to treat them.
SEOUL — North Korea is casting doubt on next month’s summit between leader Kim Jong Un and President Trump over joint Air Force drills taking place in South Korea, which it says are ruining the diplomatic mood.
North Korea always reacts angrily to the joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises, considering them as a rehearsal for an invasion. But this year, with the sudden burst of diplomacy, had appeared to be different.
The South Korean and U.S. militaries had scaled back and played down the exercises, declining the news media the usual access to the drills. North Korea barely said a word about the drills during the computer simulation exercises that took place through April.
The two-week-long Max Thunder drills between the two countries’ Air Forces, an annual event that began on Friday, have, however, clearly struck a nerve in North Korea.
“This exercise targeting us, which is being carried out across South Korea, is a flagrant challenge to the Panmunjom Declaration and an intentional military provocation running counter to the positive political development on the Korean Peninsula,” the North’s Korean Central News Agency said in a report published early.
The Max Thunder exercise involves about 100 warplanes, including eight F-22 radar-evading fighters and an unspecified number of B-52 bombers and F-15K jets, according to the South’s main Yonhap News Agency. During last year’s Max Thunder exercises, U.S. and South Korean fighter jets flew an average 60 sorties a day to showcase their firepower.
By mentioning the Panmunjom Declaration, North Korea was referring to the agreement signed last month by Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in following their historic summit.
They agreed to work to turn the armistice agreement that ended the Korean War in 1953 into a peace treaty that would officially bring the war to a close, and also to pursue the “complete denuclearization” of the Korean Peninsula.
North Korea suggested that the drills were putting the proposed summit between Trump and Kim, scheduled for June 12, in jeopardy.
“The United States will also have to undertake careful deliberations about the fate of the planned North Korea-U.S. summit in light of this provocative military ruckus jointly conducted with the South Korean authorities,” KCNA said.
Trump and Kim are due to meet in Singapore, which would be the first time a North Korean leader had meet with a sitting U.S. president.
Trump and his top aides, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton, both previously known for their hard line views on North Korea, have express optimism that a denuclearization agreement can be worked out.
In surprising detail, Pompeo — who says Kim watches foreign news reports — has laid out the economic and development aid that would flow to the North Korean regime if it permanently and verifiably gives up its nuclear weapons program.
But North Korea, despite being run by one totalitarian family for the last seven decades, is not entirely monolithic. It does have its hawks and its doves, and analysts speculated that hard-liners in the military, concerned about the sudden talk of denuclearization, might be trying to interfere with the current diplomatic efforts.
At the same time as threatening to scupper the summit with Trump, North Korea did cancel talks with South Korean officials that had been scheduled for Wednesday, less than 24 hours after agreeing to them.
North Korea had said it would send five senior officials to Panmunjom for meetings with South Korean officials, the first such talks since the April 27 inter-Korean summit.
They were due to discuss some of the infrastructure aid that South Korea would provide to North Korea as part of their broader detente.
The North was going to send Ri Son Kwon, who leads the North Korean agency in charge of inter-Korean exchanges and was present at the summit, while the South was going to send senior officials from the transport ministry and forest service.
“Through the inter-Korean high-level talks, (we) will push to lay the groundwork for sustainable development and lasting peace by having in-depth discussions and faithfully implementing the Panmunjom Declaration,” the South’s unification ministry said in a statement Tuesday.
Max Thunder is a two-week operation that has been held annually in the spring for about 10 years. It features the United States and South Korea flying strike aircraft together from air bases in South Korea and Japan to practice air-to-air combat. About 1,000 U.S. troops and 500 South Koreans were involved last year, according to a U.S. military statement published at the time.
Max Thunder is significantly smaller than Foal Eagle and Key Resolve, two other military exercises that were held in April, and briefly paused to reduce tensions as Kim and Moon could meet at the border at the demilitarized zone between their nations to discuss potential peace plans.
The Pentagon said in March that Foal Eagle, which includes ground maneuvers, would involve about 11,500 U.S. troops and 290,000 South Koreans this year, while Key Resolve would focus more on computer simulation and involve about 12,200 U.S. troops and 10,000 South Koreans.
The threat by North Korea to cancel the summit now would seem to contradict the message that South Korean national security adviser Chung Eui-yong brought to the White House in March, when Kim volunteered to meet with Trump. At that time, Kim’s message was that North Korea would refrain from additional nuclear or missile testing and understood “that the routine joint military exercises between the Republic of Korea and the United States must continue.”
FAIRFIELD, Calif. — A California man has been arrested for what police say was “a long and continuous history of severe physical and emotional abuse” of his 10 children between the ages of 4 months and 12 years old. Police in Fairfield, California say they uncovered the alleged abuse after responding to a report of a missing child March 31.
When police located the 12-year-old and responded to the child’s home, officers said they conducted a search for other children at the residence. They found another nine children, “rescued from horrible living conditions,” according to a Fairfield police press release. The children were “living in squalor and unsafe conditions,” police say.
The children were taken into protective custody and their mother, 30-year-old Ina Rogers, was soon booked into Solano County Jail for child neglect.
The Fairfield Police Department said it obtained an arrest warrant for the childrens’ father, 29-year-old Jonathan Allen, after an investigation “revealed a long and continuous history of severe physical and emotional abuse of the children.”
Allen was arrested on May 11, and charged with nine counts of felony torture and six counts of felony child abuse.
Allen is being held on $1.5 million bail, according to jail records.
Near Gaza City, a voice on a loudspeaker urged the crowd forward: “Get closer! Get closer!”
The charge was often led by women dressed in black, waving Palestinian flags and urging others to follow.
“We don’t want just one or two people to get closer,” said an elderly woman clutching a shoulder bag and a flag. “We want a big group.”
The atmosphere grew more charged after midday prayers, when more than 1,000 men gathered under a large blue awning. Officials from Hamas and other militant factions addressed the worshipers, urging them into the fray and claiming — falsely, to all appearances — that the fence had been breached and that Palestinians were flooding into Israel.
Several speakers reserved their harshest words for the United States and its decision to move the embassy to Jerusalem. “America is the greatest Satan,” said a cleric, holding his index finger in the air as hundreds of people did the same. “Now we are heading to Jerusalem with millions of martyrs. We may die but Palestine will live.” The crowd repeated the chant.
As the cleric spoke, more smoke rose in the sky behind him, and worshipers peeled away and began to walk toward the fence.
At 5:30 p.m., shortly after an Israeli airstrike in Gaza, organizers who had been urging people toward the fence all day suddenly began shooing them away, and the day’s action quickly subsided.
Hamas officials promised that the protests would continue. Khalil al-Hayya, deputy chief of Hamas in Gaza, said at a news conference that the purpose of Monday’s demonstrations was to “powerfully confront the embassy deal” and to “draw the map of return in blood.”
“The American administration bears responsibility for all consequences following the implementation of this unjust decision,” Mr. Hayyah said. “This crime will not pass.”
Hamas officials also hinted at the possibility of a military strike at Israel by the group’s military wing, the Qassam brigades.
(CNN)First lady Melania Trump underwentkidney surgery Monday at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center near Washington, DC, according to a statement from her office.
Be Best is a three-pronged platform with a focus on opioid addiction and families, general physical and emotional well-being of children, and kindness and safety for kids using social media. The latter caused a firestorm of controversy because it encompasses cyberbullying, a tactic that Melania Trump’s husband, the President, has often been accused of fueling. 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