Політика

«Зараз тільки відбувається оцінка пошкоджень на обʼєктах, і там, де можливо, енергетики приступили до аварійно-відновлювальних робіт»
…

WASHINGTON — An Army private who fled to North Korea just over a year ago will plead guilty to desertion and four other charges and take responsibility for his conduct, his lawyer said Monday.

Travis King’s attorney, Franklin D. Rosenblatt, told The Associated Press that King intends to admit guilt to a total of five military offenses, including desertion and assaulting an officer. Nine other offenses, including possession of sexual images of a child, will be withdrawn and dismissed under the terms of the deal.

King will be given an opportunity at a Sept. 20 hearing at Fort Bliss, Texas, to discuss his actions and explain what he did.

“He wants to take responsibility for the things that he did,” Rosenblatt said.

In a separate statement, he added, “Travis is grateful to his friends and family who have supported him, and to all outside his circle who did not pre-judge his case based on the initial allegations.”

He declined to comment on a possible sentence that his client might face. Desertion is a serious charge and can result in imprisonment.

The AP reported last month that the two sides were in plea talks.

King bolted across the heavily fortified border from South Korea in July 2023, and became the first American detained in North Korea in nearly five years.

His run into North Korea came soon after he was released from a South Korean prison where he had served nearly two months on assault charges.

About a week after his release from the prison, military officers took him to the airport so he could return to Fort Bliss to face disciplinary action. He was escorted as far as customs, but instead of getting on the plane, he joined a civilian tour of the Korean border village of Panmunjom. He then ran across the border, which is lined with guards and often crowded with tourists.

He was detained by North Korea, but after about two months, Pyongyang abruptly announced that it would expel him. On Sept. 28, he was flown to back to Texas, and has been in custody there.

The U.S. military in October filed a series of charges against King under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, including desertion, as well as kicking and punching other officers, unlawfully possessing alcohol, making a false statement and possessing a video of a child engaged in sexual activity. Those allegations date back to July 10, the same day he was released from the prison.
…

WASHINGTON — Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump used the third anniversary on Monday of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan to try to pin the chaotic pullout on his Democratic rival for the White House, Kamala Harris.

Trump participated in a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery honoring the 13 servicemembers killed during the U.S. exit, then later in Detroit blamed Harris, the vice president, and President Joe Biden for what he termed a “catastrophic” withdrawal.

“Caused by Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, the humiliation in Afghanistan set off the collapse of American credibility and respect all over the world,” Trump said in an address to the National Guard Association of the United States.

It was the latest attempt by Trump and his campaign to raise doubts about Harris’ fitness to serve as commander-in-chief as the Nov. 5 election draws near and comes after Harris last week proclaimed herself ready to lead the nation’s armed forces.

The U.S. troop pullout and evacuation of U.S. and allied officials, citizens and Afghans at risk of Taliban retribution saw crowds of desperate Afghans trying to enter Kabul airport and men clinging to aircraft as they taxied down runways in August 2021.

An Islamic State suicide bomber killed 13 U.S. servicemembers and more than 150 Afghans outside an airport gate.

Harris’ campaign said the fault lay with Trump’s tenure as president.

“The Biden-Harris administration inherited a mess from Donald Trump,” said Ammar Moussa, a Harris spokesperson. “Trump wants America to forget that he had four years to get out of Afghanistan but failed to do it.”

The Biden administration was following a withdrawal commitment and timeline that the Trump administration had negotiated with the Taliban in 2020.

A review released by the U.S. State Department in 2023 found fault with both the Trump and Biden administrations in the run-up to the withdrawal.

In recent weeks, Trump and his running mate, Senator JD Vance, also have sought to turn Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz’s decades of service into a political vulnerability. Former military service is often a key selling point for candidates in U.S. political campaigns.

The Republicans have accused Walz of exaggerating his rank in the Army National Guard, where he served for 24 years. Walz has described himself as a retired command sergeant major, one of the highest noncommissioned officer positions in the Army. While he achieved that rank, he did not meet the requirements to retire with that title.

The Harris campaign deleted a reference this month to Walz’s rank as a “command sergeant major” on its website. The campaign also now says Walz “misspoke” in 2018 during his gubernatorial campaign in Minnesota when he referred to “weapons of war, that I carried in war.” Walz was never deployed to a war zone.

Trump, 78, never served in the military. Though he was of draft age during the Vietnam War, he received four student deferments and a health-related one after he received a diagnosis for bone spurs in his feet.

Vance served in the Marine Corps for four years as a combat correspondent and was deployed to Iraq for roughly seven months. His position mainly involved writing reports of military activity for public dissemination and at times interacting with the media.

Harris has not served in the military.

Harris told CNN in 2021 that she was the last person in the room with Biden when he decided to pull U.S. forces from Afghanistan and end America’s longest war. She also said that she was comfortable with Biden’s decision, but it remains unclear what role she played in the discussion.

Both Biden and Harris released statements marking the anniversary on Monday.

“These 13 devoted patriots represent the best of America, putting our beloved nation and their fellow Americans above themselves and deploying into danger to keep their fellow citizens safe,” Harris said.

Asked Monday why Biden and Harris weren’t marking the anniversary of the Abbey Gate attack as Trump did at Arlington National Cemetery, White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters that Trump had been personally invited by the family members and he called it one way to honor the fallen.

“Another way is to continue to work,” Kirby said. “Maybe not with a lot of fanfare, maybe not with a lot of public attention, maybe not with TV cameras, but to work with might and main every single day to make sure that the families of the fallen and of those who were injured and wounded, not just at Abbey Gate, but over the course of the 20-some odd years that we were in Afghanistan, have the support that they need.”

Also Monday, House Speaker Mike Johnson announced that Congress will posthumously honor the 13 service members by presenting their families with the Congressional Gold Medal next month. It’s the highest civilian award that Congress can bestow.

Some information for this article came from The Associated Press.
…

WASHINGTON — U.S. Special Counsel Jack Smith on Monday asked a federal appeals court to revive the criminal case accusing Donald Trump of retaining classified documents, after a lower court dismissed the indictment in July, according to a court filing.

In their brief, Smith and his team of attorneys urged the Atlanta-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit to overturn the July 15 ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon in which she concluded that Smith was unlawfully appointed and did not have the legal authority to bring the case.

“Congress has bestowed on the Attorney General, like the heads of many Executive Departments, broad authority to structure the agency he leads to carry out the responsibilities imposed on him by law,” they wrote.

“The district court’s contrary view conflicts with an otherwise unbroken course of decisions, including by the Supreme Court, that the Attorney General has such authority, and it is at odds with widespread and longstanding appointment practices in the Department of Justice and across the government.”

The Justice Department had previously said it planned to appeal the ruling.

In Monday’s brief, Smith’s office also asked the appellate court to schedule oral arguments.

Cannon, who was appointed to the bench by Trump, found that Attorney General Merrick Garland’s decision to appoint Smith in 2022 violated the U.S. Constitution. She also found that his budget, which is funded through an indefinite appropriation, was unlawful.

Trump’s lawyers had previously challenged the legal authority for Smith’s appointment, arguing that Smith’s office was not created by Congress and the special counsel was not confirmed by the Senate.

Trump’s campaign said on Monday that the court should reject Smith’s request and that other cases facing the former president should be dismissed.

“Not only should the dismissal of the Lawless Indictment in Florida be affirmed but be immediately joined by a dismissal of ALL the Witch Hunts. The Democrat Justice Department coordinated ALL of these Political Attacks, which are an Election Interference conspiracy against Comrade Kamala’s Political Opponent, President Trump. Let us come together to END all Weaponization of our Justice System,” Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement.

Cannon’s ruling has faced staunch criticism, with many attorneys saying it flies in the face of prior court decisions which all upheld the legality of the rules that the Justice Department has relied on for years in appointing special counsels.

“The Attorney General validly appointed the Special Counsel, who is also properly funded,” Smith’s office wrote, adding that Cannon had “deviated from binding Supreme Court precedent” and also “misconstrued the statutes that authorized the Special Counsel’s appointment.”

Cannon’s decision to dismiss the case marked a legal victory for Trump and came not long after the Supreme Court ruled that he had broad criminal immunity from prosecution for official actions he took during his time in office.

That Supreme Court decision has led to major delays in Smith’s second criminal case against Trump, in which Trump is facing charges over his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Smith faces a Friday deadline to tell the judge overseeing the election subversion case how he wishes to proceed in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling.

Trump, who is running in the 2024 presidential election against Vice President Kamala Harris, was convicted in May on New York state charges involving hush money paid to an adult film star to avert a sex scandal before the 2016 election.

His sentencing has been postponed following the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity.

In the documents case, Trump was indicted on charges that he willfully retained sensitive national security documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida after leaving office in 2021 and obstructed government efforts to retrieve the material.
…

seattle — An apparent cyberattack disrupted internet, phones, email and other systems at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport for a third day on Monday as Port of Seattle officials worked to investigate the outages and restore full service.

“We’re working around the clock to get necessary systems back online and to mitigate impacts to our passengers,” the airport’s aviation managing director Lance Lyttle said in a press conference Sunday.

Lyttle said the airport is investigating with the help of outside experts and is working closely with federal partners, including the Transportation Security Administration and Customs and Border Protection. Officials have not released details about the full scope of the outage, but Lyttle said it was not affecting TSA’s ability to screen passengers.

Some airlines, including Delta and Alaska, reported no service interruptions from the outage. Both airlines use Sea-Tac as a hub. Still, the outage did affect the Port of Seattle’s baggage sorting system, prompting airlines to warn passengers to avoid checking bags if possible to avoid potential delays.

The airport also warned travelers to allow extra time at the airport and to use airline mobile applications to get boarding passes and bag tags when possible.

Still, many travelers faced security lines that were longer than normal and long waits at baggage claims and checking. Terminal screens were also out throughout the airport, making it difficult for some to determine their assigned gate.

“Port teams continue to make progress on returning systems to normal operations, but there is not an estimated time for return,” the airport wrote on Facebook on Sunday.
…

Указ набирає чинності з дня його опублікування
…

The rapid rise in disposable electronic cigarette, or vape, usage is creating a tidal wave of pollution, and it’s raising serious environmental concerns. Aron Ranen reports from New York City about one woman who is trying to make a difference.
…

Відповідне рішення ухвалили у зв’язку з погіршенням безпекової ситуації
…

Усі служби працюють для ліквідації наслідків обстрілу
…

A memorial run has been held in Simi Valley, California to honor 13 U.S. service members killed three years ago during a suicide bombing as U.S. troops were withdrawing from Afghanistan. VOA’s Genia Dulot attended this year’s run and spoke to two Gold Star families as well as the event organizer, whose son survived the attack at the Kabul airport.
…

Міська адміністрація нагадує, що продовжується атака дронів-камікадзе на столицю. Повітряна тривога в Києві триває понад шість годин
…

На місці працюють рятувальники та ремонтні бригади, додав очільник області
…

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — One person was killed and three were injured by a landslide that prompted a mandatory evacuation in the Alaska city of Ketchikan, authorities said.

Three people were transported to Ketchikan Medical Center following the landslide, which struck around 4 p.m. Sunday and damaged homes and infrastructure, the Ketchikan Gateway Borough and City of Ketchikan said in a joint statement Sunday.

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy declared an emergency for Ketchikan, while Borough Mayor Rodney Dial and city Mayor Dave Kiffer issued a separate emergency declaration.

“Friends, is with a heavy heart we relay that a landslide in the city has taken a life, caused several injuries, damaged homes and impacted our community,” Dial said in the statement.

Kiffer said the loss of life was “heartbreaking, and my heart goes out to those who lost their homes.”

“In my 65 years in Ketchikan, I have never seen a slide of this magnitude. With the slides we have seen across the region, there is clearly a region-wide issue that we need to try to understand with the support of our State geologist,” Kiffer said.

Two of the victims were admitted to the hospital and one was treated and released. All other individuals have been accounted for, the statement said.

Multiple homes were impacted by the landslide and a mandatory evacuation was ordered for residents of Third Avenue and nearby streets, while a shelter was set up at Ketchikan High School, the borough and city said.

A potential secondary landslide area was identified to the south of the original slide location and crews were standing by, the statement said.
…

…

За оцінкою українського командування, загалом армія РФ втратила близько 608 820 військових
…

Це перший вихід російських кораблів-ракетоносіїв у Чорне море за тиждень
…

Beijing — China on Sunday expressed its opposition to the latest U.S. sanctions on Chinese companies over their alleged ties to Russia’s war in Ukraine, saying it will adopt necessary measures to safeguard the rights and interests of the country’s businesses.

The U.S. announced Friday sweeping sanctions on hundreds of firms in Russia and across Europe, Asia and the Middle East, accusing them of providing products and services that enable Russia’s war effort and aiding its ability to evade sanctions. The U.S. Department of State said it was concerned by “the magnitude of dual-use goods exports” from China to Russia.

The Ministry of Commerce in China in its statement firmly opposed the U.S. putting multiple Chinese companies on its export control list. The move bars such companies from trading with U.S. firms without gaining a nearly unobtainable special license.

The ministry said the U.S. action was “typical unilateral sanctions,” saying they would disrupt global trade orders and rules, as well as affect the stability of the global industrial and supply chains.

“China urges the U.S. to immediately stop its wrong practices and will take necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interest of Chinese companies,” it said.

The U.S. action is the latest in a series of thousands of U.S. sanctions that have been imposed on Russian firms and their suppliers in other nations since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The effectiveness of the sanctions has been questioned, especially as Russia has continued to support its economy by selling oil and gas on international markets.

According to the U.S. State Department, some China-based companies supplied machine tools and components to Russia companies.

China has tried to position itself as neutral in the Ukraine conflict, but it shares with Russia high animosity toward the West.

After Western countries imposed heavy sanctions on Russian oil in response to Russia sending troops into Ukraine in February 2022, China strongly stepped up its purchase of Russian oil, increasing its influence in Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin also underlined the importance of China by meeting in Beijing with Chinese leader Xi Jinping soon after being inaugurated for a fifth term in the Kremlin.
…