Kerry expresses unity with Canada
Kerry expresses unity with Canada
OTTAWA, Ontario
The United States and Canada vowed Tuesday to step up already close counterterrorism and border-security cooperation as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry paid condolences to the Canadian people after last week’s terror attacks.
On his first trip to Canada since taking office, Kerry flew to Ottawa and went immediately to the National War Memorial to lay a wreath in honor of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, the Canadian soldier killed there by a gunman believed to have been inspired by the Islamic State group. The attack last Wednesday was the second in three days in Canada, after an earlier incident in Quebec. The funeral and burial of Cirillo took place Tuesday.
Lava creeps closer to homes in Hawaii
PAHOA, Hawaii
After weeks of slow, stop-and-go movement, a river of asphalt-black lava destroyed a wooden shed Tuesday as it crept closer to homes in a Big Island community.
The lava flow easily burned down the empty shed about 7:30 a.m., several hours after entering a residential property in Pahoa Village, said Hawaii County Civil Defense Director Darryl Oliveira.
A branch of the molten stream was less than the length of a football field from a two-story house.
Residents of Pahoa Village, the commercial center of the island’s rural Puna district south of Hilo, have had weeks to prepare for what’s been described as a slow-motion disaster. Most have either already left or are prepared to go.
At least 50 or 60 structures — including homes and businesses — are in the area likely to be hit.
Seoul: Kim Jong Un had ankle surgery
SEOUL, South Korea
South Korea’s spy agency said Tuesday it has solved the mystery of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s six-week public absence, which set off a frenzy of wild speculation around the world.
The National Intelligence Service told legislators that a foreign doctor operated on Kim in September or October to remove a cyst from his right ankle, according to Park Byeong-seok, an aide for opposition lawmaker Shin Kyung-min. The aide said the spy agency also told lawmakers in a closed-door briefing that the cyst could recur because of Kim’s obesity, smoking and heavy public schedule.
ND court bans use of abortion drug
BISMARCK, N.D.
The North Dakota Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a state law that limits the use of drugs to perform abortions, a move abortion-rights supporters say will end the use of medications to perform the procedure.
The state’s high court, in a 103-page ruling, reversed a ruling by a district judge last year that found the 2011 law violates the state constitution.
2 shot at courthouse in NC; suspect caught
NASHVILLE, N.C.
A gunman opened fire on two men in front of the courthouse in this small North Carolina town Tuesday, sending panicked lunchtime shoppers ducking into shops along the normally quiet main drag.
The suspect was caught in the late afternoon after a manhunt that included dozens of armed officers searching the woods along a state highway with a police helicopter flying overhead. A second suspect was still on the loose Tuesday night. Authorities didn’t offer a motive but believe the victims were targeted. Both were expected to survive.
Associated Press