US puts Iran ‘on notice’ after missile test, won’t elaborate

US puts Iran ‘on notice’ after missile test, won’t elaborate

WASHINGTON

The U.S. put Iran “on notice” Wednesday after the Iranian military tested a ballistic missile and allied rebels in Yemen attacked a Saudi naval vessel in the Red Sea, an early manifestation of President Donald Trump’s promise of a tougher American approach to the Islamic republic.

“Iran is now feeling emboldened,” Michael Flynn, Trump’s national security adviser, told reporters.

Delivering his first public remarks since Trump took office, Flynn didn’t elaborate on what actions the U.S. might take in response to Iran’s missile test.

But he made clear the administration’s view that President Barack Obama’s strategy of containing Iran’s destabilizing behavior while cooperating more closely on nuclear and other matters wasn’t working. The warning was a manifestation of Trump’s promise of a tougher American approach to Iran.

British lawmakers back bill to trigger EU exit talks

LONDON

Britain moved closer to leaving the European Union Wednesday as lawmakers backed a bill authorizing divorce proceedings and kept alive the government’s plan to trigger Brexit talks within weeks.

The House of Commons decisively backed the bill by 498 votes to 114, sending it on for committee scrutiny. The result was a victory for the Conservative government, which had fought in court to avert the vote out of fear Parliament would impede its Brexit plans.

Lawmakers also defeated a “wrecking amendment” proposed by the Scottish National Party that sought to delay Britain’s exit talks with the EU because the British government has not disclosed detailed plans for its negotiations.

Milo Yiannopoulos’ talk canceled amid protests at Berkeley

BERKELEY, Calif.

A University of California, Berkeley official says a talk by a polarizing Breitbart News editor Milo Yiannopoulos at the university has been canceled as protesters outside the building where the speech was to have taken place threw smoke bombs and set a fire.

UC Berkeley spokesman Dan Mogulos said officials were advising the campus to shelter in place and to stay away from the student union building, where Yiannopoulos was scheduled to speak.

A group of protesters dressed in black and some in hooded sweatshirts broke windows, threw smoke bombs and flares at a building and set a large bonfire outside the building.

Marathon bombing survivor engaged to man who saved her

NEW YORK

A woman who lost her leg in the Boston Marathon bombing is engaged to the firefighter who saved her.

Roseann Sdoia tells The New York Post that she and firefighter Mike Materia got engaged during a trip to Nantucket in December.

Sdoia was standing near the finish line during the 2013 Boston Marathon when the bombs went off, badly mangling her leg. Materia rushed to help her, and stayed with her on the ride to the hospital. He continued to visit her in intensive care, and they struck up a friendship.

Two months after the bombing, they went on their first date. They plan to marry this fall and are releasing a book next month titled “Perfect Strangers,” about four people affected by the bombing.

Associated Press