Parts of women’s tale of survival at sea contradicted

Parts of women’s tale of survival at sea contradicted

HONOLULU

Two Hawaii women who say they were lost at sea for five months never activated their emergency beacon and described running into a fearsome storm that meteorologists say didn’t exist, adding to a growing list of inconsistencies that cast doubt on their harrowing tale of survival.

The women previously told The Associated Press that they had radios, satellite phones, GPS and other emergency gear, but they didn’t mention an emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB). A Coast Guard review and subsequent interviews with Jennifer Appel and Tasha Fuiava revealed that they had the device aboard their sailboat but never turned it on.

Appel said Tuesday that in her experience, the beacon should be used only when facing imminent physical danger and death in the next 24 hours.

Trump team to defend Cuba embargo at UN

WASHINGTON

The Trump administration will defend America’s decades-old economic embargo on Cuba in a United Nations vote this week, the State Department said Tuesday, in a reversal from the Obama administration that reflects deteriorating U.S.-Cuban relations.

Every year the U.N. votes to condemn the embargo, and for years the U.S. predictably voted “no.” But last year, under President Barack Obama, the U.S. abstained for the first time, as Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro moved forward with the historic warming of relations.

A “no” vote today from U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley will return the United States to a place of extreme isolation within the global community over its policy toward Cuba, potentially undermining the Trump administration’s broader goals for engagement with Latin America.

Utah nurse settles over rough arrest caught on video

SALT LAKE CITY

A Utah nurse who was arrested for refusing to let a police officer draw blood from an unconscious patient said Tuesday that she was settling with Salt Lake City and the university that runs the hospital for $500,000.

Nurse Alex Wubbels and her lawyer, Karra Porter, announced the move nearly two months after they released police body-camera video showing Detective Jeff Payne handcuffing Wubbels. The footage drew widespread attention online amid the ongoing national conversation about police use of force.

The settlement covers all possible defendants in a lawsuit, including individual police officers and hospital security officers, and the payout will be divided among the city and the University of Utah.

American CEO meets with NAACP over bias complaints

DALLAS

American Airlines said its CEO had a “positive” meeting Tuesday with civil-rights leaders who accuse the airline of racial bias, but an activist who was kicked off a plane is not backing away from her criticism of the carrier.

The airline said CEO Doug Parker and a senior vice president met with NAACP President Derrick Johnson, Women’s March organizer Tamika Mallory and others in Washington.

The NAACP had demanded the meeting when it warned African-Americans last week that they could face discriminatory treatment while traveling on American. Neither side would give details of the talks – they offered only the most general descriptions of what was said in the private session.

Associated Press