Not just China: US seeks Russia’s help with N. Korea

Not just China: US seeks Russia’s help with N. Korea

WASHINGTON

China’s increasingly icy posture is thrusting Russia forward as North Korea’s preferred diplomatic partner, forcing the Trump administration to turn to Moscow for help in isolating the rogue, nuclear-armed nation.

Beijing’s close ties to Pyongyang have been strained since leader Kim Jong Un ordered the 2013 execution of his uncle who had been the countries’ chief liaison. Since then, the allies once said to be as “close as lips and teeth” have moved further apart over China’s adoption of U.N. sanctions designed to starve North Korea of revenue for its nuclear and missile programs.

But China isn’t North Korea’s only traditionally friendly neighbor. And for the United States, Russia’s increased importance comes at an uncomfortable time. The State Department on Friday warned countries and companies around the world they risk being blacklisted if they do business with dozens of Russian firms.

W.Va. police seek inmate missed in three head counts

SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va.

West Virginia authorities are still searching for an inmate who wasn’t discovered missing until nearly two days after he escaped from the Charleston jail.

The Department of Military and Public Safety says 44-year-old Todd Wayne Boyes of Caldwell, Ohio, escaped around 5 a.m. Wednesday, but the South Central Regional Jail staff didn’t notice until Thursday evening.

A review of the facility’s jail’s security video showed Boyes leaving the facility the previous morning.

According to investigators, the 5-foot-6, 220-pound Boyes obtained khaki pants and a dark green or grey jacket he wore to escape by posing as a civilian or jail trusty.

Conservative site with GOP ties funded Trump research

NEW york

A conservative website with strong ties to the Republican establishment triggered the investigation into Donald Trump’s past that ultimately produced the dossier that alleged a compromised relationship between the president and the Kremlin.

The Washington Free Beacon on Friday confirmed it originally retained the political research firm Fusion GPS to scour then-candidate Trump’s background for negative information, a common practice known as “opposition research” in politics. Leaders from the Free Beacon, which is funded largely by Republican billionaire Paul Singer, insisted none of the early material it collected appeared in the dossier released later in the year detailing explosive allegations, many uncorroborated, about Trump compiled by a former British spy.

Boy, 10, charged for leading police on 100-mph car chase

CLEVELAND

A 10-year-old Ohio boy has been charged with felony fleeing and eluding for leading police and state troopers on a mileslong pursuit that reached speeds of 100 mph.

Authorities say the boy took the car from his Cleveland home Thursday and led police on a high-speed interstate pursuit that continued with state troopers chasing him on the Ohio Turnpike.

The pursuit ended when a trooper nudged the boy’s car into a sign on a grassy berm and prevented him from returning to the roadway.

Associated Press