World powers rally to defend value of Iran nuke accord

World powers rally to defend value of Iran nuke accord

UNITED NATIONS

Top diplomats from Germany, Russia, China and Italy insisted Thursday there can be no turning back on the Iran nuclear deal after President Donald Trump suggested that he may seek a renegotiation or simply walk away from the pact.

“How are we going to convince countries like North Korea that international agreements provide them with security – and in so doing make them commit to future disarmament efforts – if the only international example for such an endeavor being successful, the agreement with Iran, no longer has effect?” asked Germany’s Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, addressing the U.N. General Assembly.

Italy’s U.N. Ambassador Sebastiano Cardi said after a meeting that the escalating situation with North Korea should serve as a cautionary tale for not abandoning the Iran deal. “When you see the DPRK proliferation issue, which is not controlled of course, because (it is) a rogue state, and then you have the kind of controlled agreement on Iran, that is the way to go.” DPRK is an acronym for North Korea’s official name.

Ex-Michigan official faces key hearing in Flint water case

FLINT, Mich.

A former Michigan health official testified Thursday that he started asking questions about bacteria in Flint’s water supply a year before the state publicly acknowledged an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease.

Tim Becker, who was deputy director at the Department of Health and Human Services, acknowledged that the agency could have issued a public warning in January 2015. But it was 12 more months before the department and Gov. Rick Snyder said something publicly.Becker was the first witness at a key court hearing involving his former boss, department director Nick Lyon, who is charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of an 85-year-old man and misconduct in office.

On the last day of summer, snow falling in the Sierra Nevada

TRUCKEE, Calif.

Snow fell in the Sierra Nevada on the last day of summer, giving the towering mountain range shared by California and Nevada a wintry look in September and making travel hazardous.

Sixteen vehicles crashed on Interstate 80 as snow and hail fell Thursday, killing a man driving a pickup truck and causing minor injuries to a few other people, said California Highway Patrol Officer Chris Nave.

Snow dusted peaks in Yosemite National Park and temporarily closed Tioga Pass road, the soaring eastern entry to the park that typically doesn’t become impassable until mid-November.

Police chief: A lot of concerns after shooting of deaf man

OKLAHOMA CITY

The police chief of Oklahoma City says he plans to meet with advocates for the hearing- and speech-impaired following the fatal shooting of a deaf man.

Police Chief Bill Citty said Thursday that the fatal shooting of 35-year-old Magdiel Sanchez has raised “a lot of concerns” about training for officer interaction with people who have hearing or speech problems.

Citty says officers who responded to a hit-and-run accident Tuesday night encountered Sanchez holding a metal pipe in his right hand. Citty says Sanchez didn’t respond to commands to drop the pipe and was fatally shot.

Officials say witnesses yelled, “He can’t hear you,” before the officers fired, but they didn’t hear them. The officer who fired the gun, Sgt. Chris Barnes, is on administrative leave pending an investigation.

Associated Press