Family ties: New York rushes aid to Puerto Rico

Family ties: New York rushes aid to Puerto Rico

NEW YORK

New York state, home to the U.S. mainland’s biggest Puerto Rican community, is sending a lot more than thoughts and prayers to the hurricane-ravaged island.

Between them, New York state and city have committed hundreds of workers and organized aid ranging from rescue helicopters to field rations. Gov. Andrew Cuomo took the first flight allowed to land after Hurricane Maria slammed Puerto Rico last week, and City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito joined a city team that traveled this weekend to provide relief to an island that was home to several members’ parents, including her own mother.

State Assemblyman Marcos Crespo, meanwhile, is enduring an agonizing wait to hear from his own mother and relatives even as he fields unceasing phone calls from constituents trying to reach theirs.

Iran FM scolds Trump for tweet

NEW YORK

Iran’s top diplomat scolded President Donald Trump on Wednesday for a weekend tweet about a nonexistent Iranian missile launch and essentially ruled out renegotiating or launching follow-up talks to a landmark nuclear accord that Trump is threatening to dismantle.

“We need to check our facts before we make statements,” Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in an interview with The Associated Press.

He also criticized a recent referendum on independence by Iraq’s Kurdish minority as “dangerous” to stability in a Middle East already beset by efforts to defeat the Islamic State extremist group and civil wars in Syria and Yemen.

But the minister reserved his sharpest scorn for Trump, who blasted Iran Saturday in a Tweet that renewed criticism of its 2015 nuclear deal with six major powers including the United States.

Plan in motion for OJ Simpson release as soon as Monday

LAS VEGAS

O.J. Simpson could be released on parole as soon as Monday in Las Vegas under a plan being finalized by Nevada officials, a prison spokeswoman said Wednesday.

The process culminating in freedom for the former football player, actor and TV pitchman is in motion, but must be approved and documents must be signed, state Department of Corrections spokeswoman Brooke Keast said.

Meanwhile, the 70-year-old Simpson remains at Lovelock Correctional Center in northern Nevada awaiting transfer to High Desert State Prison outside Las Vegas, where he would be freed, Keast said.

House, Senate invite social media giants to testify

WASHINGTON

The House and Senate intelligence committees are inviting tech giants Facebook, Twitter and Alphabet – the parent company of Google – to appear for public hearings as part of their investigations into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, The Associated Press has learned.

The House intelligence committee is planning to hold a hearing in October, and the Senate intelligence committee has invited witnesses to appear Nov. 1. The announcements of public hearings come the day before Twitter is scheduled to hold closed-door staff briefings with both panels.

Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, confirmed the House hearing in an interview with the AP, though he noted a date had not yet been set.

Associated Press