North America

22 May 2019; AFP: President Donald Trump's administration on Tuesday appeared set on easing weeks of escalating tensions with Iran, assuring worried lawmakers it does not seek war and crediting robust US military moves with deterring the clerical regime.

UNITED NATIONS, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The global economy is experiencing a broad-based growth slowdown amid unresolved trade tensions, high international policy uncertainty, and softening business confidence, according to the United Nations World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) mid-2019 report, released Tuesday.

The growth outlook in all major developed economies and most developing regions has weakened due to a confluence of both domestic and external factors, according to the report.

22 May 2019; AFP: Washington on Tuesday became the first US state to legalize human composting after its eco-friendly governor signed a bill to that effect in a bid to cut carbon emissions from burials and cremations.

Under the new law that will go into effect in May of next year, people who die in the state will have the option to have their bodies transformed into soil suitable for use in gardening. The process is called recomposition.

22 May 2019; DW: More than half of Americans believe the US will go to war with Iran "within the next few years," according to a new Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll. Fewer than 40% approve of President Donald Trump's handling of the crisis.

US President Donald Trump's administration has ratcheted up its "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran in recent months, raising concerns that the United States and Iran are on a path to war.

22 May 2019; DW: Washington has told Syria that it will "respond quickly and appropriately" to any chemical weapons use. The threat comes as a fragile ceasefire in rebel-held Idlib risks unraveling.

The United States continues to see signs the Syrian government may be using chemical weapons, including a possible chlorine attack in northwest Syria on Sunday, the State Department said Tuesday.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — In 1992, Disney transported audiences to the mythical land of Agrabah, where they met a street rat with a heart of gold, a flying carpet, a headstrong princess and a magical genie with some oddly current pop culture references. With the music and lyrics of Alan Menken, Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, “Aladdin” would go on to win the hearts of millions and become the highest-grossing picture of the year.

BALTIMORE (AP) — While swimming to Olympic glory, Michael Phelps found comfort in the pool and quite a bit of angst out of it.

His bout with depression reached its nadir in 2014 after a second DUI arrest. That’s when the most decorated Olympian of all time checked himself into a rehabilitative center in a desperate effort to make sense of it all.

“When I was in my room and not wanting to talk to anybody for a number of days and not wanting to be alive, I wanted to see what other roads I could take to see if there was help,” Phelps recalled.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A lawyer for a Navy SEAL accused of murder wants military prosecutors and a judge removed from the case for their roles in snooping on emails sent to the defense team and a journalist in an effort to find the source of news leaks.

Navy investigators and the prosecutor misled a judge and didn’t get search warrants or the necessary approval from higher-ups to investigate civilians, defense lawyer Tim Parlatore told The Associated Press on the eve of a Wednesday hearing on the matter. They also snooped on emails of military lawyers and judges in the case, he said.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — An Alaska air carrier involved in two deadly floatplane crashes in a week has voluntarily suspended operations, federal officials said Tuesday.

The halt of flightseeing and commuter flights is in place indefinitely, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

The action comes after the passenger and the pilot of a Beaver floatplane operated by Taquan Air were killed when the single-engine aircraft crashed in Metlakatla Harbor on Monday afternoon during a 22-mile (35-kilometer) commuter flight from Ketchikan.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Reality has set in during the three weeks since President Donald Trump and Democratic congressional leaders agreed to work together on a $2 trillion package to invest in roads, bridges and broadband.

Republican leaders in Congress have shown little enthusiasm for the price tag, and even less for the idea of raising the federal fuel tax to help pay for upgrading the nation’s infrastructure. Trump himself has suggested that Democrats are somehow setting a trap to get him to go along with a tax increase.